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Orange County honors social workers, announces $20,000 MSW stipend at Cal State Fullerton
Summary
The Orange County Board of Supervisors recognized Social Work Month, presented resolutions to county and university social workers and outlined a new stipend program at Cal State Fullerton: $20,000 per MSW student in exchange for a two-year public-service commitment in Orange County health settings.
The Orange County Board of Supervisors opened its March 11 meeting by recognizing Social Work Month and presenting honors to county social workers and academic partners.
Chair Chaffee introduced a short video and invited social workers from county agencies and Cal State Fullerton to the dais. The board highlighted the role social workers in child welfare, behavioral health and jail-based services play in protecting vulnerable residents.
Supervisor Vicente Sarmiento described a county partnership with CalOptima and Cal State Fullerton to create an Orange County Behavioral Health Master of Social Work stipend program. “We created the Orange County Behavioral Health Master's in Social Work stipend program at Cal State Fullerton, which offers $20,000 to masters social work students each year with the commitment of 2 years of full time paid service in a public health care setting in Orange County,” Sarmiento said.
The program is intended to reduce entry barriers and recruit social workers into high-need county roles; the board presented resolutions and thanked frontline staff who work with law enforcement, schools and clinical programs. County officials said the stipend requires recipients to commit to two years of full-time service in a public-health setting in Orange County; the precise funding and administrative details were described as part of the stipend announcement and will be implemented through participating agencies and Cal State Fullerton.
The board noted rising caseloads and higher demand for in-home support and CalWORKs services across districts, framing the stipend as one element of workforce development for health and human services.
