Child Advocacy Studies (CAST) represents an initiative within Mississippi to enhance workforce development and career readiness for college students. The Child Advocacy Studies curriculum is designed to increase the understanding of factors that contribute to child maltreatment, foster recognition of the signs of potential maltreatment, and inform students of evidence-based best practices for responding.
CAST is an education program founded by child protection expert Victor Vieth, Director of Research and Education for Zero Abuse Project, a non-profit organization in Minnesota. Research suggests that this curriculum may graduate students into the workforce with the same level of experience it takes a professional five years in the field to achieve (Parker et al., 2019; see also Vieth et al., 2019).
A major challenge in dealing with child abuse and neglect includes the development of a workforce with the knowledge, skills, and emotional preparation to respond sensitively and effectively to child maltreatment. This response involves a myriad of professionals responsible for responding, investigating, and prosecuting these cases which require the need for robust, interdisciplinary training of students before they enter the workforce.
Well-meaning professionals fail to prevent and intervene in child maltreatment based on lack of education on the subject in college and limited on-the-job training by their employer. Several studies document the failure of colleges, universities, and graduate programs to adequately prepare social workers, criminal justice professionals, prosecutors (and all lawyers), as well as medical and mental health professionals to recognize and respond to child abuse (Vieth, 2024). More research identifies minimal review and inadequate information (Douglas & Serino, 2013) within collegiate textbooks pertaining to child maltreatment.
Medical professionals, for example, receive as little as five hours of education on trauma-informed care and addressing adverse childhood experiences (Dichter et al., 2018). Law enforcement professionals receive an average of six hours, if any, on child maltreatment in basic training (Reaves, 2013). These are simply two examples of professionals that will enter the workforce with the obligation to respond to child maltreatment with minimal educational knowledge of how to properly intervene and protect children.
A major factor in the development and success of the Mississippi CAST initiative is the ongoing investment in CAST by Children’s Advocacy Centers of Mississippi™ and its partners (Vieth, 2024). Mississippi is the leader in the number of CAST programs available within higher institutions of learning throughout the country. This state is home to more CAST programs than any other state.
Mississippi has taken an important step in its goal of enhancing the preparation of child-serving professionals by developing a well-functioning statewide CAST program. According to Victor Vieth, statewide initiatives similar to Mississippi could dramatically increase the rate of CAST expansion in the country (Vieth, 2024).
As Children’s Advocacy Centers of Mississippi™ continues to provide training, support, and resources for CAST, Mississippi college students will have the opportunity to explore child maltreatment beyond theories to include experiential learning activities offering real-world simulations designed to enhance workforce development. This is one of the many ways Children’s Advocacy Centers of Mississippi™ is revolutionizing Mississippi’s response to child abuse through leadership, education, and innovation.
To learn more about Child Advocacy Studies or find a program within a Mississippi College or University, visit our website www.childadvocacyms.org/cast. Together, We Can Defeat Child Abuse!
SOURCES
Dichter, M.E., Teitelman, A., lusaritz, H., Maurer, D. M., Cronholm, P.F., & Doubeni, C. A. (2018). Trauma-informed care training in family medicine and residency programs: Results from a CERA survey. Family Medicine, 50(8), 617-622.
Douglas, E.M. & Serino, P.J. (2013). The extent of evidence-based information about child maltreatment fatalities in social science textbooks. Journal of Evidence Based Social Work, 10(5), 447-454.
Parker, J., McMillan, L., Olsen, S., Ruppel, S., & Vieth, V. (2019, November 26). Responding to basic and complex cases of child abuse; a comparison study of recent and current child advocacy studies (CAST) students with DSS workers in the field. Journal of Child & Adolescent Trauma.
Reaves, B.A. (2013). State and local law enforcement training academies, 2013. U.S. Department of Justice.
Vieth, V., Cross, T. P., Peters, R., Johnson, R., Counsil, T., Farrell, R., … Steckler Tye, K. (2024). “Unto the Third Generation” Revisited: the Impact of a National Plan to End Child Abuse in the United States within Three Generations. Journal of Child Sexual Abuse, 33(3), 265–289. https://doi.org/10.1080/10538712.2024.2354266
