There is an increasing demand for social workers in the United States, particularly those working in child welfare agencies. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that demand for child and family social workers will grow 6 percent by 2024 and demand for all social workers, regardless of section, will grow 12 percent by 2024.
In an effort to encourage social work students, both at the undergraduate and graduate level, to pursue careers in child welfare, the Virginia Department of Social Services created the Child Welfare Stipend Program. The program partners with the Department of Social Work at Mason and three other Virginia schools to provide stipends to 10 students annually who are placed in child welfare agencies as part of their field practicum.
“Child welfare social workers, supervisors, and administrators face a variety of challenges, and the workforce experiences high turnover rates,” said Michael Wolf-Branigin, chair of the Department of Social Work. “The Child Welfare Stipend Program will help us encourage students to pursue careers in child welfare to better support the local agencies in Virginia who need these skilled individuals.”
Students who are selected to receive the stipend must commit to working at a local department of social services in Virginia for one calendar year for each academic year they receive the stipend. Eligible students must be enrolled full time, and the stipend can only be used to fund tuition, university fees, and books. Mason’s Department of Social Work will begin enrolling students in the program in fall 2017.
For more information on the Child Welfare Stipend Program, visit www.dss.virginia.gov/cwsp/index.cgi. Interested Mason students should contact the Department of Social Work at 703-993-4247.