Q32418

A Child Life Specialist is a trained professional with experience in helping children and their families overcome life’s most challenging events. They have a strong background in child development and family systems, child life specialists promote effective coping through play, preparation, education, and self-expression activities. They provide emotional support for families, and encourage optimum development of children facing a broad range of challenging experiences, particularly those related to healthcare and hospitalization. Because they understand that a child’s wellbeing depends on the support of the family, child life specialists provide information, support and guidance to parents, siblings, and other family members. They also play a vital role in educating caregivers, administrators, and the general public about the needs of children under stress. Child life specialists have earned a minimum bachelor’s or master’s degree, with an educational emphasis on human growth and development, education, psychology, or a related field of study. They adhere to a code of ethics and standards established by the Child Life Council, and many have participated in the rigorous process for obtaining the Certified Child Life Specialist (CCLS) credential, which is administered by CLC. All Certified Child Life Specialists must complete a supervised 480-hour clinical internship, pass a national examination, and adhere to a minimum standard for continued professional development in order to maintain their certification.

The Certified Child Life Specialist (CCLS) credential is the exclusive certification issued by the Child Life Council. The CCLS credentialing program is a rigorous, examination-based professional certification credential. The requirements for getting certified are based on academic and clinical experiences, and successful completion of the [|Child Life Professional Certification Examination] (http://www.childlife.org/Certification/The%20Examination/index.cfm). The CCLS credentialing program was established in 1986 to increase the proficiency of child life professionals by identifying a body of knowledge; establishing a level of comprehension and performance necessary for certification; and increasing the value of practitioners to their employers. The median expected salary for a typical Child Life Specialist in the United States is $44,086 and they are extremely wealthy in the way of bettering precious developing lives.

"Child Life Council : Overview Of Child Life Council." Child Life Council : Overview Of Child Life Council. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2012. "Child Life Specialist Salary - Salary.com." Salary.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Dec. 2012. .