Stipend

*This contract enables qualified baccalaureate level students to build and enhance professional skills in foster care management, resource identifications, juvenile court proceedings, and case management.

*IV-E stipend recipients receive individualized,  specialized training in child welfare, which includes placement in a supervised field practicum setting in several DCFS Area X counties (Ashley, Chicot, Desha, & Drew).

*In exchange for a funded internship, the IV-E  stipend recipient is required upon graduation to fulfill a one-year employment contract with the Arkansas Department of Human Services-Division of Children and Family Services. (NOTE:  A IV-E recipient who fails to complete this obligation is required by law to repay the State of  Arkansas)

Stipend recipients after graduation and intensive training, deal with children and their families, courts, police, medical institutions, and schools, all in the context of public child welfare and family policy.  These IV-E stipend recipients will be prepared to perform a myriad of tasks in very 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, protective services, and supportive services cases
• Planning and advocating for effective child welfare policies and programs

Is Child Welfare for You?

 The person that 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.

Bachelor Degrees offered by UAM that are recognized as hirable by the AR DHS/DCFS:

• Social Work
• Psychology
• Criminal Justice
• Education (Early Childhood, Elementary, Middle Level, Secondary & Special Education)

How to Apply

 Interested individuals must be classified as seniors, graduating the spring of the internship and must submit:

• Stipend Application Packet attaching a one to two page double-spaced essay describing the applicant’s interest in  and commitment to public child welfare work
• An official transcript
• Social Work Field Practicum Application (Students in other disciplines recognized as hirable by DCFS do not have to complete this but  must agree to complete DCFS Internships and work a minimum of 10 hours p/wk for spring semester.) 

These materials must be submitted by the posted deadline each year to the IV-E Coordinator.  The DCFS Area Manager and selected staff along with IV-E,  interview all applicants and forward the recommendations to the Social Work Field Coordinator who will supervise the DCFS placements.  Each stipend is $5,000.