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: | ||
| Interpersonal Skills in Helping Relationships | ||
| Youth Gangs | ||
| Crime Prevention | ||
| Juvenile Justice and Delinquency | ||
| Violence Against Women | ||
| Victimology | ||
| Family and Professional Partnerships within School/Community | ||
| Child and Adolescent Development | ||
| Psychology of Learning, Instruction, and Assessment | ||
| Introduction to Gender Studies | ||
| Intimate Partner Violence | ||
| Drugs and Behavior | ||
| Developmental Psychology: Infancy, Childhood and Adolescence | ||
| Psychology of Trauma | ||
| Traumatic Stress in Childhood and Adolescence 1 | ||
| Clinical Problems of Childhood | ||
| Developmental Psychology: Cognitive Development of Children | ||
| Sociology of Wealth and Poverty | ||
| Sociology of Education | ||
| Social Work Practice with Individuals, Families, and Groups | ||
| 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. | ||
| Internship in Child Advocacy Studies | ||
| Internship in Criminology and Criminal Justice | ||
| Internship I | ||
| Internship in Gender Studies | ||
| Internship in Sociology | ||
| Supervised Field Experience in Social Work I | ||
| Seminar | 1 | |
| 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.