Child Advocacy

This program will prepare students to advocate for the rights of children by entering the workforce with an A.A. degree. Students in the program learn about vulnerable conditions that have negative consequences on children and adolescents such as disease, substance abuse, domestic violence, child abuse and neglect. This multidisciplinary approach will offer students a distinctive educational perspective with which to navigate the intricacies of the public child welfare system and beyond.

• Students who have completed the program should be able to:
• Recognize and explain a particular understanding of the intricacies of the public child welfare system
• Identify and describe competencies in knowledge, methods, and applications needed for career and professional development in the field of child advocacy
• Apply and demonstrate knowledge through field work experience in settings such as the office of DCP&P, Child Advocacy centers, Residential Treatment facilities, the Juvenile Justice System, just to name a few
• Recognize, evaluate, and plan treatment of specific cases of child abuse and neglect in the field of child advocacy
• Define, explain, and analyze the family unit culturally and identify the needs of that family system
• Compare and contrast different multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary approaches in child advocacy
• Access the program to individuals living in the central and southern regions of New Jersey through a distance learning component