April is Child Abuse Prevention month and it is a time to acknowledge how important it is for families and communities to work together in preventing child abuse and maltreatment. Childhood is a time for playing, learning, and discovering the world. It’s a time for kids to stumble and fall, knowing someone else will be there to pick them back up and kiss their bumps and bruises. Most children have parents that would do anything for them. But some children don’t have this support system. Their parents may be the ones that are making them stumble and fall, and the child may have to pick themselves back up.
Child abuse hits close to home with a staggering number of children. In 2012, 6.3 million children were reported to Child Protection Services (CPS) because someone believed there was suspicion of child abuse or neglect. Of the 6.3 million children reported to CPS, 3.8 million children were investigated for maltreatment. Approximately 31 children die PER WEEK from abuse, usually by someone the victim knows or is acquainted with.
Winona is doing their part in trying to lower this number by offering Child Advocacy Studies as a minor for undergraduate students. WSU also houses the headquarters for the Gundersen National Child Protection Training Center (NCPTC), which works to end child abuse, neglect and other forms of child maltreatment. Professionals from all over the world, from all sorts of child protection careers, come to Winona State to be trained further in child maltreatment cases, effective interviewing skills, and courtroom dynamics.
The NCPTC has trained more than 100,000 child protection professionals to further prepare for what to expect if they are put on a child maltreatment case. The training facility is found on Maxwell 2nd floor and includes five mock court rooms, four forensic interview training rooms, and a mock house, which is used to simulate child abuse investigations in a life-like apartment. Typical training a professional could encounter while utilizing the NCPTC would be ChildFirst Forensic Interview Protocol, child development, testifying in court, and preparing children for court.
The mock house is used for simulating different child abuse cases. Professionals and students alike, go through the mock house to understand what it might look like if they were working a child maltreatment case. It depicts a real apartment that is set up with various warning signs that child abuse or maltreatment has taken place.
The living room of the mock house; everything was disheveled and there were cigarette butts and alcohol on the floor.
The dresser in the young child’s room; there is blood on the top and two pill bottles of “Xanax” prescribed to the mother.
When walking through the apartment you might see empty bottles of alcohol, drugs readily available for anyone who walks by, blood on different surfaces, or harmful objects within reach. I got the opportunity to walk through the mock house in a Child Advocacy Studies course, and again to take some photos for this article. You can’t easily forget what you’ve seen when you walk through. I knew it wasn’t real, but just the fact that it could be real, or even a lot worse, makes it a difficult, but educational experience.
The kitchen of the mock house; empty bottles of alcohol, a cockroach and blood on the sink.
Drawer in the parent’s dresser; “cocaine” remnants.
Winona State offers an amazing Child Advocacy Studies program available as a minor to any student, studying any profession. It is a 21-credit program that includes 18 required courses and three elective credits, including field experience at an agency involving children. A certificate could also be awarded to students who don’t want the full course load of the minor, but want to expand their knowledge in the field. After talking to Aurea Osgood, the CAST interim Program Director, she said, “Child Advocacy Studies has been offered as a minor at WSU since 2006, and it was the first CAST program in the country.”
The CAST program offers further training and education in what to look for in abusers, what to look for in vulnerable children, and how to advocate for any children that have been abused or mistreated. Taking up a CAST minor could be a viable option for so many majors, not just Social Work, Education, or Psychology, although those majors are the most represented within the program.
Even if you don’t plan on working with children, I highly suggest taking a CAST course just to gain more knowledge in noticing signs and symptoms of child abuse. It could really make a difference in how you look at and treat children in the future. Hopefully, you’ll never have to use the knowledge you gained from the course, but it could save a precious, valuable life.
“Gundersen National Child Protection Training Center.” Home – Gundersen National Child Protection Training Center. N.p., 2015. Web. 29 Mar. 2015.
“Child and Neglect Stats.” National Statistics on Child Abuse and Neglect. First Star, Inc., 2014. Web. 29 Mar. 2015.
“Child Advocacy Studies.” Winona State University News. Winona State University, 2014. Web. 29 Mar. 2015.