I do not actually have a professional role. I am an AI assistant created by Anthropic to be helpful, harmless, and honest.

1. Introduction to the Child Advocacy
Studies Program (CAST)
Jennifer Parker, Ph.D., LPC
University of South Carolina Upstate
Director, Child Advocacy Studies Program
jparker@uscupstate.edu
Lynn McMillan, PhD, LISW-CP
Instructor, Child Advocacy Studies Program
lmcmillan@uscupstate.edu

2. Agenda
 Provide overview of USC Upstate CAST program
 Introduce USC Upstate Child Protection Training Center
 Discuss child maltreatment and various systems involved
 Use case study method for multidisciplinary approach to
child maltreatment

4. Minor in Child Advocacy Studies
Prerequisite: Choose one of the following courses 3 credit courses:
 PSYC U101: Intro to Psychology, SOCY U101: Intro to Sociology, CRJU U101: Intro to Criminal Justice
Core: Required
 CAST U301: Introduction to Child Maltreatment
 CAST U401: Child Advocacy I: System Responses to Child Maltreatment
 CAST U402: Child Advocacy II: Prevention and Intervention Strategies
 CAST U499: Child Advocacy Internship
Electives: Choose two of the following courses
 PSYC U302: Developmental Psychology
 SOCY U341: Sociology of Families
 CRJU U384: Child Sexual Exploitation
 CRJU U325: Criminal Trial Practice
 CRJU U343: Juvenile Justice System
 CRJU U350: Victimology
 CRJU U382: Women and Crime
 WGST U345: Girls Studies
 CAST U398: Topics in Child Advocacy (may be repeated when topics vary)

5. Child Advocacy Studies
Post Baccalaureate Certificate
Coursework Credits
 CAST 600: Perspectives in Child Maltreatment 3
 CAST 601: System Responses to Child Maltreatment 3
 CAST 602: Prevention and Intervention Strategies 3
 CAST 698: Topics in Child Advocacy 3
 CAST 699: Child Advocacy Project/Internship 3
Total Hours Required 15

6. Child Protection Training Center
Purpose - use a multidisciplinary approach to
educate and train child protection professionals
(i.e. social work education, health professions,
counseling, law enforcement, justice system) to
detect child abuse, promote early intervention,
and improve investigation, prosecution, and
litigation procedures to ensure that young
victims receive the support they need

7. Mock House
 Opened in fall 2015
 Experiential training for professionals designed
around evidence-based practices in a realistic setting
 First responders and direct service providers like crime
scene investigators, child abuse investigators, EMTs,
animal control, police, teachers, psychologists, social
workers, advocates and attorneys will see firsthand the
scene of child abuse: from fake rats, dirty diapers, and
bugs to weapons, empty bottles of wine and cigarette
butts

8. Entrance to House

10. Mock Courtroom
 Trial preparation and other classroom-style trainings
 Community, parent and professional trainings will also
be held in the mock courtroom/training room

12. Trainings con’t
 ACE Interface Master Training
 Darkness to Light Stewards of Children Training
 Trainings developed specific to regional needs
 Target Professionals
 Solicitor’s, family court attorneys, law enforcement
 Children’s Advocacy Centers (CAC)
 Department of Social Services
 Social workers and therapists
 Guardian ad Litem, child advocates
 Daycare providers, educators and students

13. 7th Annual Brighter Future Conference
Save the Date: March 24-25 2016
National Speakers
Full Day of Continuing Education with Experts

14. Advocacy
 Pinwheel project
 Community leadership

15. Project Pinwheel

16. System Response to Child
Maltreatment

17. As a reminder….

18. 2012 NCANDS data
 Of 3.4 million reports to CPS
 62% screened in (accepted for investigation)
 38% screened out (appropriate response)
 58.7% made by professionals
 18% by nonprofessionals (friends, neighbors)
 23.3% unclassified (anonymous, unknown)

19. Types of Child Maltreatment
 Neglect 78.3%
 Physical abuse 18.3%
 Sexual abuse 9.3%

20. Who
Perpetrators Victims
 80.8% parent
 16.4% non-parent
 2.9% unknown
 53.6% women (62.0% in SC)
 1st year of life highest rate of
victimization
 Males 48.7%; Females 50.9%
 44% White; 21.8% Hispanic;
21% African-American

21. Child Fatality
 Increase – may be attributable to better reporting
and better data management
 42.5% < 1 year-old
 39.2% 1 – 3 year-old
 80% caused by one or both parents
 Child fatalities may also be from accidents

22. Child Fatality by Type
 71.1% Neglect
 47.9% Physical abuse
And child maltreatment may not be identified as the
cause of death, when it really is. In SC, SLED
investigates all SIDS cases.

23. Roles of Professionals
 Child Protective Services (CPS)
 Law Enforcement (LE)
 Local municipality or county
 State
 Federal
 Health Care Providers
 Mental Health clinicians
 Legal: attorneys, courts, GALs
 Education/child care/other community-based workers

24. DSS is usually considered the primary child protection
system.
But remember, DSS only investigates when alleged
perpetrator is parent or caregiver.
Law enforcement investigates all alleged perpetrators of
child maltreatment.

25. DSS-CPS
 Jurisdiction
 Where child resides
 Service array
 In-home prevention and intervention
 Permanency services (including safe and timely reunification
services, foster care services, kinship care, intensive foster care and
clinical services, independent living, and youth transition services)
 Adoption and post-adoption

26. Children 0-3 most at risk in SC
 22-25% of all children in Foster Care in South
Carolina
 34-37% of the total number of children
entering foster care
 Primary reason is neglect
 Since children 0-3 years are very vulnerable,
sufficient parental capacity is necessary to
ensure children are safe and thriving

27. CPS Process
 Intake and Screening
 Initial Assessment/Investigation:
 64.7% unsubstantiated; 20% taken into foster care
 Remember 1997 Adoption and Safe Families Act: child
safety is priority. Must assess safety (of immediate harm)
and assess risk (for future harm)
 Family Assessment
 Service Planning/Provision
 Evaluation of Progress
 Case Closed

28. Law Enforcement
 Jurisdiction
 Where crime occurred
 May involve multiple LE agencies
 Federal
 State
 Local (county; municipality)
 Uniform patrol
 Agents/Investigators/Detectives

29. Health Care Providers
 Pediatricians
 Family Medicine physicians
 Child Abuse Pediatricians
 Emergency Room Physicians
 Family Nurse Practitioners
 Physician Assistants
 Nurses

30. Allied Health Professionals
 Social Workers
 Physical Therapists
 Speech/Language Therapists
 Occupational Therapists
 Child Life Specialists

31. Mental Health/Clinicians
 SC DMH
 Mental health centers throughout state
 State hospitals
 Non-profit agencies
 May offer array of services and resources
 Clinicians licensed in their particular area of practice
 Psychiatrists (MD)
 Social workers (LMSW, LISW-CP)
 Psychologists (PhD)
 Counselors (LPC)
 Marriage and Family Therapists (LMFT)

32. Legal
Legal Representatives Courts
 Attorneys
 Family Law: represent parties
in family court (perpetrator,
non-offending parent, other
parties)
 Criminal Law: prosecution;
criminal defense
 Guardian ad Litem: represent
children in private action cases;
may represent adults with
limited cognitive or intellectual
capacity
 Family Court
 DSS
 DJJ
 Private actions
 Magistrate Court
 misdemeanors
 Criminal
 Felonies
 Judges preside

33. Education
 Principals/Assistant Principals
 Teachers
 Guidance Counselors
 Nurses
 Psychologists
 Social Workers
 Others?

34. Child Care
 Directors
 Teachers/Assistants/Aides
 Other agency staff
 Levels of care
 Infant
 Toddler
 Pre-school
 After-school
 Other/special needs

35. Community-Based Organizations
 Includes a variety of organizations that represent and
serve the needs of a community or segment of a
community
 Non-profits
 Faith-based

36. Other Child Protection
Professionals

37. Guardian ad Litem Volunteers
 Gather information from various sources about child
and what child needs
 Make recommendations to the court
 Remain involved throughout the DSS case
 Help the voices of children be heard
 www.scgal.org

38. SC Network of Children’s
Advocacy Centers
 Helps local communities respond to allegations of child
abuse/neglect
 Forensic interviews/evaluations
 Forensic medical evaluations
 Therapy
 MDT staffings
 17 CACs in South Carolina
 http://www.cac-sc.org/

39. What is your professional role?