Pennsylvania's Child Welfare Education and Research Programs

Pennsylvania's Child Welfare Education and Research Programs PA's Child Welfare Education for Baccalaureates (CWEB) Program is offered
to undergraduates at 22 schools throughout Pennsylvania.

The Child Welfare Education for Leadership Program (CWEL) is offered to child welfare workers at 14 schools throughout PA. Child welfare is one of the oldest fields of social work practice. Preparing
professionals to serve society’s most vulnerable children and their families is an
integral part of the human services field. In 1995, with strong local, state, and
federal support, the Child Welfa

re Education for Leadership (CWEL) program was
created to provide graduate-level social work education to public child welfare
employees. An undergraduate component, Child Welfare Education for
Baccalaureates (CWEB) Program, was added in 2001 to prepare students for
careers in public child welfare practice as well as to address workforce recruitment.

Help us welcome 47 new CWEB students and 53 new CWEL students into the new academic year!
08/25/2026

Help us welcome 47 new CWEB students and 53 new CWEL students into the new academic year!

One of our Spring CWEB Grads, Xavier Littlejohn, just won a prize for successfully completing postsecondary education. ...
08/04/2026

One of our Spring CWEB Grads, Xavier Littlejohn, just won a prize for successfully completing postsecondary education. Read more about Xavier's journey here!

Xavier Littlejohn, 22, spent some of his early years in the child welfare system. He got connected with the Homeless Children’s Education Fund in 2022, during his senior year at Obama Academy in the Pittsburgh Public Schools.
Littlejohn had the grades, but college seemed unattainable: A study by The Field Center for Children’s Policy, Practice and Research found that more than 80% of 17- and 18-year-olds in the Pennsylvania foster system say they want to attend college but only about 3% do.
This year, Littlejohn obtained his bachelor’s degree in social work from the University of Pittsburgh.
On Thursday, Littlejohn was awarded the Joseph Lagana Perseverance Award, a $500 prize for successfully graduating from a postsecondary education or career training program. Lagana, a longtime educator in the region, founded the Homeless Children’s Education Fund in 1999. Read more in the Tribune Review: https://ow.ly/8rQG50ZvN3j

We have some changes! Our Principal Investigator, Dr. Helen Cahalane, will be retiring as of December 2026. Dr. Cahala...
07/30/2026

We have some changes! Our Principal Investigator, Dr. Helen Cahalane, will be retiring as of December 2026. Dr. Cahalane has led our CWEB, CWEL, and CWRC programs for the last 20 years and has grown and strengthened our programs through her tenure. Dr. Cahalane has been a steadfast supporter and advocate for Pennsylvania's child welfare workforce and the children and families of the Commonwealth.

We are being left in good hands as Dr. Amy Herschell comes on board as our new Principal Investigator starting August 1! Dr. Herschell brings a wealth of experience to our programs that include managing large scale programs, obtaining federal and state funding, and has worked with evidence-based treatments and systems of care for families, children and communities.

Help us honor Dr. Cahalane as she enters retirement and welcome Dr. Herschell to our team.

Did you know that we are celebrating some big milestones? We created an anniversary booklet that is available online sh...
06/23/2026

Did you know that we are celebrating some big milestones? We created an anniversary booklet that is available online showcasing the great work of our CWEB/CWEL students and graduates and the wonderful work of our Child Welfare Resource Center. Scan the QR code for more information.

https://simplebooklet.com/cwebcwelanniversary20251

Help us celebrate family reunification month. Share with us one of your stories about reuniting a family!
06/09/2026

Help us celebrate family reunification month. Share with us one of your stories about reuniting a family!

This Spring we had 38 CWEB students graduate and 28 CWEL students graduate. Congratulations to all of our Spring 2026 g...
06/02/2026

This Spring we had 38 CWEB students graduate and 28 CWEL students graduate. Congratulations to all of our Spring 2026 graduates!

Governor Shapiro has decreed that June 1-5, 2026 will be Child Welfare Professionals Appreciation Week. How will you be...
05/29/2026

Governor Shapiro has decreed that June 1-5, 2026 will be Child Welfare Professionals Appreciation Week. How will you be celebrating?

Three of our University of Pittsburgh CWEB Spring graduates are presenting a poster on the experience of including Black...
05/20/2026

Three of our University of Pittsburgh CWEB Spring graduates are presenting a poster on the experience of including Black voices in child welfare work. If you are attending the in Denver stop by!

Our team is representing our Title IV-E programs this week in Denver at the . If you're here, stop by and say hello!
05/19/2026

Our team is representing our Title IV-E programs this week in Denver at the . If you're here, stop by and say hello!

Did you know that it is estimated a child in foster care experience at least 5 school changes and lose 4-6 months of aca...
05/12/2026

Did you know that it is estimated a child in foster care experience at least 5 school changes and lose 4-6 months of academic trajectory with each school change? As we continue National Foster Care month, we celebrate Amie McKeel, who received the 2023 Paving the Way to Education Success Advocate Award for providing educational stability of foster care youth in Westmoreland County. Help us congratulate Amie on this award.

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