Social work majors are not the only ones who can learn how to prevent child abuse and its effects on families.
Child Welfare is offered as an elective in social work, but it is available to all majors.
Students majoring in anything from human development and family studies to psychology to nursing have taken the course.
"We just try to talk about what families are going through in society," said Carolyn "Ki" Seroka, assistant clinical professor with the social work program and teacher of the course this semester. "Then we get a little deeper into some of the services that we have available--social service programs that help families."
The class discusses sexual abuse, physical neglect and emotional abuse or psychological maltreatment.
"You see pictures of kids with black eyes knowing that their mom did that to them, and you ask yourself how this happened and why," said Kelly Morrow, senior in human development and family studies. "It's tough to see."
The class also discusses the effects of abuse, solutions and how to conduct interventions to understand families.
"Ki is really good about being sensitive about these topics, and she also challenges us and will not sugar coat things because that's not the reality, sadly enough," said Kristan Lewis, senior in social work. "She will explicitly say some things, like describing situations and stuff, so that if any of us go into a career where we will see stuff like that, we don't go into shock because we didn't know it existed."
Students visited an office of the Department of Human Resources Monday to get a better understanding of what it is like in the field on a daily basis.
The DHS serves as the state's child protection agency.
Earlier in the semester, the class visited the child advocacy center in Opelika that deals with sexual abuse cases in Lee County.
"You hear these stories, you hear that these things go on and you know it in your head, but until you see it and see these stories over and over, it's hard to believe," Morrow said.
Morrow said she thinks people in this field have to care for children and be able to control their emotions because it can tear people apart if they are not strong.
"I really do think that all kinds of family and children service work is absolutely critical, but public child welfare, child protective services, I think, is probably one of the most demanding jobs you can have in social work," Seroka said. "You have to have the skills to engage and join with families. You have to have empathy, and you have to reach out to them. You have to be nonjudgmental, in the sense that you respect everyone, but at the same time, you have to be able to assess what happened here."
Seroka said it takes responsibility and the ability to make critical decisions to deal with the pressures that come with handling an abused child.
Child welfare isn't just a course for people interested in the field. Seroka said this is a good course for women considering parenthood.
Seroka said she believes when dealing with people, it's necessary to have a basic knowledge on abuse because then people know how to help kids and can be a part of finding the solution.
"The world definitely needs social workers, hard core," Lewis said. "Social work is huge for advocating for the voice that isn't heard."
Do you like this story? The Plainsman doesn't accept money from tuition or student fees, and we don't charge a subscription fee. But you can donate to support The Plainsman.
