Child/Youth Advocacy Certificate (CYA)
Type: Career, Certificate (C1)
Open Admissions
Division: Human Services
The Child/Youth Advocate Certificate provides the academic foundation and hands-on field placement training for students to successfully embark on a career working with children, youth and their families in treatment settings such as schools, community agencies, residential programs, hospitals and family homes. The one-year certificate program leads directly into the two-year Human Services Practitioner Associate Degree program.
The program helps students develop the necessary knowledge, attitude and skills to establish professional therapeutic relationships, identify treatment goals and intervention strategies, engage in conflict resolution and problem solving management techniques, and work collaboratively with other professionals in the human service field. The program emphasizes prevention, intervention and treatment strategies to facilitate positive change in children, adolescents and their families.
Working with children, youth and their families can be a rewarding and fulfilling experience. There is a high demand for human service practitioners in agencies that serve children, adolescents and their families. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that human service careers are among the fastest growing occupations in the United States.
Students interested in participating in an academic program that involves working with children, the disabled, or the elderly, or which includes a clinical affiliation, internship, or field placement with a private or public healthcare provider, may be required to undergo criminal background checks, including a national as well as local check (i.e. Massachusetts Criminal Offender Record Information (CORI) and Sex Offender Record Information (SORI)). Depending on the contents of these criminal background check(s), a student's participation in an academic program that involves working with children, the disabled, or the elderly or which includes a clinical affiliation, internship or field placement with a private or public healthcare provider may not be allowed, and therefore may impact a student's ability to complete program requirements. Furthermore, please note that eligibility to participate in the program and/or clinical affiliation, internship or field placement as a result of screening requirements, such as criminal background checks, is not a guarantee of eligibility to sit for professional credentialing examination(s) or employment upon graduation.
If you have questions related to program admissions or applications, please contact info@northshore.edu or call 978-762-4188.
First Year
Fall
| CMP101 | Composition 1 | 3 |
| HUS101 | The Human Services Worker | 3 |
| HUS140 | Introduction to Child/Youth Advocacy Work | 3 |
| HUS130 | Life Changes and Crisis: Adaptation and Intervention | 3 |
| PSY102 | Introduction to Psychology | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 15 |
Spring
| HUS102 | Helping Skills in Human Services | 3 |
| HUS142 | Introduction to Child/Youth Advocacy and Family Health Care | 3 |
| HUS137 | Field Placement & Seminar 1 for Human Services Practitioner | 3 |
| PSY202 | Child Psychology | 3 |
| Total Credit Hours: | 12 |
Requirement Notes
PSY202: For students working in educational settings, ECE101 may be substituted with permission of the Human Services Practitioner Coordinator.
Program Note
Communication and Mathematics proficiency required to graduate.
See guided pathway sheets for advising information specific to your area of focus.
Total Credit Hours: 27
Program Student Learner Outcomes
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Establish positive therapeutic relationships with children, adolescents and their families that promote constructive change.
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Demonstrate an understanding of cultural competence; provide ethical and culturally sensitive care.
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Develop and utilize a variety of child/ adolescent conflict resolution and problem solving techniques in a variety of child and adolescent care environments
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Identify, evaluate and utilize effective verbal, nonverbal and written communication skills.
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Identify child and adolescent risk factors associated with crisis prevention and intervention.
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Engage in ongoing self-assessment and self care to maintain attentiveness to professional competence.
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Utilize a strength based, resilience and humanistic perspective.
Occupational Skills required
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Actively seeking to help people
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Social perceptiveness
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Oral communication
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Documentation
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Ethical decision making
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Critical thinking
- Empathy
Experiential Learning Required in Program
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HUS130 Life Changes and Crisis: Adaptation and Intervention
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HUS137 Field Placement & Seminar 1 for Human Services Practitioner
MOST COMMON LINKED OCCUPATION TITLE - ALL EDUCATION LEVELS
- Counselor and Case Manager
MOST COMMON LINKED OCCUPATION TITLE - ASSOCIATE'S OR LESS
- Social and Human Services Assistant