Child Advocacy Studies Undergraduate Certificate

The undergraduate Certificate Program in Child Advocacy Studies (CAST) is an interdisciplinary program requiring 19 credits of training in Child Advocacy Studies. The CAST certificate encompasses a group of courses focused on children, youth, and traumatic stress capped by a field experience. The CAST certificate is appropriate for students who want to specialize in working in a variety of professional settings with children and adolescents, many of whom may have experienced trauma. 

Most courses required by the Certificate Program in Child Advocacy Studies have prerequisites. Some students may satisfy prerequisites by virtue of their prior curriculum. When this is not the case, students are responsible for satisfying the prerequisites. All students must take at least one course outside their home department. All required courses must be taken in residence at UM-St. Louis.

Required courses
PSYCH/SOC WK/CAST 4398	Child Maltreatment: A Multidisciplinary Approach	3
CAST 4498	Forensic Investigation of Child Abuse	3
CAST 4598	Child Abuse Assessment and Intervention	3
Electives		6
Please choose two of the following:
CNS ED 3200	Interpersonal Skills in Helping Relationships
CRIMIN 2251	Youth Gangs
CRIMIN 3230	Crime Prevention
CRIMIN 3270	Juvenile Justice and Delinquency
CRIMIN/GS 4330	Violence Against Women
CRIMIN 4350	Victimology
ECH ED 3350	Family and Professional Partnerships within School/Community
ED PSY 2212	Child and Adolescent Development
ED PSY 3312	Psychology of Learning, Instruction, and Assessment
GS 2102	Introduction To Gender Studies
GS/SOC WK 4610	Intimate Partner Violence
PSYCH 2200	Drugs and Behavior
PSYCH 2270	Developmental Psychology: Infancy, Childhood and Adolescence
PSYCH 3232	Psychology of Trauma
PSYCH/CAST 3290	1
PSYCH 3340	Clinical Problems of Childhood
PSYCH 4305	Developmental Psychology: Cognitive Development of Children
SOC 4312	Sociology of Wealth and Poverty
SOC 4356
SOC WK 4110	Social Work Practice with Families and Groups
SOC WK 4620	Substance-Related and Addictive Disorders
Field Experience Options 1		3
A field experience in a child-related field, approved and supervised by the student’s home department, is the final part of the certificate. All required CAST courses should be completed, though concurrent enrollment in one CAST course is permitted. Additionally, students must receive prior approval from the CAST program director.
CAST 4698
CRIMIN 3280	Internship in Criminology and Criminal Justice
EDUC 4989	Internship I
GS 4353	Internship in Gender Studies
SOC 4385	Internship in Sociology
SOC WK 4800/4850	Supervised Field Experience in Social Work I
Seminar		1
CAST 4700	Field Education Seminar in Child Advocacy Studies
Total Hours		19

1	Simultaneous enrollment in a CAST seminar is required for all disciplines.

 

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of the program, certificate earners should be able to:

• Demonstrate the ethical behavior and values of their discipline in the context of traumatic stress.
• Integrate the current fund of knowledge about traumatic stress into their professional role.
•  Generate effective responses to traumatic stress and child maltreatment using trauma-informed decision-making processes.
• Create trauma-sensitive relationships with diverse consumers.
• Use knowledge to increase consumer access to trauma-informed services.
• Formulate service strategies that reduce the impact of trauma and promote well-being.
• Interact effectively with professionals across multiple disciplines.
• Produce trauma-sensitive written and verbal communication consistent with discipline standards.
• Recommend trauma-informed policy changes within their work setting.