200

This course is the introductory course for child advocacy studies. This course covers the history, comparative perspectives, the legal framework, responses to child maltreatment, the skills necessary to do the work, other pertinent issues pertaining to child maltreatment and child advocacy, and the future. The field of child maltreatment is fraught with controversy. Much of the class focuses on these controversies. The approach of the course will be from a variety of diverse, professional perspectives including the perspectives of a prosecuting attorney versus a defense attorney. The course is designed for students majoring in criminal justice, education, social work, sociology, psychology, nursing, or other areas of knowledge of child maltreatment and advocating for children might be necessary.

The purpose of this course is to prepare students to recognize child advocacy issues around the world. The course is designed for students majoring in criminal justice, education, social work, psychology, nursing or other areas where knowledge of child maltreatment and advocating for children will be necessary. Multidisciplinary approaches to advocacy in different countries throughout the world will be presented and discussed.

The purpose of this course in essence is two-fold. First, to expose students to cultural diversity, experience the universality of trials and triumphs, and recognize how cultural structures and values may oppress, marginalize, alienate, create, or enhance privilege and power in shaping the person. Secondly, students will be exposed to a number of social services agencies in order to provide a real world glimpse of social work practice in an urban setting. In addition, students will examine how their values and biases may influence their work with diverse populations. Students will be encouraged to view themselves as learners through living out the love of Jesus in connecting with others in seeking opportunities to dialogue with those served by various systems. Through these experiences students will further develop an understanding of being a world changer within the social work profession. Prerequisite: SWK-170.