For 25 years, the Child Welfare Education Collaboration (CWEC) has offered students at the Steve Hicks School of Social Work an invaluable opportunity to put their studies into real world practice.
Through a partnership with Child Protective Services (CPS), students enrolled in BSW or MSSW programs receive targeted training, priority assignments for field experience, and financial support as they complete their studies. After graduation, CWEC students benefit from pre-arranged paid employment in CPS.
We sat down with three CWEC graduates to hear more about their experience and how the program has shaped their careers.
What is your current role, and what year did you participate in the Child Welfare Education Collaboration?
Chris Craft, LMSW: I participated in CWEC in 2014, and I currently serve as a Conservatorship Specialist V with the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. Over the summer, I was also appointed to Travis County’s Children’s Protective Services Board.
Amanda Garcia, LCSW: I’m the Manager of Counseling Services for Compass Rose Charter Schools. I participated in CWEC from 2014–15.
Alondra Rodriguez, LBSW: I’m CWEC Class of ‘17 and currently work as a case manager, level II, in the Home Study and Post Release Services program.
What inspired you to participate in the Child Welfare Education Collaboration?
Chris: It was the opportunity to be placed into a direct practice position immediately upon graduation with the population that I’d long been interested in serving. We heard from prior students at an information session about just how much experience can be quickly gained in a child welfare position for someone entering the workforce in their first professional role. The opportunity to interact with and understand so many different systems—education, justice, mental health, intellectual differences, substance misuse—you learn a lot very quickly. The stipend that is offered to CWEC scholars also served as a draw to the program since committing to several months of unpaid work while in the field wasn’t a realistic path forward for me.
Amanda: I knew I wanted to work in child welfare, so this program seemed like a great way to prepare myself. I liked that I didn’t have to go through the stress of the internship placement process. I had the added support of the CWEC staff, which was very helpful throughout the program. The stipend was greatly appreciated and I knew I had a job waiting for me when I finished school.
Alondra: I was genuinely drawn to the idea of securing a job immediately after college. However, I also aspired to become a police officer in the long term. Considering this, I believed that joining CWEC would be a beneficial opportunity to gain early experience in the field of investigations.
How have you benefited from your participation in CWEC?
Chris: The key to my ability to remain in this field has been the strong start I was offered alongside my cohort in CWEC. There is a steep learning curve entering the profession generally and in child welfare particularly. The guidance and lived experience that Jennifer [Conrad-Graham, director of CWEC] shared with each of us really made the difference when I was confronted with the reality of just how daunting this work can be. The community of former CWECers is a strong one within the agency and many of those that have remained in this work over longer periods were CWEC scholars.
Amanda: I think it helped me understand firsthand how poverty and trauma impacts families. I knew that people were impacted but I didn’t really understand all the barriers and systematic issues that stopped people from being able to get help. Once I better understood those issues I had much more empathy, and I was better able to serve families. It also helped me understand that we really can help improve the lives of those we’re in contact with. I also met and worked with judges, attorneys, law enforcement and other professionals who have helped me navigate the legal system and many jobs later are still help and support for me.
Alondra: CWEC gave me a foothold in a highly competitive field. My experience helped me stand out among other applicants and allowed me to make connections that have significantly advanced my career.
How did your experience as a Child Welfare Scholar prepare you for future career pursuits?
Amanda: The Child Welfare Scholar program exactly prepares you for your job in child welfare. It gives you the opportunity to learn how to keep yourself organized and keeps you flexible. The needs of the job and your clients are constantly changing and you have to change with it. It can be a very intense and stressful job at times and you have to learn to create boundaries and practice self care. My first child welfare job really led me to every job I held afterwards, I became a forensic interviewer and I worked for Bexar County Children’s Court. I would never have been able to hold those jobs without my first experience with CWEC.
Alondra: CWEC helped me realize that becoming a police officer wasn’t my true calling; instead, I discovered my passion for helping children and their families. It provided me with the opportunity to work with a multidisciplinary team, which allowed me to find my niche. Since then, I have worked as a forensic interviewer at a local Child Advocacy Center, and now I serve as a case manager for unaccompanied minors.
What advice would you give to CWEC students interested in working in child welfare?
Chris: It is important to understand heading into this career that DFPS is not a social work agency. Indeed, there are only a handful of social workers engaged in child welfare work in the Austin community. You will be required to take actions in the name of the system which conflict with not only the values of our profession, but oftentimes with your own sense of what is just and right. Far too often, success in this work is defined as holding the line and preventing further harm to those we serve. You may well be the only voice in a room of colleagues that will call out the harms visited upon folks by the system. It is a heavy responsibility to carry, but one that a social worker is well positioned to hold. It’s also true that trained social workers offer tremendous value to those experiencing child welfare—the care and expertise we bring in our work alongside and on behalf of clients can lead to truly incredible successes. I’ve found that even in those circumstances when we are unable to solve a given challenge, the way in which a person experiences that difficult circumstance may be positively influenced through inclusion in the process and through the care and attention offered by a social worker along the way.
Amanda: It’s really important to take care of yourself. It’s OK to ask for help when you don’t know how to do something or can’t do something on your own. In child welfare we may not get thanked in traditional ways from our clients. They may draw us pictures or say little things to us, that let us know we’re making a difference. Write those things down, or take pictures of them to help you remember them on the days when you feel like everything is going wrong. Child welfare work is difficult, do it while you love it. If you stop loving it, try something else and come back to it when you’re ready. My #1 piece of advice is always be honest with your clients even when it’s really hard. We ask them to honestly talk about every aspect of their lives to multiple people all the time. The least we can do is be honest with them. We may be the only person in their life who ever is.
Alondra: CWEC was not what I initially expected, and it may not be what you anticipate when you start. However, my advice is to keep an open mind. Until you actually do the job, you won’t fully understand it. Ultimately, you may end up loving it. And even if you don’t, you will walk away with a wealth of knowledge and experience, as well as the satisfaction of knowing you didn’t leave without answering the question, “What if I had tried that?”
Want to learn more about participating in the Child Welfare Education Collaboration? Check out our informational pages for students and current CPS employees.