LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — The University of Nebraska-Lincoln will continue to train state child welfare workers under a renewed agreement with a state agency.

The university announced Monday that it has won a $12 million award from the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services to prepare newly hired child welfare workers.

The university’s Center on Children, Families and the Law has partnered with the state since 1987. The new award extends the program for three years, with the possibility of an additional two years.

Eve Brank, the center’s director, says child welfare workers serve a critical role of caring for many of the state’s most vulnerable children. Child and family services specialists serve as caseworkers for children and families that need intervention because of abuse and neglect.