UMD News

Director of Public Relations:
Susan Beasy Latto, slatto@d.umn.edu
315 Darland Administration Bldg.
1049 University Drive
Duluth, MN 55812
(218) 726-8830 Cell: (218) 348-5688
Fax: (218) 726-7413

October 20, 2005

Contact:
Susan Beasy Latto, Director of Public Relations 218 726-8830 slatto@d.umn.edu
Dennis Falk, Professor Department of Social Work and Director, Center for Regional and Tribal Child Welfare Studies 218-726-8862 dfalk@d.umn.edu

The UMD Center for Regional and Tribal Child Welfare Studies in the Department of Social Work has received a one-year $770,000 Title IV-E contract from the Minnesota Department of Human Services to educate Masters of Social Work (MSW) students to work in the field of public child welfare.

The mission of the Center and the purpose of the grant are to promote the development of culturally competent advanced generalist social workers, practitioners, and leaders to serve at-risk children and their families through county and tribal agencies, focusing on Northern Minnesota.

The contract will enable the Department to offer up to $10,000 in annual stipends to selected Child Welfare Scholars in the MSW Program. These 27 Scholars will then take a specified curriculum and field experience in preparation for working in public child welfare settings. Students on the Duluth campus, and in the distance MSW program, which meets in Bemidji and Hibbing, are supported through the Child Welfare Scholars Program.

In addition to the Title IV-E funding, the Child Welfare Center is funded by a federal Children?s Bureau grant that provides $100,000 annually to enhance child welfare curriculum and field experiences. The Center coordinates program activities with the Department of Social Work's American Indian Projects (AIP), which has a separate Children?s Bureau grant and funding from the Bremer Foundation to develop curriculum and work directly with communities to meet the needs of American Indians.

Dennis Falk, Center Director, is Principal Investigator for the Title IV-E contract. Center Coordinators include Johanna Garrison (Curriculum Development), Becki Hornung (Student Support), Kathy Heltzer (Distance Education and Field), and Anne Tellett (Cultural Competence). John Day, Acting Director of AIP, and Jeanne Nelson, AIP Program and Retention Coordinator, also participate as coordinators in the Center.