Partners
The CCWSC, formerly the Child Welfare Stipend Program, aims to grow and support a well-educated and prepared child welfare workforce through social work education and post-graduation professional development.
The ‘Scholars Consortium’ is designed for undergraduate and graduate social work students interested in pursuing a career in public child welfare in Colorado. In addition, the CCWSC contributes to the child welfare workforce through research, evaluation, and professional development opportunities for program graduates and our partners.
The CCWSC is housed at Metropolitan State University of Denver and is a partnership between the Colorado Department of Human Services (CDHS), Colorado county departments of human services and participating schools of social work throughout our state. Additional participating universities include:
- Colorado State University (CSU) Pueblo
- University of Denver, Graduate School of Social Work (GSSW)
- University of Colorado, Colorado Springs (UCCS)
The Scholars Consortium is an excellent way for undergraduate and graduate social work students to gain knowledge and experience to build a career in public child welfare in Colorado!
Through educational scholarships, the CCWSC supports eligible students throughout their educational journey, from admittance into the program to post-graduation job readiness and professional development. This highly competitive program promotes best practices in child welfare through social work education. Child welfare scholars complete a field placement (internship) in a Colorado county department of human/social services or Tribal human service agency. They also commit to working in a Colorado county department of human services or Tribal child welfare agency for at least one year for each year they receive a scholarship.
The CCWSC knows that learning doesn’t stop when Scholars graduate from their social work program. That's why the CCWSC is committed to ongoing training and professional development opportunities for our Scholars and the broader child welfare field in Colorado and beyond. Learn more about the Child Welfare Scholars Consortium!
Contact Information:
Lara Bruce, MSW, CCWSC Project Director
The CDHS Division of Child Welfare is a unit of the Office of Children, Youth, and Family Services. It manages services intended to protect children from harm and to assist families in caring for and protecting their children.
Members of the Child Welfare staff periodically provide or coordinate training for county agency staff to inform the workforce about new policies, initiatives, or best practices.
Contact Information:
Consortium for Children collaborates to design and implement strength-based family and community-focused services for both stakeholders and consumers of the child welfare system.
Contact Information:
Kate Cleary, Director
Illuminate Colorado prevents child maltreatment and builds strong families through collective education, family support, & advocacy. Illuminate Colorado is a united network of four established organizations - Colorado Alliance for Drug Endangered Children, Prevent Child Abuse Colorado, Sexual Abuse Forever Ending, and the Colorado Chapter of the National Organization on Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders – all partnering to build brighter childhoods for children across Colorado.
Contact Information:
Jade Woodard, Executive Director
The Kempe Center, a program of the Department of Pediatrics and School of Medicine at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center (UCHSC), is widely recognized for its multidisciplinary work with abused and neglected children and their families.
The Center’s mission is to provide and improve direct services, to improve clinical delivery services, and to provide training, education and consultation programs to prevent and treat child abuse and neglect. Kempe Center provides critically needed services to abused and neglected children through its established child protection team, therapeutic preschool, and perpetration prevention programs.
The Kempe Center has a strong history in child welfare training development and delivery. In addition to efforts by Kempe Center core faculty, uniquely qualified faculty members from the Department of Pediatrics and the School of Medicine have worked closely with the Colorado Department of Human Services (CDHS) through the efforts of the Kempe Center. These efforts have been directed systematically to develop, deliver and evaluate child welfare training that will translate new research and therapeutic practices into relevant child welfare knowledge.
Contact Information:
Learning & Development Pool
The Colorado Child Welfare Training System is committed to constructing and maintaining strong connections between Child Welfare training and Child Welfare practices. One of the ways the CWTS achieves this is through partnerships with Child Welfare and community subject matter experts to enrich the learning experiences offered to Child Welfare staff.
Currently, participation in the CWTS Learning and Development Pool is BY INVITATION ONLY and the Learning and Development Pool is full for this fiscal year.
The Learning and Development Pool is involved with the CWTS through the following ways:
- Facilitation—as subject matter experts who provide facilitation of CWTS courses
- Development— as subject matter experts who provide curriculum development services, which range from sharing expertise to developing full curriculum packages
- Simulation— providing acting services specifically designed to enhance and broaden learning that occurs during CWTS simulation courses
- Mentorship—providing structured support and the sharing of knowledge and experience with those in child welfare management positions