A West Virginia University social work professor has obtained a $500,000 grant to improve the lives of children in West Virginia.

Karen Harper-Dorton and the Division of Social Work in the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences are partnering with the U.S. Administration for Children and Families, the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR) and the West Virginia Social Work Consortium on a Public Social Services Education and Training Project for Child Welfare Professionals in West Virginia.

The grant will support tuition and stipend funding for both undergraduate and graduate social work students, provide curriculum development and professional training for DHHR social workers, and provide foster family training for those who are caring for children in Region I, which includes the 16 counties of northwestern West Virginia.

Dr. Harper-Dorton, principal investigator on the award, said the grant will help prepare social workers working to protect children from harm, to work with biological parents and to develop homes for foster care and adoption.

This project is essential to the care and well-being of West Virginia’s children. Partnering with DHHR is a great experience, as together we are decreasing the employee turnover rate while increasing the quality of child welfare services in West Virginia,she said.

Harper-Dorton has had more than $4.6 million of external grants funded in support of child welfare training, research and demonstration projects. She teaches courses in child welfare and continues to research in the area of children and families. A second edition of her book,Cross-Cultural Practice, Social Work with Diverse Populations,will be published in 2006.

For more information, contact Harper-Dorton at 304-293-3501, ext. 3130, or at Karen.Harper-Dorton@mail.wvu.edu