Child and Family Studies

The course will provide students with an opportunity to explore in depth the design and management of human services programs established at the college, community, and national level to address mental health and social issues affecting college students in the 21^st century. Contemporary literature and films serve as case studies to inform, ground and challenge students’ perception and response to characters grappling with mental health, violence, identity, racism, socioeconomics, self-esteem, or addiction issues.

This course is a prerequisite or corequisite to all Child and Family majors.  It serves as an introductory study of the major theories of child, family, and community in the American system.   The course concentrates on how these theories focus on child development, and how they take place in multiple settings. It also looks at the people and agencies outside of the family.  In addition, there is a concentration on the professional aspect needed in the field of Child and Family studies.  The content includes ongoing current issues in the field (state and national, the multiple organizations associated with the most relevant topics, and career opportunities in the ever-changing world of children, families, and communities. 

This is a survey course of family development across the lifespan, including the study of the family as a system, family interactions, and family roles.  The course will emphasize the relationship of the family and its environment.  Consideration is given to the cultural diversity and heritage of families.

Each Special Topics in Child and Family Studies Course will cover a topic related to the study of Child and Family studies that is not included in the regular curriculum.

This undergraduate course focuses on the role of play as a medium for cognitive and
social-emotional growth from infancy to adulthood. This study includes consideration of
culture, social justice, and equity issues for play advocacy. Learners will explore and
discuss theoretical and empirical literature on play, as well as examples of play from the real
world.

This undergraduate course examines contemporary family life and the impact of government laws, policies, and programs on families over time and across contexts and cultures. It explores the intended and unintended consequences of policies for diverse families across a variety of policy matters, from anti-poverty and social welfare policies to health and environmental policies.

A central theme of this course is the impact of social problems, economic inequity, and discrimination on family well-being and how these forces have affected the development of services for families and children.

This course builds on the knowledge of social welfare institutions that were introduced in the Intro to Child and Family Studies course. Students research career opportunities in our field, identify and apply for internship opportunities, and present a case study of a social service program or policy. Co-requisite: CON102.

The purpose of our senior seminar course is to examines the social welfare policies, programs and services to families and children, historically known as "child welfare services." Students evaluate major issues facing children, youth and families, critically examining the assumptions, values, and philosophical perspectives underlying the social policies that shape social services. 

Those who seek to work with families and children in the community need to be aware of national and state best practices in improving and enhancing the quality of life for families and children. Students will be embedded in an organization that seeks to improve the quality of life for families and children. This internship will be a minimum of 120 hours over the course of the semester. Students will be responsible for documenting their experiences throughout the semester and reporting on their overall experience through a context paper, reflective journaling, an end-term self-analysis of the success of the project, and in the final poster. Content will vary dependent on organization where student conducts the internship.

Each student will be responsible for developing learning objectives for their specific internship site. These objectives will be submitted for approval at the beginning of the internship experience and will be visited throughout the semester with the faculty supervisor.