ECYFS Career Opportunities

Graduating students in Early Childhood, Youth, and Family Studies become professionals who have varied experiences and backgrounds with a wide array of career opportunities ahead of them. Our curriculum provides students with a solid foundation in theories and research related to child life, early care, early intervention, family science, and early childhood education. Our program also provides hands-on training to prepare students for careers working directly with children and families in school, home, community, and or medical settings.

Offered to students are four majors through the Department of Early Childhood, Youth, and Family Studies, 1. Teaching Major in Early Childhood Education, 2. Teaching Major in Early Childhood/Early Childhood Special Education (Dual), 3. Early Childhood Education Major (Non-Licensure), and 4. Family and Child. In the Major in Family and Child, students may choose from four concentrations, 1. Child Life, 2. Early Care, 3. Early Intervention, and 4. Family Science.

Though all career paths require a strong foundation in child, youth, and family, each major and concentration offer students specific courses tailored toward specific content required in each career. For example, students in our family science concentration program are qualified for careers in parent education, family life education, family services, youth work, and family engagement. Child life course content prepares students to work with children in hospitals, other medical settings, and community programs related to health and bereavement. Early intervention prepares students to assess and provide specialized services for very young children in the child’s natural environment such as home, childcare centers, or community settings. Students in the early care concentration are qualified to work in early childcare programs and community settings with children from ages 0 – 8 that do not require a teaching license. Students in the Teaching Major in Early Childhood Education or the dual major with special education courses are uniquely qualified to teach K-3rd grade once a teaching license is obtained from the Indiana Department of Education.

Our Bachelor’s programs also serve as a “stepping stone” to a number of graduate programs in related fields.

Possible Careers

Family and Child

Family & Child: Child Life

Child life specialists are health care professionals who help children and families navigate the process of illness, injury, disability, trauma, or hospitalization. Child life specialists are highly involved with patient care and work with children and their families. They also commonly work with social workers, chaplains, nurses, doctors, and other members of the health care staff. They are an integral part of the health care team as they provide additional support resources to children and families to help process the often times stressful situation of an illness or injury. Work for a child life specialist changes daily and allows for a lot of creativity in developing coping plans. Child life specialists are different from many other health care providers as they focus on the psychosocial needs of the patient, including mental, emotional, and social needs. Mayo Clinic

CAREER POSITIONS:

Child Life Assistant
Child Life Specialist
Child Life Fellowship
Certified Child Life Specialist

CERTIFIED CHILD LIFE SPECIALISTS HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO WORK IN:

Hospitals
Outpatient clinics
Doctor’s offices
Dentist’s offices
Bereavement programs, i.e.
Palliative care
Hospice care
Schools
Funeral homes
Camps
Homes

Family & Child: Early Care

Early care providers are professionals offering care and education services to young children. Age ranges typically include infancy through preschool along with before and after care for children through age eight. Most often, an early care provider does not hold a teaching license depending on job description and location. However, an early care provider has a strong educational background in infant, toddler, and child development. Nationally accredited and licensed childcare programs seek to employ early care providers with a bachelor’s degree. High-quality early care providers focus on all areas of a child’s development providing safe, nurturing environments, and provide learning-based activities that foster and enhance cognitive, physical, social, and emotional development of the child in a variety of settings.

CAREER POSITIONS:

Infant/Toddler/Preschool lead teacher
Administrator
Provider of home-based services (owner/teacher)
Home visitor
Technical assistance specialist
Family specialist
Educator
Nanny / Manny
Early intervention therapist

EARLY CARE PROVIDER PROFESSIONALS HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO WORK IN:

Licensed childcare centers
Registered Ministries / Faith-based organizations
Family childcare homes
Private homes
Head Start or Early Head Start
Schools, i.e. Before and after school programs; teacher assistant
Community, i.e. Parenting classes, family literacy programs
First Steps Early Intervention Programs
Museum or library
Professional organizations, i.e. Indiana Association for the Education of Young Children

WITH ADDITIONAL TRAINING/DEGREES/EXPERIENCE

Behavior interventionist
Consulting
Curriculum developer
Research
Counselor
Higher Education
Specialist with a local or state agency
Trainer
Licensing Regulator / Inspector

Family & Child: Early Intervention

A developmental therapist is one of many early intervention specialist professional providing services to children from birth to age 3 in Indiana (some states provide these services to age 5) for children assessed with developmental delays or disabilities. A developmental therapist focuses on the whole child working with families to help children meet developmental milestones. Early intervention in the state of Indiana is called First Steps Early Intervention Program through the Family and Social Services Administration.

CAREER POSITIONS:

First Steps Provider, i.e.
First Steps Services Coordinator
Integrated Infant Classroom Teacher
Integrated Toddler Classroom Teacher
Integrated Preschool Classroom Teacher

EARLY INTERVENTION PROVIDER PROFESSIONALS HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO WORK IN:

First Steps Multidisciplinary Agency, i.e. First Steps Offices
System Point of Entry Agencies
Early Head Start / Head Start
Licensed Centers
Registered Ministries
Licensed Childcare Homes

ADDITIONAL OPPORTUNITIES WITH EXPERIENCE / EDUCATION:

Starting a First Steps Multidisciplinary Agency
Indiana Family and Social Services Administration

Family & Child: Family Science

Students graduating with a bachelor’s in Family and Child: Family Science have a world of opportunity available to them from business, consumer, and family resource services, family intervention programs, community-based social services to the non-traditional educational setting. Family science professionals work with children, youth, adolescents, young adults, adult, and or elderly as individuals or with the family unit.

CAREER POSITIONS:

Certified Family Life Educator (CFLE)
Parent educator
Family casework and intervention
Family resource services
Foster and adoption services
Activities Director in residential youth and senior programs
4-H youth development
Youth worker
Health and human sciences and family wellness in
Support specialist in residential programs for youth and young adults
Government public policy/ family advocate
Child and family research
Business consulting on family policies
Human resources

FAMILY SCIENTISTS HAVE THE OPPORTUNITY TO WORK IN (THIS IS JUST A SAMPLING):

Employee assistance offices
Corporate childcare
Financial planning and counseling offices
Consumer protection programs
Food assistance programs, i.e.
- SNAP
- The Emergency Food Assistance Program (TEFAP
- Gleaners
- Second Harvest Food Bank of East Central Indiana
Academic advising (colleges / universities)
Youth development programs
Adoption agencies
Foster care agencies
Teen pregnancy prevention programs
Cooperative Extension / County Extension Offices
YMCA / YWCA organizations
After school programs
Adult day care programs
Extended living facilities
Residential youth centers
Family peace and justice centers
Crisis and hotline services
Court-mandated parent education programs
Abuse protection, victim / witness services facilities
Family Court, i.e. CASA offices