DCS banks on better-trained work force through free tuition
NASHVILLE (AP) — As part of an effort by the Department of Children’s Services to have the “best-trained public child work force in the nation,” the agency will soon begin paying for employees to receive advanced degrees in social work.
DCS Commissioner Viola Miller presented legislators Tuesday with the $16 million plan, which also will include free tuition for some undergraduates who major in social work during college.
“We want to have the best-trained public child work force in the nation,” Miller said after her presentation to the Legislature’s Fiscal Review Contracts Subcommittee. “How do you say Tennessee kids deserve any less?”
For employees who supervise child case managers— about 300 people— and those who aspire to that position, the state would pay for them to pursue their master’s degree in social work at one of 13 participating colleges and universities in Tennessee. Workers could take two classes “on the clock,” have their tuition paid and receive a stipend for any expenses, Miller said.
Currently, almost none of the department’s supervisors, which each oversee a maximum six case managers, have advanced degrees, officials said.
As for college students, those in their final two years of school would receive free tuition and have half the cost of room, board and books paid by the state in exchange for two years of work at DCS upon graduation, according to a preliminary draft of the plan.
Participating students— estimated at 40 during the program’s first full year— would be chosen by an interview team of “university people” based on grades, clinical experience, ACT scores and “engagement in the profession,” Miller said.
“I want to skim off the cream (of the crop of new graduates),” Miller said. “I want our program to be very competitive.”
While the department currently gives preference to applicants with bachelor’s degrees in social work, past new hires have had degrees ranging from history to music to photography— something Miller believes this program will change.
Miller said she hopes to have 10 to 12 students in the program this fall, with a full class of 40 enrolled in 2005. Eventually, the number of participants will be based on department’s employee needs, with no class expected to be larger than 100, she said.
DCS currently has problems retaining qualified workers because of low salaries, Miller said, but she believes that will change with the advent of the program combined with state worker pay increases expected in July. An entry level case manager now makes a little more than $21,000 a year, she said.
Miller also said the program will help satisfy a provision of a federal court settlement involving DCS, known as the Brian A. case, that requires additional training of employees.
About $2.4 million of the programs’ total cost would come from department funds already budgeted for employee training. The participating colleges would provide classroom space, professors and other necessary materials— which equates to approximately $2.1 million in services, Miller said.
The remaining funds would come from a federal government match. Twenty-seven other states already are already taking advantage of the money for similar programs, including Kentucky, where Miller served in a similar position until late last year.
The plan was well-received by legislators.
“I appreciate you being able to find something to provide the kind of training (necessary) for your group,” said Sen. Jim Bryson, R-Franklin. “To find good employees, you’ve got a real tough nut to crack. You’ve got to find people who want to be in the business because it doesn’t pay anything.”
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On the Net:
Department of Children’s Services: http://www.state.tn.us/youth/