Careers that Change the World – Family Services and Child Development Published November 14, 2016

If you are looking for a career where you can truly make a difference, family services and child development, FSCD, should be at the top of your list. This multi-faceted degree provides many job opportunities for a meaningful career. Whether you choose to focus on child development, family services, or both, this degree will leave a mark on you as you impact others. 

While we have highlighted many careers that can change the world, like cyber security and health and sports science, this field directly helps children and families on a very personal level. 

Interest in the family services degree has increased significantly over the past few years at Rose State College, and today students in the FSCD program are mostly evenly split between degrees in child services and family development. 

Some students choose to take a few additional classes within their degree timeline to complete both degrees simultaneously. Kristin Hommel-Miller, professor at Rose State, shares that often students earn their degree in child services and then add family development before graduation because they only needed to take three more required classes to earn the degree. 

Earning the FSCD Degree

FSCD offers three degree options to choose from: an Associate of Science Degree, Associate of Applied Science Degree, or a certificate program. Your long-term goals will help determine the best path. If you want to enter the workforce immediately after completing your degree an AS degree will be ideal. The AS degree provides you applicable training to leave Rose State confidently and pursue your dreams in child care.  

While some students immediately enter the workforce, others choose to continue in their studies. If you want to continue your education, an AAS degree will be a better fit. Many graduates go to the University of Central Oklahoma to get their degree in Family Life Education-Child Development or to South Eastern Oklahoma State University for a degree in Early Intervention and Child Development. 

About 50 percent of Rose State students go straight into the workforce, while the other half choose to continue on and earn a four-year degree. 

A Career in Family Services

Rose State is the only community college in the state of Oklahoma to offer family services as an associate’s degree. While child development focuses solely on helping the child, family services takes a look at the entire family and provides resources for the family to better support the child. 

There are many job opportunities in family services, including roles within community health and welfare agencies, licensing agencies, or parent assistance agencies. 

One student from Rose State College recently completed an internship with Parent Promise. At Parent Promise, she did home visits and helped expecting and new mothers. Tasks ranged from teaching the mother how to swaddle the baby to helping a mother and child get out of a dangerous situation and find safe housing. 

A Career in Child Development

If you want to directly deal with children, child development is a smart path. Child development offers a range of options for careers. Jobs range from working in a classroom to a museum, leading art classes, or being a child care center director. 

Students can immediately enter the workforce upon graduation, or continue on to get a bachelor’s degree. Some students choose to continue their education at a four-year college or even to pursue a graduate-level counseling degree. 

Scholars for Excellence in Child Care Program

Rose State offers assistance for those already in the industry through the Scholars for Excellence in Child Care Program. The Scholars Program awards scholarships, educational stipends, and other grants to child care professionals to complete coursework in the area of child development or early childhood education. 

There are some requirements to be eligible for the program, typically based on your work experience and your workplace. As a potential student receiving the funding, you must have been working for at least six months, 30 hours per week, and making less than $15.50 an hour. Your facility must be a one-star plus or higher DHS- or tribal-licensed child care facility with a minimum of 10 percent subsidy children. Be sure that you fit all the requirements before applying. 

In terms of funds, the scholarship covers 70 percent of tuition and fees. It also pays for all required textbooks. 

“The Scholars Program is wonderful because it gets the students into the door who wouldn’t have gotten any schooling otherwise,” says Jennifer Bachhofer, scholar coordinator and academic advisor. “I recruit and visit centers to talk to potential recruits.” 

Bachhofer shares one of the many success stories to come from this program. “One of the scholars ran a family child care home and used the program to get her certificate,” says Bachhoffer. “She greatly enjoyed the experience and is now working on her Ph.D. Without first coming to Rose State College through the Scholars Program, she might not have ever done any more schooling or advanced her career.” 

Student Success Stories from Child Development and Family Services Program

After a major life change, Marie was left in a poor situation and needed to make a change. “I wanted to pull my family out of poverty and set an example for my children. When life knocks you down, you must get back up and make it happen.” 

Marie already had her Certified Childcare Professional degree but wanted to get her associate’s degree. Marie went to an early childhood conference and heard about the Rose State Scholars Program. She then looked into the program and applied. 

Rose State’s Scholars Program positively affected Marie’s life and provided support to get her through a challenging time. “The Rose State scholar advisors provided me a plan and clearly laid out what I needed to do to succeed,” says Marie. “When I had any trouble, they were there to give me support, listen to me whine, and tell me to try again. I did try again, and I succeeded.” Today, Marie serves as the director of Little Axe Child Development Center. 

Danielle, another Rose State student, had a similar positive experience in the Child Services and Family Development program. She was an education major but she struggled with some of her classes and decided to take a semester off.  

When Danielle came back to finish her degree, she worked closely with a counselor to discuss degree options that would be the best fit. After hearing about the child development program, Danielle knew it was the right choice for her. 

Danielle successfully completed her associate’s degree and now owns her own successful child care center, Kids Pointe Learning Center in Oklahoma City. She also serves on the board program for Child Development and Family Services to help make decisions on improving classes and the program in general. 

“I definitely owe a lot of where I am at today to Kristin (Kristin Hommel-Miller, professor at Rose State) specifically, but also to the incredible program at Rose State,” says Danielle. “Getting through the program, she was always available for me to contact and ask her any questions.” 

Does this field of study interest you? Find out more about the Family Services and Child Development degree.