Honoring Native Children through Strengthening Child Protection: Native Child Advocacy Studies (NCAST)

The Kathryn M. Buder Center for American Indian Studies at Washington University in St. Louis (Buder Center), and the University of Missouri-St. Louis Child Advocacy Studies Program (UMSL-CAST) will join in partnership for Project Native Child Advocacy Studies (NCAST) to enhance and expand child protection professional workforce development for Native law enforcement officers, social workers, mental and medical health professionals, and prosecutors.  NCAST will conduct an analysis of curricular needs related to Child Advocacy Studies in all Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs), Native Non-Tribal Institutions (NNTIs), and Native-focused Centers and Departments in non-tribal Institutions throughout the United States and provide a completed report on the status of Native child advocacy studies and recommendations to OJJDP.  NCAST will recruit and train existing Native American faculty and Child Protection professionals and their surrounding Native communities.  NCAST will offer six virtual colloquiums (two each year) in key NCAST components, to include application of indigenized models of the core concepts of trauma for children and youth, trauma-informed reasoning skills, mandated reporting, minimal facts interviewing, trauma screening, etc. Finally, NCAST will provide for each partner entity to select and award scholar cohort status to three undergraduate or graduate level Native students or paraprofessionals to join the cohort of scholars (15 total) who will attend UMSL’s Child Advocacy Studies’ courses.  Upon completion of three courses and a fieldwork component, scholars will receive nationally recognized Child Advocacy Studies credentialing.