1. Child Maltreatment and Family Violence information will be immediately useful to you in your personal relationships: as an intimate partner, a friend, a sibling, a daughter/son, or as a parent.
The issues surrounding child maltreatment and family violence appear in many families. Certificate students have exposure to the theories, dynamics and current thinking in these areas. Many students report that understanding themselves and other family members in a new way was an unexpected benefit of the Certificate.
2. It will make you a better citizen.
Knowing about the courses, their contents and effective methods for addressing family violence will make you an educated and enlighted citizen. You will feel more confident when performing your “citizen” duties. For example, citizens are often asked to vote on issues relating to: building prisons, providing preschool funding, “three strikes laws”, etc. The pros and cons on these and other issues are discussed in the Certificate classes.
3. You will have brighter job prospects.
You will have brighter job prospects in your professional opportunities and greater access to jobs relating to Child Abuse and Family Violence, compared to students without the Certificate. This is because Dr. Friend shares her knowledge of job openings, and the civil service application process in a seminar offered to all candidates who are about to complete the Certificate. Dr. Friend is also available for individual consultation with Certificate candidates.
4. You will be able to apply the cumulative skills that you have learned throughout the Certificate courses.
These have applications in many job related areas. For example, interviewing skills are an integral part of COMD 457 Communication in Child Abuse and Violent Families. Child interviewing is also discussed in SW 456 Multidisciplinary Teams, if you wanted to pursue a career as a Child Forensic Interviewer. These courses would be very helpful. For more information on this career, you could go to the Child Abuse Training and Technical Assistance Center website at www.cattacenter.org.
5. It could help you get into graduate school.
Many of our students decide to pursue a Master’s in Criminal Justice, Social Work, Education, Psychology or Communication Disorders as a result of the Certificate classes. Some take these classes to bring up their GPA, in order to get into graduate school thinking that you tend to do better when you are interested in the subject. Some Master’s level students are also in the Certificate Program, as it compliments and expands on the classes in their Master’s program.
6. You can frame the Certificate and display it, also point it out on your transcript.
Having achieved the Certificate will show up on your transcript and you can then use it to your advantage. The Certificate is also issued on 8 ½ X 11 inch paper, signed by the President of the University.
7. Obtaining the Certificate allows you to explain to a future employer that you possess additional training that is extremely difficult to get.
For example, you will have a class where you become a multidisciplinary team (SW 456 Multidisciplinary Teams, Child Maltreatment and Family Violence) is not atypical learning experience. Most of the time, you have to be employed as a team member to get that kind of training. You can then explain what you learned about multidisciplinary team that is applicable to the prospective job.
8. You will be able to answer job interview questions in the areas of Family Violence and Child Maltreatment.
You will be better at job interview questions because of your exposure to classroom material and your integrated internship experience. For example, from classroom exposure, all Certificate students should be able to come up with a brief response to: What causes violence? What are some things that “work” in addressing child abuse? What role do you think you play in working on these problems? Your internship would have taught you how the Juvenile Dependency Court works, and provided you with opportunities to develop your skills in dealing with children who have been exposed to abuse, neglect and violence.
9. You will be able to respond to your friends’ questions about child abuse and family violence.
You probably have friends who have experienced some aspect of child abuse or family violence. When you tell them about the Certificate courses you are taking, they may solicit your opinion about related topics. They may ask without revealing their motives. Knowing about the incidence and prevalence as well as some of the dynamics, will enable you to respond to them in a more helpful way.
10. You will better understand research studies.
Earning a Certificate will enable you to be a discriminating consumer of research and statistics, and we don’t mean that in a bad way! You will find yourself asking, “Who was in that sample?” and “Were there any limitations to that study?” Many Certificate students have told us that they now understand research studies in a new light.