When considering a career in Child and Family Services, some may think there are only a few options for supporting children and their families. However, there is a wide variety of careers and pathways designed for professionals looking to enter the child and family services world. From becoming a licensed therapist to working as a childcare worker or manager, the possibilities to enhance a child’s development are endless. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the rise in job opportunities for child and family service professionals is increasing year after year, with marriage and family therapists growing at 16%, as well as health education specialists, community health workers and social and human service assistants at 17% nationwide.
If you find yourself interested in working with families and children needing physical, mental, or educational services, check out these potential career paths and gain insight into how ACU Online’s B.S. in Child and Family Services can help you land your dream job.
Family and Community Services
- Adoption Matching Specialist – An adoption matching specialist develops and implements a matched adoption program, supervises adoptive families to ensure compliance with state licensing and monitors standards to provide families with adoption contracts. Matching Specialists also partner with prospective families to lead and assist the adoptive parents and their potential adoptive child through the adoption process.
- Case Manager – A case manager’s primary focus is to address the specialized case management needs of participants in a specific program. Case managers coordinate with partner agencies to address the broad array of client needs through referral to providers of necessary services and assistance with benefits and identification. Case managers also perform duties that include outreach, prevention and risk reduction, crisis intervention, health education, referral for substance abuse, mental health counseling and benefits counseling. Case management services are provided in medical, educational and community settings.
- Certified Family Life Educator – Family life education is the practice of equipping and empowering family members to develop knowledge and skills that enhance well-being and strengthen interpersonal relationships through an educational, preventive and strengths-based approach (NCFR). Family life educators work in various settings, including health care, community education, faith communities, junior and senior high schools, colleges and universities, social service agencies, corporate settings, government agencies, corrections, retirement communities and the military.
- Early Childhood Intervention Specialist – An early childhood intervention specialist (ECI) works on a multidisciplinary team to meet the developmental needs of children and their families who experience a medically diagnosed condition, are deaf/hard of hearing or have any developmental delay. ECI providers work with the child and family regarding where they live, learn and play. Services are provided in the home and the community, which could include child care centers, grocery stores, parks and restaurants.
- Marriage and Family Therapist – A marriage and family therapist helps couples and families with mental and overall health issues that could affect their interpersonal relationships. They address issues like infertility and domestic abuse and develop plans to resolve these challenges. Marriage and family therapists gather information by asking questions and creating treatment plans to help clients successfully meet their goals.
- Registered Play Therapist – Play therapists help young children learn to communicate with others, express feelings, modify behavior, develop problem-solving skills, increase human development and discover various ways of relating to others through the way they learn best – play!
- Victim Advocate, Child Advocacy Center – Victim advocates work collaboratively with a multidisciplinary team (law, social services, etc.) to ensure the child’s various environments feel safe to them as well as guide families through the aftermath of a crisis. Victim Advocates provide families with access to needed information, services and support, to promote healing and justice.
Education
- Child Care Worker – Child care workers attend to children at schools, businesses, private households and childcare institutions, providing a variety of tasks, such as dressing, feeding, bathing and overseeing play.
- Family Liaison – School setting family liaisons provide students and families with information about available programs and services and school/district activities and procedures. Family liaisons conduct family needs assessments to help identify family strengths and needs to foster ongoing relationships between the school and families, including supporting family involvement and teachers.
- Parent Educator– A certified Parent educator emphasizes parent-child interaction, development-centered parenting and family well-being in their work with families. Parent educators partner, facilitate and reflect with families by providing education through personal visits, group meetings, screenings and linkages to a network of resources for parents and children.
- Preschool/Child Development Teacher – Preschool teachers educate young children and prepare them for Kindergarten by following a formal curriculum. Preschool curriculum teaches students letter and number recognition along with colors and shapes. Preschool teachers also enforce rules and help students learn basic social skills to prepare them to interact in classroom settings.
Medical
- Certified Child Life Specialist – Child life specialists cover a broad scope of practices, such as assessing coping responses and the psychosocial needs of children and families. They do this by minimizing stress and anxiety for children and families, preparing children for healthcare experiences, providing essential play experiences crucial to their development, creating opportunities for children to grow self-esteem and advocating effectively with a multidisciplinary team. These pillars form a family-centered care approach that optimizes positive outcomes for patients and their families.
Our online program’s interdisciplinary structure transforms you into an engaging, caring, spiritually grounded, community-based educator and steward. Whether you’re looking for a career in a non-clinical role or want to pursue graduate-level studies and certification, the opportunities for you to become the professional you wish to be are possible! For more information, check out acu.edu/online or contact us at 855-219-7300 to learn more about our B.S. Child and Family Services degree program.
