1) Where is the office located?
The Child Abuse and Family Violence Institute office is located in the basement of the King Hall Building, wing B, room 109B.
2) What are your office hours?
Please contact rdelevi@calstatela.edu to make an appointment.
3) How do I apply?
Students can call our office to request information on the Certificate Program to be sent via postal mail (We will need your current address, etc.; if you choose to leave a message, please speak slowly and clearly). We can also send you an application by email. In that case, we need an email address that is clearly described. You may come to our office and pick up an application. Applications are placed on the inside office door and the outside door as well. If you have any questions, student assistants cover the office for approximately 20 hours per week and will be there to help you. Student Assistants’ hours may change each term. It will be posted quarterly on our inside and outside doors. State-supported university students (undergraduates and graduates) may apply. Some special restrictions exist for graduate-level students, such as taking all 4000-level courses. The university no longer admits students who are only pursuing a certificate, so the certificate must be pursued in the context of a degree. Students may take the Certificate program as a separate program through the Open University. In that case, a student must make an application through both the Institute office (see above) and by contacting the CSULA Open University, please apply here.
Email: rdelevi@calstatela.edu
4) What are the required courses? Check GET for the most recent class offerings.
The certificate program consists of 15 units (9 core units, three elective units, and three units of fieldwork) :
Core Units (9 Units):
CHDV 4120 (3 Units): Issues in Child Abuse, Neglect, and Family Violence
COMD 3190 (3 Units): Communicating with Abused Children and Violent Families
SW 4560 (3 Units): Multidisciplinary Teams, Child Maltreatment and Family Violence
*Please plan ahead and check GET to see when these courses are offered
Electives (3 Units): Take one of the elective courses indicated in the application form investigating special topics in maltreatment and violence in greater depth
FIELDWORK (3 Units): Register for HHS 4950 units under Institute Director Dr. Rakel Delevi. The fieldwork experience is an opportunity to apply course learning and provides a window for future career opportunities. Please ask us for a list of internship sites. Social Work students may be able to substitute SW 4950 if the internship focuses on abuse and/or violence.
5) How many hours do I need for my field placement?
You need a total of 120 hours or three units. Students may take one or multiple units in any semester(s), each requiring 40 hours for 120 hrs. for three units. Generally, each section of HHS 4950 corresponds to the number of units it carries (e.g., HHS 4950 sec. 02 is two units). Please register for the sections taught by Dr. Rakel Delevi.
*** Social Work students can count all hours and units from their SW 4950 internship.
6) Do I have to do all the internship hours in one semester?
No, the hours can be spread out into different semesters. One way to do this is to register for 1 unit in one semester and one or two in another. You must end up with a total of three. If you do not finish the hours you registered for within the semester, you can obtain an incomplete by filling out an incomplete contract. In that contract, you determine your plan for completion within one year. Please note that you must fill out the contract before the end of the semester to get an incomplete submitted as your grade.
7) Can my intern hours be done in the summer?
You may be able to do the hours in the summer, but you would have to register for HHS 4950 in the previous Spring. You would need to get interviewed by a placement supervisor in Spring to ensure that this arrangement for Summer would be workable. There are additional requirements you would need to meet to make this happen. It would require meeting with the Director or Student Assistant for more details.
8) What is EPIC? Why do I need to register at EPIC and where is it located?
EPIC (Educational Participation In Communities) engages students directly in the fight against urban poverty and social inequity through off campus field placements in human service agencies and on campus volunteer opportunities in student-run service projects. You need to register in order to do your field placement because EPIC has agreements that address liability issues with Juvenile Court sites. EPIC is located in the lower level of the Career Center. Please call (323) 343-3380 to obtain their hours of operation. Registering with them will take approximately 10 minutes. Certificate students are then asked to email us confirming that this requirement was met, with a CC to the person who registered them at EPIC.
9) What Field Placements are currently available?
· Free Arts
· Children’s Law Center
10) Can I use my hours through social work (SW 4950) course and placement internship for the HHS 4950 course and placement internship?
***The Certificate Program will accept the SW 4950 course and placement internship for the HHS 4950 course and placement internship if the following summarized conditions are met:
- The SW 4950 placement provides the intern with at least 120 quarter / 90 semester hrs of experience with family violence and/or child maltreatment cases. The Field Instructor needs to agree (see below).
- Student must provide a copy of:
- Evaluation – signed by supervisor (SW 4950 evaluation is acceptable) showing the hours completed
- 1pg paper – typed, identifying what you learned at the SW 4950 placement internship and identify how it is consistent with the certificate program’s purpose.
Expanding on the above summary:
- Only SW students who are currently or will be enrolled in SW 495 are eligible. Student must have a placement that deals with child abuse or family violence.
- The SW 4950 Field Instructor needs to be asked and agree to provide the student with cases that have these elements: child maltreatment and family violence.
- The student must provide a copy of his/her SW 4950 evaluation and hours performed for one quarter, signed by the supervisor at the SW 495 placement. This is the Student Field Work Evaluation Form (SW4950) filled out from that internship. The evaluation must reflect acceptable, passing performance, as well as the number or hours in placement.
- Social Work students may request performance credit. The decision to waive this is at the discretion of the CAFVI director.
- Social Work students must submit a 1-page paper that identifies what they learned at the SW 4950 internship and how it is consistent with the certificate program’s purpose (see application and syllabus).
11) Do I have to pay for this certificate program?
Yes, students completing a certificate must pay a $25 application fee and follow the guidelines outlined on the application.
12) I have completed all the required courses for the certificate; now what?
3 things need to be done after all required courses are completed AND you are approaching graduation:
1) As you approach graduation, please meet with an advisor to ensure all your coursework is done. Also, please signal to us that your graduation is approaching.
2) As previously stated, you must pay $25, fill out an Application for Certificate with the Cashier's Office, and email that form back to us.
3) Please fill out the “Certificate Completion” form.
13) How long does it take to receive the Certificate?
The coursework can be completed in a year, but that requires attending classes when offered. The process of receiving the Certificate may take 2-3 months after it is requested. Students must initiate the request, as they are the only ones who can track their academic classes.