Credential, Certificate, Training, and Stipend Opportunities

Pupil Personnel Services Credential in School Social Work and Child Welfare and Attendance

The PPS Credential in School Social Work and Child Welfare and Attendance equips graduates for employment in social work services within P-12 school settings. This credential can be incorporated as part of the MSW degree program and clinical practice specialization, and is also available to post-MSW graduates. Learn how to support children, parents, and school personnel while shaping a responsive environment to help children succeed academically and thrive emotionally. Explore the PPS Credential program.

Human Services Management Certificate

Through a partnership with The Network for Social Work Management (NSWM), APU Master of Social Work students taking the Community Leadership and Program Administration specialization can also earn a Human Services Management Certificate, under the advisement of a faculty member. The MSW program, including its management content, prepares students for fulfilling administrative and leadership roles, and the Human Services Management Certificate helps them develop their leadership skills and launch their careers in management. The competencies outlined by the NSWM speak to areas of great importance to the social work profession, and to successful leadership and management within health and human services.

Certificate coursework comprises five courses, four of which are part of the specialization curriculum, so students need to complete only one additional elective course (SOCW 543 Fundraising, Grant Writing, and Fiscal Decision Making) to be eligible for the certificate. Eligible students pay a $50 fee for the certificate, which will be issued at the MSW graduation banquet held a few days prior to commencement.

For more information on the certificate, contact Emily Kemp, director of admissions and student services, at mswadmissions@apu.edu or (626) 857-2400.

Geriatric Social Work Education Consortium (GSWEC)

Azusa Pacific University is a member of the Southern California Geriatric Social Work Education Consortium (GSWEC), which brings together the social work departments of eight universities in the greater Los Angeles area and 12 Centers of Excellence, which are agencies that focus on specialized training, advocacy, and service delivery for older adults. GSWEC provides a directed social work field education experience for students who want to develop skills in working with older adults and their families.

Students who apply for GSWEC are eligible to interview for placements at one of the Centers of Excellence, which offer opportunities in hospital settings, outpatient care management, veterans’ facilities, behavioral health, substance abuse, dementia patients and caregivers, and more. With a focus on leadership skills, the students attend a series of seminars and trainings arranged by GSWEC member agencies. Specialization-year students, in either the clinical specialization or community specialization, are eligible to apply for this program, which offers a stipend with no work/payback requirement. The recruitment process begins in January of the student’s foundation year.

For more information on GSWEC, contact Jean Un at jun@apu.edu or (626)815-6000, Ext. 2767.

LADCFS + UCLA Academy of Workforce Excellence Child Welfare Stipend Program

LADCFS + UCLA Academy of Workforce Excellence, Child Welfare Stipend Program is offered under the Title IV-E provision of the Social Security Act, with the goal of strengthening professional social work practice in public child welfare agencies. This stipend opportunity is offered through a federally funded program in partnership with the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) and six other partnering Los Angeles-area MSW programs. This stipend provides financial support to MSW students interested in child welfare in exchange for a commitment to work with Los Angeles County DCFS.

The Child Welfare Stipend Program provides a stipend in the amount of $18,500 for MSW students in the Clinical Practice with Individuals and Families specialization. Students are eligible to apply the fall semester prior to their final year of the program. The stipend is awarded in the specialization year. Six stipends are awarded annually.

• Meet an L.A. DCFS Stipend Program graduate

To learn more about program eligibility, application, program requirements, and field placement, visit the Child Welfare Stipend Program page of the Social Work Field Education website.

Current APU MSW students who are interested in exploring a career in public child welfare are encouraged to apply. The application link is posted on the field education website’s Child Welfare Stipend Program page in the fall semester.

Final stipend awards are contingent upon final funding of the LADCFS + UCLA Academy of Workforce Excellence sub-award grant.

Want to Learn More?

Direct questions to Virginia Olivas, MSW, L.A. DCFS Stipend Program coordinator, APU Department of Social Work, at [email protected].