September 24, 2009

Briar Cliff University to Honor Siouxland Indian Child Welfare Trainees

SIOUX CITY, Iowa – Briar Cliff University will recognize six Native American social work students who are participating in the Siouxland Indian Child Welfare Traineeship Project (SICWTP), which began this fall at Briar Cliff. The recognition ceremony will take place at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 25, in the Clare Room of the Stark Student Center on campus.

Speaking at the event will be Beverly A. Wharton, president of Briar Cliff University; Frank LaMere, Native leader and member of the SICWTP Committee; and Iowa State Senator Steve Warnstadt.

SICWTP students who will be recognized are: Chiara Cournoyer, Yankton Sioux Tribe; Chris Denny, Santee Sioux Tribe; Lisa Drum, Omaha Tribe; Jacob Harlan, Omaha Tribe; Mary Painter, Winnebago Tribe; and Gwen Porter, Omaha Tribe.

“These students were chosen for the program because of their dedication to social work studies with emphases on child welfare,” said Heather Craig-Oldsen, associate professor and chairperson of Briar Cliff's social work department.

 “We are thrilled to be one of only nine universities in the U.S. selected to prepare social workers for careers in child welfare,” said Sister Shirley Fineran, OSF. “Briar Cliff is the only university in this elite group which focuses entirely on developing social workers for Native American child welfare.”

SICWTP is funded by a grant from the U.S. Children’s Bureau Child Welfare Workforce Institute. For more information about SICWTP and Briar Cliff’s social work department, contact Heather Craig-Oldsen at 712-279-5489 or heather.craig-oldsen@briarcliff.edu.

Briar Cliff University is a Catholic institution with an enrollment of more than 1,100 students from 28 states. Students are educated in the Franciscan tradition of excellence in the liberal arts and career preparation in an environment of care and compassion. For more information, please visit briarcliff.edu.

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