Lucy Fuentes and Rose Chahla to Lead California Title IV-E Education Program at UC Davis Human Services
Fuentes, Northern Site Director, and Chahla, Senior Project Officer, bring wealth of Title IV-E and Human Services experience to new and growing team
Human Services at UC Davis Continuing and Professional Education is pleased to announce Lucy Fuentes and Rose Chahla have accepted positions with its new, fifth program: The California Title IV-E Education Program, which was previously administered by the California Social Work Education Center (CalSWEC). Fuentes will lead the development of this new and growing team as the Title IV-E Northern site director, and Chahla will support the team as a senior project officer.
As of July 1, the California Department of Social Services (CDSS) has transitioned the administration of the California Title IV-E public child welfare education program between Human Services at UC Davis Continuing and Professional Education and the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) - Luskin School of Public Affairs. More information about this transition is available in our previous announcement article.
“I am thrilled to have Lucy Fuentes and Rose Chahla join Human Services’ new California Title IV-E Education team," said Alison Book, executive director of UC Davis Human Services. "They are both brilliant leaders who bring a wealth of experience, an ongoing passion for this impactful program, and a deep commitment to social work students and the families those students will serve in their child welfare careers. Their leadership will ensure this program flourishes in its new home at UC Davis and has an even greater impact in California communities.”
In her role as the Northern site director, Lucy Fuentes, M.S.W., Ed.D., will manage and develop the Northern regional site of the California Title IV-E Education Program, including building the program team and creating highly collaborative relationships with partners across the region and the state. She will co-create programs that serve the needs of partners and work in close collaboration with the Southern regional site director and staff at UCLA to ensure continuity and coordination across the two program locations. She will also oversee development and delivery of enhanced curriculum for participating social work schools, departments and students, working in close partnership with UCLA and participating schools to develop relevant content.
“We have a profound opportunity to make a lasting impact on the field of social work through the Title IV-E Program,” said Fuentes. “I am excited to lead a dedicated team through this transition, while continuing to build, nurture and strengthen collaborations with our partners and stakeholders across the region and throughout the state.”
Fuentes brings more than a decade of experience in child welfare services and higher education to her new role, including more than five years as the Title IV-E project coordinator at San Francisco State University (SFSU). Within social work, she has worked in international adoption, research, and child welfare services (as both a social worker and supervisor). Within higher education, she has worked in both private and public universities, taking lead roles within recruitment, admissions, retention, student support, curriculum development, grant support and training.
“As a former Title IV-E student,” she said, “I am deeply committed to ensuring that both our students and the families they serve remain at the forefront of my passion for this work.”
Rose Chahla, M.A, worked for the last 8 years with the Title IV-E program at CalSWEC as their assistant director. In her new role as a senior project officer with UC Davis Human Services, she will take the lead on a variety of projects that she shared are close to her heart, including the Title IV-E Summit, Job Fair, and alumni support programming.
"The Title IV-E Summit and Title IV-E Job Fair come with a powerful history of Title IV-E student leadership, collaboration and mentorship,” she said. “Our new home at UC Davis is an exciting opportunity for us to build on this history and grow in step with the needs of the current child welfare workforce.”
Chahla brings a wealth of knowledge and more than 12 years of experience designing programs and business systems for complex university and nonprofit organizations. A recent recipient of the UC Berkeley 2024 Chancellor’s Outstanding Staff Award, her contributions to vital topics such as burnout, compassion fatigue, career development, and diversity, equity, inclusion and justice have been cited in social work and career journals nationwide.
“The prospects for partnership and mutual learning are boundless,” she said, “and I can't wait to see what our future holds!"
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