The New Social Worker Vol. 20, No. 1, Winter 2013 | Page 17

ford the monthly payments. In one case,
a social worker in New York was unable
to pay her credit card bills and was
taken to court by collection agencies.
In another instance, a social worker
reported feeling as if she was inside a
“financial storm” with $30,000 in credit
card debt to repay.

Debt relief and financial aid
resources

On the positive side, many resources are available to assist social
work students and practitioners in
paying for college and reducing debt.
Resources and education on improving personal finance from government
Web sites, community college courses,
university extension classes, and adult
school may help social workers to
learn how to manage educational and
credit card debt. Many federal and state
programs to reduce student debt may
be available to social work students and
practitioners. Social work students may
be eligible for student loan forgiveness
programs once they become employed
and meet the criteria of a debt-relief
program. The National Health Service Corps Loan Repayment Program
(NHSC LRP), Higher Education
Reauthorization and Opportunity Act of
2008 (HEA), and the National Institute
of Health (NIH) Loan Forgiveness for
Researchers (LRP) are a few programs
that have provided such help.

A few states offer stipends to social
work students who choose to pursue
a specific concentration (such as child
welfare or mental health). The Title IV-E
program provides social work students
admitted to Council on Social Work
Education (CSWE) accredited schools of
social work a stipend to focus their studies and career on public child welfare.
The state of New Jersey offers the Social
Services Student Loan Redemption
Program, which provides social work
students loan redemption if they work in
direct service for specific social service
agencies. Until recently, Florida provided the Florida Child Welfare Student
Loan Forgiveness Program. Check with
your own state for the most up-to-date
information about these and similar
programs.

Financial aid in the form of scholarships, grants, and work-study is also
available to social work students. The
John A. Hartford Foundation and the
Gerontological Society of America

(GSA) offer social work students interested in pursuing a career in gerontology
various scholarships and fellowships.
The National Association of Black Social
Workers provides several tuition and
book scholarships ranging from $250 to
$2,000.

The Council on Social Work Education (CSWE) offers the Carl A. Scott
Book Scholarship of $500 to social work
students from ethnic minority backgrounds. The National Association of
Social Workers (NASW) offers various fellowships and scholarships each
academic year. For example, the Verne
LaMarr Lyons Scholarship is available
to a master’s level social work student
committed to a career working in the
African American community. The
Consuelo W. Gosnell Memorial Scholarship is available to a master’s level social
work student committed to working with
Hispanic and American Indian populations or the nonprofit and government
sectors. A $500 scholarship award for
an essay on commitment to social work
service and advocacy is available to a
junior, senior, or master’s level social
work student with a 3.25 GPA or higher
each year.

General financial aid is available
and is based on financial need. The U.S.
Department of Education provides information on federal student aid programs,
grants, and loans, as well as other helpful
information about college applications
and loan repayment options.

A helpful resource for searching for
scholarships is Fastweb, a free personalized scholarship search engine that
matches users’ profile specifications
with appropriate scholarship and grant
awards. Work-study is another financial
aid resource available to students who
demonstrate financial need by completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Through the workstudy program, a student’s wages are
paid in part by the federal government
and in part by the student’s employer.

Conclusion

It is clear that social work students
and practitioners are at risk for carrying
large amounts of educational and credit
card debt. To make sound financial decisions before, during, and after college,
social work students and practitioners
need to explore all of their financial
options while fully understanding the
consequences of carrying high amounts

of debt. By taking advantage of financial
assistance and education, social work
students and practitioners can learn to
successfully manage and even avoid debt
altogether.

A healthy financial life ultimately
allows social workers, like Mark and
Stacey, to build a healthy, happy family.

References

Blank, B.T. (2010, Fall). Loan forgiveness eases
debt burden for new social workers. The New
Social Worker. Retrieved from http://www.socialworker.com/home/Feature_Articles/General/
Loan_Forgiveness_Eases_Debt_Burden_for_
New_Social_Workers/.
National Association of Social Workers. (2004).
Selected loan debt of social work students by state.
Retrieved from http://www.socialworkers.org/
advocacy/updates/2004/042204.asp.
Pew Charitable Trusts (2006). Student debt means
many new graduates can’t afford to be teachers or
social workers. Retrieved from
http://www.pewtrusts.org/news_room_
ektid23788.aspx.
Whitaker, T. (2008). In the red: Social workers and
educational debt. NASW membership workforce study.
Washington, DC: National Association of Social
Workers.

Additional Reading

American Student Assistance. (2011). Student loan
debt statistics. Retrieved from http://www.asa.org/
policy/resources/stats/default.aspx.
Reed, M., Asher, L., Abernathy, P., Cheng,
D., Cochrane, D.F., & Szabo-Kubitz, L. (2011).
Student debt and the class of 2010. Retrieved from
http://projectonstudentdebt.org/files/pub/classof2010.pdf.
Rowley, L. (2011). 3 tips for cleaning up your
finances afte "7&VF?B6&BFV'B7F?&??F???f???6R?&WG&?WfVBg&???GG???wwr?F??f???6R??6???#??r?2?F?2?f?"?6?V???r?W??W&f???6W2?gFW"??7&VF?B?6&B?FV'B?7B???6??fW"?w&VV?&W&r????#??&?????FV'B'W???p?gVV?2??F?W"&??????w7V?G2?F?Rv??7G&VW@???W&???&WG&?WfVBg&???GG???????R?w6??6????'F?6?R?4#C#CS#s#3CSsCSsSSc## ???s?C??F???6??????F???5r?w&GVFVBg&??T4???#r?6?Rv?&?VB??6?WF???0??vV?W22FWfV???V?B76?6?FRf?"F?P?vGG2?&?"6???V??G?7F???6???GFVP??t?42?f?"6WfW&??V'2?7W'&V?F??6?P??2'B?b???FW'7FFR6???&?&F?fRW?????rV6????2V??vW&?V?B?B6?6??v?&???6?R?2??FW&W7FVB??FV'B?FW&7??f???6???6&??G???BV6????2FWfV???V?B?76WF'V??F??r?f?"??r??6??R?V?F???2?6?6???v?&?&7F?F???W'2??B6?6??v?&?7GVFV?G2?F?R?Wr6?6??v?&?W ??v??FW"#0??P???