Need Help?
Title IV Training Program
Sandra Orta, LMSW
Office: EINNV 1.125E
Phone: 956-665-3575
Phone Alt: 956-665-2439
Email: sandra.orta@utrgv.edu
Title IV E Child Welfare Training Program
The School of Social Work at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, in conjunction with the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services offers individualized, specialized training in child welfare through a funded contract via the Title IV-E of the Social Security Act. This contract enables qualified BSW or MSSW students to build and enhance professional skills in foster care management, adoption assistance and case management. Students also receive comprehensive field practicums in Texas.
Child welfare social work interns, after intensive training, deal with children and their families, courts, law enforcement, medical institutions and schools, all in the context of public child welfare and family policy.
These student interns perform a myriad of tasks in complex family situations, including:
- Assessing child well-being and safety
- Preparing and delivering court documents and testimony
- Providing case management services
- Referring clients to needed resources
- Developing and monitoring foster care and adoptive placements
- Training foster families and adoptive families
- Organizing communities to create healthier environments for children
- Planning and advocating for effective child welfare policies and programs
Is Child Welfare for You?
The social work intern who makes child welfare a career must be:
- Willing to study and learn a challenging body of knowledge about children, families, social systems, and public policy
- Sensitive to different cultures and ideas
- Committed to ethical practice
- Passionate about doing challenging work that will make a positive difference in the lives of children and families
Eligibility
To be eligible for the Title IV-E Program students must successfully complete:
- Admission to the Social Work Program
- Maintain: BSW (GPA 3.0) or MSSW (GPA 3.0)
- Meet DFPS eligibility criteria
- Meet Social Work Field Education Program criteria
- Have completed required Child Welfare courses (see Title IV E Program Director for more information)
We prefer that Title V-E scholars be bilingual in English and Spanish.
