Training program readies social workers for the field

For the right person, it’s the best job in the world.

Since 2000, that’s been the inspiration for a University of Wisconsin–Madison training program that covers the cost of a master’s degree for social work students who commit to working in Wisconsin’s public child welfare system for one or two years. The program uses federal funds distributed by the state Department of Health and Family Services.

National studies show child welfare workers are most likely to leave the field within the first two years, often because they are inadequately prepared for what they will experience on the job.

What UW–Madison’s public child welfare training program does is equip students for jobs in the field through specialized coursework and internships. The students commit to work in public child welfare when they graduate and are connected to a network of other child welfare workers that understand the challenges of the field.

The program’s goals include strengthening Wisconsin’s public child welfare workforce and producing leaders in social work to serve as supervisors and managers. Its alumni work in children’s protective services, foster care or special needs adoption around the state in more than 20 counties and with the Ho-Chunk and Oneida nations.

Jill Kvigne, who graduated with her Master’s of Social Work degree in 2002, says the program brought her to Wisconsin from Iowa. And Kvigne has stayed well beyond her one-year commitment to the state. After starting her career conducting child abuse investigations in Outagamie County, she now works as a child protective services supervisor for Pierce County.

"Once you’re in it, you make a lot of really great connections," Kvigne says. "For me, I’ve been able to use those connections to switch jobs and to gain experiences within my job … That would make it very hard to leave."

Nationally, the average tenure for child protection service workers is less than two years, according to a congressional study. And the majority of states have reported difficulty in recruiting and retaining child welfare workers due to low salaries, high caseloads, and insufficient training, among other challenges.

The numbers for graduates of the UW–Madison training program are heartening, says Susan Michaud, a social work lecturer and director of the training program.

"If you can get past the first two years … we have a really good retention rate for our students," Michaud says.

Of the 65 students who have completed their work commitment to the state, about 75 percent still work in public child welfare. Most of the remaining 25 percent are still working in the field, in positions with nonprofit organizations such as Big Brothers, Big Sisters, Michaud says.

The program provides child welfare trainees with a stipend as well as money for tuition, fees, books and supplies and mileage to field sites. In return, the students agree to complete the training curriculum and work in public child welfare in Wisconsin for a time period equivalent to the amount of time they were in the training program.

Christine Preston learned about the training program while working as a family support worker with the Middleton Outreach Ministry. Two graduate student interns from the program were placed in her office.

"I always knew that I wanted to work in some capacity with families and specifically children and I thought this would be a great way to get that kind of focus and also to have assistance in paying for that," she says.

After graduating with her master’s degree in 2005, she worked in Rock County before taking a job in Children and Family Services with the Ho-Chunk Nation, where another graduate of the training program was already working.

"(The program) really builds a community and support amongst the workers, which is helpful in maintaining longevity," Preston says. "When you are feeling burned out, you’ve got other people who can toss ideas your way."

Candace Harrison says she wanted to come to UW–Madison’s School of Social Work because it’s considered among the best in the country, but she didn’t know about the program when she applied. She learned about the training program and the accompanying work commitment during a campus visit, when she met Michaud.

"This kind of gave me a lot of direction and turned out to be a perfect fit," Harrison says.

Now she’s just getting started as a case manager for the Bureau of Milwaukee Child Welfare, after graduating last May with her master’s degree, and says she did not have any fears about making the two-year work commitment.

"The two years don’t even amount to the education and the experience that I’ve had," Harrison says.

The child welfare training program admits between 12 and 15 students each year; the graduate program accepts up to 120 students overall. Applicants go through a separate application process aimed at making sure they are a good fit for the job.

"You don’t want students coming in only for the money," Michaud says. "What we’re trying to figure out is who has a strong interest in public child welfare."

Damaris Drohin, a second year social work graduate student, applied because the training program’s rigorous, specialized training "fit perfectly with my professional goals."

"I plan to give over 100 percent of my effort to the welfare of children and their families in direct practice," she says. And ultimately, Drohin hopes to get involved in addressing policy issues that negatively impact families and the community. "With the education I have achieved, I feel capable of facing any challenge that comes my way in the future," she says.