However, due to the special field education requirements of the program, this will not reduce its two-year duration. Program participants are selected from two pools of applicants. One group includes current employees of the Bureau of Milwaukee Child Welfare, including both state workers and those employed by vendors responsible for each of the Bureau's five sites. A second group includes all other MSW applicants who are not currently part of the Bureau but who are interested in working in child welfare. New students from each of these two groups will be admitted in Fall 2001, contingent on approval of funding.
All participants receive full tuition for all courses required by the program.
All participants receive an allotment each semester designed to cover most or all costs of required textbooks. Participants on educational leave from the Bureau receive from 75 to 100 percent of their regular salary during the two-year duration of the program. They also continue to receive fringe benefits such as retirement contributions and health insurance. Participants who are not Bureau employees receive monthly stipends for living expenses throughout the two-year duration of the program. Upon admission, students must sign a contract agreeing to work full-time for two years with the Bureau or one of its lead agencies immediately following graduation.