College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences Catalog 2016

196 GERO 6300: Capstone Project The capstone project will take place over Summer II (second year). The Master's will be granted upon satisfactory completion of all requirements plus satisfactory completion and presentation of this project to faculty and students in the program. Each student will have a faculty member assigned as advisor, and access to mentors, who are leaders in their branch of the field, for the capstone project and will mutually arrange their own schedule of conferencing and means of communication. 6 credits HCP – Human Services in Child Protection HCP 0510 - Foundations in Child Protection Law (4 Credits) This course will introduce students to the legal framework for child protection proceedings. It is designed to introduce students to the basic legal concepts governing child protection law, providing them with a background in the legal process and assisting them in understanding how that process responds to the particularized needs of children in the child protection proceedings. This background will also be helpful in analyzing material in other courses in the degree program that focus on the legal process of child protection. HCP 0520 - Foundations in Family Diversity & Conflict Resolution (4 Credits) This course will focus on the fundamental concepts of family structure and interpersonal family dynamics that impact family functioning including communication and cultural diversity. Students will be introduced to the theoretical aspects of family systems functioning and investigate through practice the most effect application of theories introduced. HCP 0530 - Foundations in Child Development (4 Credits) This course reviews child growth and development and individual differences in brain development, temperament and biology. Physical, social, emotional, intellectual, and language developmental sequences will be emphasized. Major theories of development will be reviewed. HCP 0540 - Foundations in Placement Risk & Protective Factors (4 Credits) This course will provide an overview of perspectives on placement and permanency, child protection trends, children in need, and the processes used to support children and their families while moving them through the system. HCP 0550 - Foundations in Assessment and Case Planning (4 Credits) This course introduces students to various forms of family assessments and case planning. It introduces students to multiple and holistic family assessments and provides students with skills to increase their effectiveness and efficacy while providing l services to their clients. HCP 0560 – Program Evaluation (4 credits) This course will provide a fundamental analysis of research and methodology as related to evaluation of criminal justice administration. Included in this course will be an introduction to statistical analysis and the use of current technology. HCP 0601 Social Poly of Child Custody and Visitation Students will explore social policies as it relates to child custody and visitation. The course will examine the effects of child custody and visitation on the child and parents and third parties. Students will also critically examine laws, policies and regulations that govern child custody and visitation. The class will also explore recent trends and issues as it relates to the topic. HCP 0602 Social Dynamics of Youth Gangs This course is designed to introduce students to the cultural and structural components of gang activity and will present a comprehensive review of all the critical elements relevant to the growing phenomenon of gang life. It will provide an overview of criminal street gangs and explore its impact on our society. The course will be delimited by the introduction of the topics: history of gangs, typology, theoretical explanations, causations, organizational structure, criminal activities of gangs, girls and gangs, community impact, community based and national intervention strategies. The interaction of race, culture, class and gender in the criminal justice system will be infused throughout weekly discussions. Additionally, psychological and sociological dynamics will be explored. Furthermore, how to work with and treat children and adolescents as well as their families who have been associated with street gangs will be investigated. Along with this, students will also examine the short and long term goals of child and family protection, laws, as well as future relationships with regards to gang life. HCP 0604 Practicum I (3 credits) This practica will provide the MHS student with first-hand experience working alongside organizations, agencies, and employees in the field of child protection. During a ten-week term, students will have the opportunity to observe various entities within a department of child protection or other child protection related field 8 hours per week. HCP 0605 Practicum II (6 credits) This practica will provide the MHS student with first-hand experience working alongside organizations, agencies, and employees in the field of child protection. During a ten-week term, students will have the opportunity to observe various entities within a department of child protection or other child protection related field 24 hours per week. HCP 0606 Practicum III (9 credits) This practica will provide the MHS student with first-hand experience working alongside organizations, agencies, and employees in the field of child protection.