University of Missouri – St. Louis Announces CAST Degree
May 4, 2021
A success story shared with us by Dr. Jamie Tester Morfoot, Assistant Professor of Social Work at UWEC.
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New Technology Tested by CAST Students
March 24, 2021
The University of Illinois Springfield has partnered with Creative InformationTechnology, Inc. to beta-test app-based software to help modernize and improve childwelfare investigations. CAST students, under the guidance of Dr. Betsy Goulet, will be involved in the preliminary research surrounding these apps.
Journey with the CAST Curriculum: University of WI – Eau Claire’s Social Work Program
March 24, 2021
A success story shared with us by Dr. Jamie Tester Morfoot, Assistant Professor of Social Work at UWEC.
Providing Results: Mississippi CAST Initiative
March 19, 2021
Providing Results: Mississippi CAST Initiative Eighteen months into a two-year evaluation project, the Children’s Advocacy Centers of Mississippi (CAC) is discovering valuable data to support their Children’s Advocacy Studies (CAST) Initiative. With the help of University of Illinois’s research team, the preliminary data has reinforced the significance of CAST courses at participating Mississippi colleges and universities. A two-year study was
Fredonia launches Child Advocacy Studies certificate program
November 19, 2020
A new Advanced Certificate in Child Advocacy Studies (CAST), designed to better prepare educators and other professionals to respond to child maltreatment, has been approved for Fredonia. The university anticipates enrolling its first students in Child Advocacy Studies during the Summer of 2021. Admission requirements include a master’s degree or current enrollment in a master’s degree program. Read full article
CPTA article is now published in the Journal of Public Child Welfare
June 9, 2020
In addition to providing simulation training in its CAST program, UIS provides additional simulation training to child protection professionals in the field through its Child Protection Training Academy. This publication serves as both a testament to what CAST can do and how it can grow into new venues to better those already working in child-serving career paths.
WCUCOM 3rd in Nation for Primary Care
June 4, 2020
One of our CAST medical schools, William Carey University College of Osteopathic Medicine, was ranked #3 by U.S. News & World Report for producing the highest percentage of primary care residents.
Congrats, WCUCOM!
CAST Collaboration with APSAC
June 1, 2020
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.
25th San Diego International Virtual Summit Call for Posters
May 20, 2020
Institute on Violence, Abuse and Trauma (IVAT) is currently seeking submissions for virtual poster presentations for their 25th San Diego International Virtual Summit. Topics such as innovative programming, research, literature reviews, etc. provide several pathways by which one’s CAST program may be showcased alongside the work being done by CAST faculty and students. Feel free to contact us if there’s anything
New On-Demand trainings added!
May 20, 2020
All previous Wednesday Workshops and many more informational webinars covering a wide range of topics in child abuse prevention, education, and intervention are now available in our On-Demand Video Library.
CAST Connections
May 6, 2020
We’d like to congratulate our CAST colleagues Dr. Jennifer Parker and Stacey Olson on being featured in the University of South Carolina Upstate’s 50th Anniversary news segment. Coverage includes interviews with Dr. Parker and Zero Abuse Project’s Founder and Senior Director Victor Vieth, both of whom participate in the From Crime Scene to Trial training which utilizes the center’s mock house and mock courtroom.
Trauma Informed Care in Schools (Webinar)
April 17, 2020
Join Pete Singer, co-founder of Care in Action Minnesota, as he discusses trauma informed care in schools. This webinar will be held April 22 from 3:30-6:30PM CT. The focus of this training will be 1) an understanding of six principles of trauma-informed care and 2) Individual and organizational responses to secondary traumatic stress.
Child Protector App: Protecting against child abuse
March 6, 2020
Child Protector assists Children’s Protective Services, law enforcement, attorneys and medical personnel when evaluating children who may have been physically abused. The free app was developed by Children’s Mercy and the University of Texas Health Science Center (San Antonio) through Children’s Justice Act Funding from Texas and Missouri.
The American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children and the Vincent J. Fontana Center for Child Protection Educational Webinar Series
January 31, 2020
These webinars are excellent resources for learning from experts in the field on best-practices and current topics in child maltreatment
IUP CAST Professor Releases New Textbook
January 26, 2020
Zero Abuse Project would like to congratulate Dr. Pearl Berman on the release of her new textbook entitled “Violence Across the Lifespan.” Dr. Pearl Berman is a Full Professor, the Chair of the Psychology Department at Indiana University of PA (IUP), and the President of the National Partnership to End Interpersonal Violence (NPEIV). She has also been a member of
Textbook edited by CAST professor Dr. Michele Knox now available
January 21, 2020
This textbook provides research-based advice about common childhood and adolescent problems that are addressed at a clinician/doctor visit, such as: media use and screen time, educational issues and finding the right school, tantrums and behavior problems, sleep problems, potty training, overweight/obesity, discipline and punishment, typical and atypical sexual behaviors, bullying, and working with parents. It has a great chapter on sexual behaviors that helps professionals and parents understand why and when to be concerned about abuse, as well as chapters on physical punishment, identifying and reporting abuse and neglect (based on her CAST curriculum), and positive parenting, among many other topics.
New Research Concludes CAST Students Perform Significantly Better Than Current DSS Workers Already in the Field
December 6, 2019
A recently published peer reviewed study on Zero Abuse Project’s CAST initiative found that CAST students were performing as well as current DSS workers in the field and, in more complex cases, the CAST students were performing better. We are grateful for Dr. Jennifer Parker and her team at USC Upstate for their leadership in conducting and publishing this study.
CAST students get hands-on experience
October 17, 2019
On Wednesday, Clinton-Saunders, a senior family studies major at the Mississippi University for Women, could be cast as an investigator.
The role-playing Clinton-Saunders does in the Child Advocacy Studies Training (CAST) program is one of things she likes best about the studies preparing her for her first job as a professional.
New lab trains welfare workers who probe child abuse claims
August 28, 2019
The University of Illinois CAST program features a simulation lab exemplifying the critical importance of simulation training for child protection professionals. Zero Abuse Project has been instrumental in implementing 74 CAST programs across the country, many of which have similar simulation laboratories.
University offers training for frontline workers
August 12, 2019
The Child Protection Training Academy at the University of Illinois Springfield held a Project FORECAST training event designed to demonstrate best practices for frontline professionals when responding to a maltreatment scenario in a hospital setting.
This sort of educational experience helps CAST students and frontline child protection professionals better realize the dynamics of child maltreatment casework in a simulated environment so that they can be better prepared for responding to similar cases in the real world.
Dr. Melissa Stephens receives distinguished award for CAST implementation in medical education
June 12, 2019
This year’s recipient of The Marguerite Elliott Innovation in Clinical Medical Education Award is Melissa Renee Stephens, MD, FAAFP, Associate Professor of Clinical Sciences & Director of Graduate Medical Education and Population Health at William Carey University College of Osteopathic Medicine (WCUCOM), for her innovation titled: ‘Implementation of Child Advocacy Studies Training (CAST) in Medical Education.’
DCFS simulation gives inside look at challenges investigators face
May 21, 2019
One of the jobs that the Department of Children and Family Services is tasked with is making sure children are safe. In order to do this job, DCFS investigators have to enter the homes of people accused of horrible crimes.
Treating Childhood Trauma
May 11, 2018
In 1850, a Catholic orphanage called St. Aemilian was founded in Milwaukee, Wisconsin to take in children whose parents had died in a cholera epidemic. 168 Years later, that same organization — now known as “SaintA” — is still finding shelter for thousands of children who need it, often kids who have deep trauma in their young lives, and helps those kids with a revolutionary approach that’s spreading across the country.
NWACC Gets National Recognition for Child Abuse Prevention Efforts
March 11, 2018
Child abuse cases continue to rise and students at Northwest Arkansas Community College are getting top notch training to bring those numbers down. NWACC is the first community college to get national recognition for it’s Children’s Advocacy’s Studies Program.
Star House Opens with Ribbon Cutting Ceremony
February 19, 2018
The STAR (Simulation Training and Research) House at Arkansas State University officially opened Monday afternoon with a special ribbon cutting ceremony at its location on 2511 Quapaw Street on campus. The College of Nursing and Health Professions and the Department of Social Work sponsored the event.
