Certified Family Life Educator Program
The FCS Department offers the Certified Family Life Educator Program from the National Council on Family Relations. Family life education provides skills and knowledge to enrich individual and family life. It includes knowledge of how families work, the effects of policy and legislation on families, ethical considerations in professional conduct, the interrelationship of families and society, human growth and development, and information on how to develop curriculum for what are often sensitive and personal issues. The certification is appropriate for those interested in community education, curriculum and resource development, heath care, military family support, counseling, and ministry.
To receive this certification, students are required to take courses from 10 substance areas. Most of the 11 required courses count towards the Human Development and Family Studies major or towards the required allied hours. As a result, current HDFS majors may only have to take a few additional courses.
Family Life Educators work in a variety of settings, which include social services, health services, child care, family support, youth programs, and parent education. Family Life Educators may plan, conduct, and evaluate family life programs, which might include marital and family relations, child and youth development, adult development and aging, families in transition, care of dependents, and interactions of individuals/families within wider social environments. The aim of Family Life Education is to increase knowledge and skills relevant to programs in social and community service agencies, hospitals, schools and after-school programs, employee assistance programs or wellness programs, in business organizations, learning centers, and religious institutions. This education will give an individual additional training and practice in group leadership and small group dynamics, interpersonal relations and communications, designing, facilitating and evaluating programs and workshops, and prevention work with individuals and families.
Benefits of Certification (as listed on the NCFR web site):
- Increases credibility as a professional by showing that the high standards and criteria needed to provide quality family life education have been met
- Validates experience and education
- Recognizes the broad, comprehensive range of issues, which constitute family life education and expertise in the field
- Acknowledges the preventative focus of family life education
- Provides avenues for networking with other family life educators both locally and nationally
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For more information, please visit the National Council on Family Relations web site at www.ncfr.org or contact the FCS Academic Advisor at 801-581-4431.