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Child & Family Services, B.S.

Child & Family Services Concentration (CFCF) 

The central purpose of this online program is to prepare students who are interested in working in a child and family-focused environment. The graduates will have a broad knowledge base working with children and families. The concentration will provide graduates with entry-level competencies for child and family life.

This concentration is also a wonderful preparation for students desiring to study in practice-focused masters level programs that center on children and families.

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Development Pathways

The concentration requires a minimum of 63 hours in Child & Family Services courses. Students must complete 48 hours in the concentration core, and select Child Development or Family Development as their preferred pathway which requires an additional 15 hours. A grade of “C” or above must be earned in the courses required for this concentration.

All 15 curriculum hours must be from the same group.

  • FACS 193 Curriculum Development for Young Children
  • FACS 294 Assessment of Young Children
  • FACS 299 Administration of Early Childhood Programs
  • FACS 335 Infant/Toddler Development
  • FACS 336 Preschool and Kindergarten  Development

All 15 curriculum hours must be from the same group.

  • FACS 310 Management of Family Resources
  • FACS 410 Internship
  • FACS 422 Adolescent Psychology
  • GERO 100 Introduction to the Aging Experience
  • PH 365 Human Sexuality
                   or
  • SOCL 359 Sexuality and Society

Our Vision is to graduate leaders and life-long learners to work with and advocate for children and their families. 

Our Mission is to sustain a model of excellence, leadership, and empowerment for our students through courses, community interactions and engagement, and faculty-student-led research opportunities. This will be accomplished through reflection, application, and critical thinking in course work. We also challenge students to be continual learners by providing experiential learning with children and families in our communities. Thus, graduating students who embody the WKU spirit of leadership as they continue to advocate by working from a sound understanding of children, families, and communities.

Core Values

  • Base all Child & Family Services curriculum on strong child development principles.
  • Provide interactive courses which engage students in hands-on, experiential learning.
  • Provide community engagement for students in which they both learn and lead.
  • Provide reflective learning opportunities for students throughout the degree program.
  • Challenge students to develop advocacy skills and require that students apply these skills for the betterment and advocacy of children and families.
  • Ground all work in upstanding ethical values.

The field of Child & Family services is challenging, yet rewarding. Graduates of the Child & Family Services program at WKU will have a broad range of career opportunities from which to choose. Along with assistance from our experienced faculty, students of our program will be guided to employment areas that meet their interests and goals. Our field is continually growing, with the need for graduates from Child & Family Services programs continuing to rise!

For an infographic of careers in Child & Family Services, click here.

Other career opportunities with this concentration include, but are not limited to:

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).  

*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. 

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. 

Advisors are assigned through the AHS office.  Please call 270-745-4352 to be assigned an advisor or contact one of the advisors listed above for assistance. Students studying the Child and Family Services Concentration must be advised by a faculty advisor through the Child and Family Services Concentration program on the main campus.

You must see your assigned advisor each semester prior to registering for classes (this is assuming you have declared your major, and have been assigned an advisor). Each student has an "Advising Hold" on their record until they meet with their advisor. After a student meets with his/her advisor, she will lift the hold on the students record, allowing the student to register for courses.

Remember, each advisor sees many students, therefore waiting until the last minute to schedule an appointment is not recommended, as there might be difficulty getting into the advising schedule.

Click the faculty members name to learn more about them!

Dr. Darbi Haynes-Lawrence     

Dr. Qingfang Song

Dr. D'Lee Babb   

Dr. Adam West    

sunflower

  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.

Academic Year

Number of program completers

% of program completers who were attending full-time (at the time of completion)

% of program completers who were attending part-time[1] (at the time of completion)

2017-2018

28

71%

29%

2018-2019

28

68%

32%

2019-2020

26

71%

29%

Academic year in which a Fall cohort of full-time candidates enrolled in the program (select three sequential years)

Percentage of those candidates who completed the program within 150% of the published timeframe

Percentage of those candidates who completed the program within 100%, 200% (twice) or 300% (three times) of the published timeframe

Fall 2012

58%

42%

Fall 2013

37%

16%

Fall 2014

33.3%

17%

 

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

Academic Year

All

Retained 1 Year

No

Yes

#

#

%

#

%

Fall 2016

Part Time

20

6

30

14

70

Full Time

72

33

46

39

54

Fall 2017

Part Time

18

8

44

10

56

Full Time

53

21

40

32

60

Fall 2018

Part Time

29

9

31

20

69

Full Time

46

16

35

30

65

 

meagan ferguson testimonial

"I didn’t just want to be an elementary school teacher that limited me to one job. Instead, I wanted to pick a major that had numerous career opportunities that involved working with children. After my first semester at WKU, I knew that Child Studies was definitely for me. The Child Studies program is not only an amazing program, but it has some of the best professors and mentors! You aren’t just a student when you are pursuing a Child Studies degree, but instead you are family. You go throughout the courses with people that become your friends. You have professors that not only care about you doing good in school, but also in life."

Meagan Ferguson

 

list of winter courses

Welcome Video

Thoughts from Students

Updates in Child & Family!

FAQ's

Child & Family Services Club

 

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 Last Modified 10/25/24