Introduction
The Institute serves as an international resource for interdisciplinary education and multidisciplinary professional consultation and training in child abuse and family violence. In its fourteenth year of operation, the Institute and its activities have forwarded the mission of “Intervention with and prevention of child abuse and family violence through professional education and training” on an even broader scale than previous years.
Offered by the School of Health and Human Services, this program provides individuals from various disciplines with expanded knowledge and formalized education in the area of child abuse and domestic violence, training and field experience in serving this population, and opportunities to qualify for career positions in which multidisciplinary training is required or is essential.
The course work includes theoretical, conceptual, and practical experiences leading to a multidisciplinary view of the relevant issues, processes, and systems involved. The goals of the program are to prepare individuals to better serve the needs of abused children and violent families, and to qualify for career positions in which multidisciplinary training is essential. The program requires 24 units of upper division course work, including 16 units of required courses, 4 units of electives, and 4 units of field experience. Admissions to the program requires upper division standing (completion of 90 quarter units), formal application to the school, application to the certificate program, and approval by the program director.
The Institute is also the home of the CSULA - Juvenile Court Partnership, under Dr. Friend’s direction. This Partnership seeks to provide educational and training exchanges between our neighboring institutions. Every year we collaborate on the New Beginnings for Partnership Conference, under Dr. Hershel Swinger’s leadership. Dr. Mitchell Eisen is the Liaison who facilitates the conducting of research with Juvenile Court populations and the California Forensic Science Institute. Now that CSULA is the home of the Los Angeles Regional Crime Lab, the University is in a unique position to recruit and educate students who are interested in building a career in court related systems.
The Institute also offers training to the community and is currently involved in research, training and evaluation projects with USC’s University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities and Juvenile Court’s Parents Beyond Conflict Program.
CSULA Child Abuse and Family Violence Institute
King Hall, Rm 109B
- The Child Abuse and Family Violence Institute has many components including:
- The Child Maltreatment and Family Violence Certificate Program
- The CSULA Juvenile Court Partnership This is a collaboration of the LA County Juvenile Court and the entire CSULA. It is dedicated to promoting joint opportunities for research, education and service learning. From its inception in 1988 it has grown to encompass:
- Formal internship opportunities
- Service learning opportunities
- The 14th Annual New Partnership Beginnings Conference (Nov. 3, 2009)
- An information/resource center
- Expert speaker list
- Exchanges between Juvenile Court experts and CSULA Faculty for training and guest lectures
- Summit Meetings
- The Child Abuse and Family Violence Institute participates in ongoing research, evaluation and training in collaboration with:
- The Inter University Consortium (http://iuc.sppsr.ucla.edu/iucmain/)
- Los Angeles County, Juvenile Court’s Parents Beyond Conflict Program
- And the California Forensic Science Institute
The California Forensic Science Institute (CFSI) is the career development and applied research center, for the Los Angeles Regional Crime Lab (LARCL). The LARCL is a partnership among the LA County Sheriff, the LA Police Department and CSULA. The facility is now being built on our campus. Between the Juvenile Court Partnership and the California Forensic Science Institute and its new Los Angeles Regional Crime Lab, this University is a unique position to recruit and educated students who are interested in building a career in Court related systems. In conjunction with the Child Maltreatment Certificate, students can pursue undergraduate or graduate degrees in: Forensic Psychology, Forensic Social Work, Criminal Justice and Criminalistics.
Please review our Top 10 reasons to get a Child Maltreatment Certificate and our FAQs. Please click here to view statements from students who have graduated from our program. If you have further questions, or simply want to discuss your own situation, please call us at (323) 343-4696.
2008 – 2009 Highlights
* Co-sponsors of the Forensic Forum on Child Abuse: Recognition, Reporting, and Risks [Child Abuse Save the Date Brochure]. Here experts presented to a dozen key decision policy makers. The goal was to examine what we were currently doing and consider how we might approach it differently. This was on October 10, 2008, at the CSULA Golden Eagle.
- Dr. Colleen Friend (CSULA, COMD) and Dean Beatrice Yorker (CSULA, J.D., R.N., M.S., F.A.A.N.) represented CSULA and The California Professional Society on the Abuse of Children (CAPSAC) in their multidisciplinary presentation entitled, Child Abuse 101. Additional presenters were Donna Pense (law enforcement) and John Sterling, M.D. The presentations was the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children (APSAC) conference in Atlanta in June, 2009.
- Dr. Mitchell Eisen, Dean Yorker, Judge Emily Stevens and Commissioner Marilyn Kading-Martinez met with President Rosser in June, 2009 to further develop the active Court Scholar’s Program at CSULA. This program offers assistance to any young adults who have emancipated from the child welfare system. The focus of this program is three fold: preparing high school students for college, helping retain youths in college and facilitating the prospect of graduate school for those who qualify.
What’s New
- On September 10, 2008 Dr. Eisen organized a meeting for the Court Scholars; about 35 students attended. Judges, county officials and other faculty members attended. Click here for the handout that describes resources.
- In October, 2008, Dr. Colleen Friend recruited students at the Friends of Project 10, Models of Pride Conference at Occidental College
- In December, 2008 the County’s Division of Youth Development Services held its annual holiday party for emancipated and transitional youth at CSULA’s Golden Eagle. Many dignitaries, including Santa Clause attended.
- On February 12, 2009 Deputy District Attorney William Hodgman was scheduled to speak to CSULA students and invited Partnership members about the Clergy Child Sexual Abuse Scandal. When his appearance was cancelled (to be rescheduled) Dr. Friend and Dean Yorker led Joseph Palacios’ COMD 412 class in a discussion about this topic.
- Link to Victimology flyer
- The May, 2009 Partnership meeting was held at the California Forensic Science Institute. Dr. Joseph Peterson conducted a tour of the Forensic Crime Lab. Dean Yorker’s nursing students attended the meeting, where two students described their early experiences in the child welfare system.
- In July, 2009 the Child Abuse and Family Violence Institute responded to USC’s Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities request to participate in the CSULA Juvenile Court Partnership, should they be awarded a Department of Health and Human Services Grant.
- In July, 2009 Child Abuse and Family Violence Institute developed a separate website for the Partnership.
- The previous meeting of the Disproportionality Work Group was on July 27th and August 27th, 2009 at the Court. The Casey Family Program is working with ten countries (L.A. is one) to explore remedies for the overrepresentation of children and families of color in the public child welfare system. This group met on October 22 and will meet again on December 8, 2009.
- In September the USC Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities at LA Children’s Hospital was awarded a three year grant to work with California State University Los Angeles’ many minority oriented programs. The Principal Investigators will explain their proposal at the next Partnership Meeting on November 6, 2009.
- On November 3, 2009, the New Beginnings Partnership Conference will be held at the Los Angeles Convention Center. Please see the link on the front page sidebar.