I have worked in community mental health for the last 5 1/2 yrs, and worked closely with the child protective services agency in my state (at least 1/3 to 1/2 of my referrals for clients came from the state agency). There have been major budget cuts in my state which have led to a lot of staff layoffs and hiring freezes in the child welfare sector. (and i'm not in CA btw ) several of the social workers i've worked with have been slammed in caseload and with the current economy it seems abuse and neglect cases have increased.  if you plan on going to grad school your student loans debt may increase. some employers pay for employees to go back to school but not all. it also depends on what you're going to grad school for. some degrees are more marketable than others. definitely do a lot of research.

as for your 30k for undergrad...it depends on the type of loans you have. federal stafford loans through the government have different payment plans that change how much you pay a month and how much you've paid back at the end. maybe the financial aid office in your school can help you figure out approximate loan payments?