Child & Family Services, B.S.

It is almost easier to explain what you cannot do with a degree in Child & Family Services! Career opportunities with this concentration include, but are not limited to:

• Child & Family Services within Disney Parks
  
• Family Services within the military 
• Department of Human Services 
• Department of Child Services 
• Early Intervention Programs 
  • Example: First Steps   
• Agency Director/Manager
  
• Family Programming & Services 
• Home Visiting Programs 
• HANDS 
• Healthy Families America 
• Parents as Teachers 
• Case Management  
• Family Case Management example  
• Extended Day Programs 
• Crisis Nurseries 
• Behavioral Programs 
• YMCA  
• Child Advocacy   
• Youth Counselor   
• Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) 
• Big Brothers / Big Sisters  
• Extension Agent   
• Family Service Worker 
  
• Family Support Specialist 
• Foster Care Speciliast 
• Social Service Worker 
• Child Welfare   
• Parenting Programs  
• Preschool Teacher* 
• Early Head Start 
• Head Start 
• Montessori Schools 
• Early Childhood Education programs not requiring a teaching license (private sector that do not require the license) 
• Other Community Agencies 
• Other Social Services 
• Child Life Specialist** 
• Plus so many more! 

Should students decide to get a teaching certificate at a later date, students can utilize the Option 6 route. 

This degree is also a wonderful preparation for students desiring to study in practice-focused masters level programs that center on children and families (e.g. Applied Behavior Analysis (BCBA Certification), Play Therapy, Social Work, Marriage & Family Counseling, and so on).  

This is not an exhaustive list of employment opportunities. There are MULTIPLE employment opportunities available to students with a degree in Child & Family Services.

*Graduates of the Child & Family Services: Should you decide to get a teaching certificate at a later date, the Option 6 route is wonderful for graduates of Child & Family Services. 

**Graduates of the Child & Family Services: Child Development Pathway are prepared to enter a graduate program to become a Child Life Specialist. Graduate work is required in order to become a certified Child Life Specialist. The Child & Family Services: Child Development Pathway program will provide the foundation for future graduate work. Students interested in the field of Child Life must personally locate details, rules and requirements for the field, by working with the Association of Child Life Professionals. 

Advising is an important part of  the educational process at WKU. Within the Child and Family Services concentration, the faculty advise the students. The faculty are invested in the students and want to guide them not only through what courses to take, but also internship options, career opportunities, and other life experiences. 

1. Students will develop a thorough understanding of child development, the multiple influences on child development, and the interdependence of development and will be able to apply developmental concepts to practical situations in and out of the classroom.
2. Students will demonstrate the ability to build and strengthen family and community relationships.
3. Students will demonstrate the ability to construct and implement meaningful, developmentally appropriate classrooms and curriculum.
4. Students will demonstrate professional skills including: 1) written and verbal skills, 2) making connections between prior knowledge/experience and new learning, 3) identifying and using professional resources, 4) self-assessment and self-advocacy, and 5) mastering and applying foundations concepts from general education (adapted from NAEYC Supportive Skills).

Each of the Child Services classes at Western Kentucky University is designed to meet the outcomes listed above. As students progress though the coursework, the same conceptual framework outcomes are repeatedly reinforced at increasingly deeper levels. Each course is designed to build on a prior knowledge base and expand one’s ability to integrate and apply new information.

The fall-to-fall retention rate in the program for each of the three most recently completed academic years