LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Simmons College of Kentucky is partnering with the University of Kentucky to give students a direct pathway into careers in child welfare services through a groundbreaking program called CW Prep.
The program, which provides training for students to work with children in the foster care system, covers tuition, offers a $1,300 stipend per semester, includes a paid internship and guarantees a full-time job after graduation.
"We want our students to leave Simmons College of Kentucky with careers," said Dr. Nancy Seay, a professor at Simmons.
This partnership is particularly significant because Simmons is the first school without a dedicated social work program to participate in the initiative. Sociology and psychology students at the historically Black college will now have the opportunity to prepare for roles in children’s services, filling a critical need in Kentucky.
The Department for Community-Based Services is grappling with staffing shortages. Reports say nearly half the sate's entry-level social workers quit.
Starting pay for social workers in the commonwealth jumped from $34,000 to more than $50,000 a year, but there's still a struggle to hire.
The oversaturation of the foster care system has left it stretched thin and children in desperate need of care — some even forced to sleep in government buildings.
This program will also address representation in the child welfare system.
"If we have more people in the foster care system who look like the children involved, we believe that will really make a difference," Seay said.
Antonio Thomas, who runs Kulima Care, a foster care and adoption agency that focuses on Black children, echoed the importance of representation in child welfare.
"A worker that looks like them, and a home as well that reflects their culture, could really help with that identity piece," Thomas said.
The CW Prep program not only supports students at Kentucky's only historically Black college but also aims to improve the foster care system by giving children the chance to see themselves reflected in their social workers.
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