Program Summary

CHILD DEVELOPMENT AND FAMILY STUDIES - Associate in Arts

2022 - 2023, 2023 - 2024, 2024 - 2025

The Child Development and Family Studies Associate of Arts degree prepares students to work with children and their families, in a variety of settings, including direct services, advocacy/public policy, family support, and early intervention. Child development and family studies courses provide students with valuable knowledge and transferable skills that are applicable in their personal and family lives as well as in the workplace. Additionally, a Child Development and Family Studies Associate of Arts degree, coupled with the Child and Adolescent Development Associate in Arts for Transfer degree, will provide a strong foundation for pursuing studies in child development, and related fields focusing on children and their families, at four-year institutions.

Career Opportunities
Case manager, Advocate, Program Coordinator - Family Service Agencies (adoption, foster care, family support), Parenting Educator/Parenting Support, Behavior Interventionist, Counselor (Marriage Family Therapist), Child-Life Specialist, Child Development Specialist, Social Worker, Child Protective/Welfare Services worker
Units: 18.0
CDFS 201
CHILD GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT
3.0
CDFS 202
CHILD, FAMILY, AND COMMUNITY
3.0
CDFS 217
THE STUDY OF PARENTING: THEORY AND PRACTICE
3.0
ASHS 214
FAMILY, RELATIONSHIPS AND INTIMACY
3.0
 
3.0
ASHS 212
HUMAN DEVELOPMENT: LIFE SPAN
3.0
OR
CDFS 240
INFANT AND TODDLER DEVELOPMENT
3.0
 
3.0
ASHS 278
FAMILIES AND ADDICTION
3.0
OR
NUTR 218
MATERNAL AND CHILD NUTRITION
3.0
Total: 18.0
Program Outcomes
Demonstrate an understanding of human development theory and the multiple interacting influences on a child’s development, including family school, community, and culture.
Assignments, exams, personal application, and group projects
Apply effective guidance and interaction strategies that support children’s social and emotional development and promote positive and reciprocal relationships among culturally and linguistically diverse children and their families.
Assignments, exams, personal application, and group projects
Demonstrate knowledge of physical, emotional, social, and cognitive developmental changes and understand why early development sets the foundation for lifelong learning, behavior, and health.
Assignments, exams, personal application, and group projects
Recognize that the family is a complex social system in which members interact to influence each other's behavior, emotional well-being, and health in functional and dysfunctional ways, and apply this understanding to self, family, and career.
Assignments, exams, personal application, and group projects
Describe the community's role in supporting and strengthening families, identify community resources, and explain how agencies can provide more culturally competent services.
Assignments, exams, personal application, and group projects