SJSU’s Title IV-E Program Breaks Down Tuition Barriers for Aspiring Social Workers

Advanced Year Title IV-E two-year on-campus students pictured left to right:  Cindy Hernandez-Cuamba, Estela Rodriguez, Lindsey Smith, Alejandro Jacobo Sanabria, Oscar Caldera, Priscilla Quinonez, Mia Rios, Deisy Reyes Sanchez, Briana Mendoza Avalos, and Cassandra Fonseca Vivanco. Photo courtesy of the School of Social Work.

Over the past three decades, San José State’s Title IV-E Child Welfare program has led to the training and education of high-quality social workers across Santa Clara County and beyond. 

By participating in this unique and impactful program, graduate students in SJSU’s School of Social Work receive a comprehensive education in public child welfare — tuition-free. 

“It’s been such a long-lasting program and such a successful program,” says Peter Allen Lee, who is a professor and director of the School of Social Work at SJSU. 

The Title IV-E program is federally-funded and stems from the Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980, which grants states funding to pay for foster care, child welfare-related programs and workforce development.  

In the early ‘90s, due to the high turnover rate and workforce shortages across county-based child welfare offices, California started to put the funding toward establishing partnerships with universities that could help to educate and retain social workers in the public child welfare space.  

In 1990, the California Social Work Education Center (CalSWEC) was established by the California School of Social Work and the County Welfare Directors Association. Through CalSWEC, the Title IV-E Child Welfare program began in universities and colleges throughout California.

Amy Lebichuck,’16 MSW, works as SJSU’s Title IV-E project coordinator and was a graduate student of the program herself from 2014-2016. 

“Some schools offer a bachelor degree in social work in exchange for students working in child welfare for one year, or they do what we do here at SJSU – we offer a masters level degree in exchange for working in child welfare for two years after they graduate,” says Lebichuck.  

At present, there are 20 public universities in California that are participating in the Title IV-E program. 

For the 2025-26 fiscal year, the SJSU Title IV-E budget is approximately $2 million with 48 students participating in the program. Of this total budget, $1,100,397 goes directly to student support. 

“Because child welfare has among the most vulnerable and needy families and children, an incentive and way to support students who want to go into this difficult speciality is important,” says Lee. 

In Santa Clara County and other regions across the country, there are reports of chronic understaffing, high vacancy rates and burnout among child welfare social workers. 

Along with that, social workers are faced with making life-changing decisions, and are regularly engaging with families in crisis, and children who are experiencing abuse and neglect. It can be emotionally difficult, day-in and day-out. 

“This job is hard,” says Lebichuck. “In child welfare, you’re often meeting people on one of the worst days of their lives. It is essential to approach these moments with compassion and empathy, treating families as we would want to be treated.

Changing Lives 

At SJSU, there are a couple different options when it comes to getting a masters degree in social work through the Title IV-E program. 

One is to be a full-time on-campus student for a total of two years. Each year, full-time students who are part of the program receive $25,000. Another is for current Bay Area county social services employees to join the online/hybrid two-year master of social work (MSW) program or three-year evening-only MSW programs. These two programs provide up to $19,141 per year for tuition and other educational expenses, such as books, mileage and a computer. 

“With the Title IV-E program, we offer them a specialized curriculum to really help them get trained up,” says Lebichuck. 

Along with learning about child welfare, students gain knowledge of various skills and strategies that they can use while on the job. They also get to experience a simulation lab and have the opportunity to intern at a county child welfare agency. 

While Title IV-E students must work in child welfare for two years after graduation, the skills and knowledge they acquire prepare them to work and make an impact in a variety of settings. 

“Sometimes one might think that social workers are just the ones who are working with adoption, child protection or welfare,” says Lee. “But social workers are needed in all types of settings, like medical settings, law enforcement, government, nonprofits, businesses, athletics, the arts … In fact, social workers are the professionals who deliver the majority of therapy and mental health services.”

When Gabriel Negrete, ’15 Social Work, ’17 MSW, found out about the Title IV-E program as an undergraduate student at SJSU, he immediately knew it was something he wanted to be a part of. He began the Title IV-E program in 2015 and never looked back.  

“The program provided me with financial relief, a clear career path, and networking and mentorship,” says Negrete, who currently works as a supervisor for the Dually Involved Youth (DIY) unit with the Santa Clara Department of Family and Children’s Services. He supports young people who are simultaneously involved in both the child welfare system and the juvenile justice system.

Along with his job at the county, Negrete has been teaching social work courses at SJSU since spring 2024. During class lectures, he brings together theory and real-world social work experiences. He feels that doing so has given him a platform to promote social justice and inspire students to become agents of change.

“I’m not just teaching content, but I’m also helping prepare future social workers who will go out and change lives,” says Negrete.