Community Resource Adoptive and Foster Family Training (CRAFFT)
The Community Resource Adoptive and Foster Family Training initiative is a statewide
program whose primary focus is training and supporting resource, foster, kinship,
and adoptive families throughout Virginia. The state is divided into six service areas
and each area has a designated CRAFFT coordinator who works at a state University
within/bordering the service area. The two coordinators, serving the Western and Piedmont
areas of Virginia, work at our School of Social Work with the ICF. The goals of the
CRAFFT program are directly related to state program improvement goals that focus
on better outcomes for children in our foster care system.
The Title IV-E Child Welfare Stipend Program (CWSP) is a partnership between the Virginia
Department of Social Services (VDSS) and four public universities in Virginia, George
Mason, Norfolk State, Radford, and Virginia Commonwealth Universities, offering accredited
Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) and Master of Social Work (MSW) programs. The CWSP is
supported by federal funding through title IV-E of the Social Security Act plus a
state match provided by VDSS. The CWSP is based on a framework that incorporates state
and national standards for child welfare practice. CWSP students receive financial
support, opportunities to complete VDSS training, specialized coursework and topical
seminars, and gain local department of social services (LDSS) field experience in
return for a legally binding commitment to work in foster care, adoption or in-home
services in a LDSS in Virginia following graduation.
Child Welfare Employee Education Assistance Program (CWEEAP)
The Virginia Department of Social Services (VDSS) offers a Child Welfare Employee
Education Assistance Program (CWEEAP), in order to provide funding and specialized
child welfare training to full-time local department of social services (LDSS) staff
who are enrolled in a part-time MSW program and committed to working in public child
welfare in foster care/adoption following graduation.