Zero Abuse Project, through the Child Advocacy Studies (CAST) program, is pleased to announce a collaboration with the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children (APSAC) and the New York Foundling. This collaborative endeavor will provide CAST faculty with an optional, supplemental source of materials for their CAST programming.  APSAC and the New York Foundling have created an eight module, certificate-bearing course available through the New York Foundling’s Online Training Academy. Course modules can be flexibly assigned to students based on the topics therein (e.g. history of child welfare, maltreatment typologies, systems response/intervention, prevention) with course exams being used for student assessment. Additionally, there are a bevy of reference materials in each module that could be used as a resource to faculty to fuel further course augmentation (e.g. new readings, topics, assignments). Thus, this course could be used to bolster one’s CAST programming in several ways, including but not limited to:

• Textbook supplement/alternative
• Open Education Resource enhancement
• Coursework alternative/enrichment

The course could also be used by a CAST program to provide continuing education units (CEUs) to professionals in the field of child protection.  APSAC and the New York Foundling have agreed to provide required documentation to CAST faculty to assist their program in making the course CEU-compliant in one’s state for a given professional development sector (e.g. law enforcement, education, medicine). Note that national efforts are underway to make the course CEU-compliant in the fields of social work (NASW) and psychology (APA). As such, any CAST program has an opportunity to extend its impact as it pertains to improving the lives of children through this unique academic collaboration.

As mentioned, the course is an optional supplement for use in one’s CAST coursework and does come with a marginal fee for access, with proceeds going to APSAC and the New York Foundling for continued course upkeep, maintenance and development of new content. CAST instructors have a unique opportunity to review the course, at no cost, before deciding if and how they might incorporate it into their curriculum.  For instructor access, please contact Ilana Feldman at [email protected].

If a CAST program chooses to use the course, there are a few options available for purchase with unique benefits only available to CAST programs:

If a CAST program chooses to sponsor the course and purchase licenses for its students, the following discounts will be provided based on student enrollment:

• ≤ 15 students: $15 per student (40% discount)
• 16-50 students: $10 per student (60% discount)
• ≥ 51 students: $5 per student (80% discount)

If a program decides to forego sponsorship, the course can still be offered to CAST students for individual purchase at the discounted rate of $15 (40% discount) or a student may have the course fee waived if they become a student member of APSAC for the annual fee of $30.  Note that additional small fees may apply for  NASW or APA CEU’s when available.

CAST faculty may also benefit from a unique membership discount, whereby faculty members seeking APSAC professional membership may garner a 20% discount with the code CAST20 when joining at www.apsac.org.  APSAC offers many benefits to members which you might find very useful to your work.

These discounts and accommodations, again, are only for CAST faculty and students.  These provisions will be available for one year (until March. 2021), with the option to continue discounts based on incorporation by CAST programs. As such, please make sure you take the time to review the content and see if it would be a good fit into your coursework.

We would like to thank APSAC and the New York Foundling for their generosity in providing new and exciting material to our CAST institutions at an affordable price and with so many CAST-centric benefits. If you’d like to chat further regarding how the course might be of benefit for your CAST programming, feel free to contact Tyler Counsil, Director, Center for Child Advocacy Studies ([email protected]).