We are recruiting BSW Social Work students to become child welfare scholars. Child welfare scholars will take one additional elective and focus their coursework on understanding childhood trauma during their time at Bemidji State University. During the final semester of students’ BSW, child welfare scholars will complete their internship at a county or tribal level child welfare program. Accepted scholars retain their status and stipend each semester until graduation, pending funding and acceptable academic and professional progress. After graduation, child welfare graduates are required to apply the skills, values and knowledge acquired from their education and experienced through employment in a child welfare setting.

Title IV-E of the Social Security Act focuses on providing safe and stable care for children who have been placed in out-of-home care as a result to maltreatment or other circumstances. This care lasts until the child can be safely returned home or placed permanently with an adoptive family or some other planned arrangement. The Title IV-E Child Welfare Scholars Program provides stipends to students who are interested in pursuing careers in public child welfare. To be eligible for the program, a Bemidji State student must be:

• Interested in pursuing a career in public child welfare.
• Willing to expand their educations in the field of child welfare.
• Enrolled as a student at Bemidji State University
• Accepted into the Social Work BSW program
• In good academic standing (2.0 overall GPA, 2.5 Social Work GPA, C or higher in SOWK prefix courses)
• A U.S. citizen

Application Deadlines

• October
• Spring Deadline: March 6th 2023 8:30 P.M

Child Welfare Stipend Requirements

If awarded a Child Welfare Stipend, Baccalaureate in Social Work (BSW) students are required to:

• have an internship in a county, state or tribal child welfare unit;
• complete SOWK 3970 Child & Family Welfare;
• attend child welfare IV-E student meetings and training seminars;
• maintain good academic standing (as defined by social work department policy); and
• upon exit from the social work department seek and accept employment in public child welfare (if
  such a position is available and offered within three months of graduation) and maintain such
  employment for four and a half months for each semester of stipend received.)

If you are interested in learning more about the program click here to view brochure: Child Welfare Brochure.

To apply click on the following link and complete form: IV-E-Application-Form

Please review the CW Rubric and Interview Review form 2022 in order to see the criteria.

See the story about Katie Northbird, a Child Welfare Scholarship recipient.