- Although child life specialists may hold degrees in a variety of fields, such as child development, early education, psychology or social work, the Child Life Council is the only agency that provides certification for child life specialists. This national nonprofit organization was founded in 1982 and has offered the Certified Child Life Specialist (CCLS) program since 1986. Certification requires both education and work experience, as well as passing an exam designed to measure child life knowledge and practical application.
- To be eligible to take the Child Life Professional Certification Examination, candidates must complete a bachelor's degree or be in the final term before graduation. Their coursework must include at least 10 classes in child life or a related field, such as psychology, sociology, counseling or art therapy. In addition, candidates for child life certification must complete 480 hours of supervised clinical experience through an internship or paid employment.
- The Child Life Council offers a certification exam in the spring and in the fall each year, and allows 4 hours to complete the test. For spring exams, people who wish to become certified must apply to take the exam by the end of March if they completed their education and clinical experience in the U.S. or Canada, or by the end of January if they completed their requirements in other countries. For the fall exam, the deadlines are the end of August for U.S. and Canadian applicants, and the end of June for international candidates. Candidates find out whether they passed the certification exam approximately 4 to 6 weeks after completing the test.
- People who become Certified Child Life Specialists (CCLS) may find that more jobs are open to them, since many hospitals and facilities prefer to hire child life specialists who are certified. Certified Child Life Specialists must be recertified every 5 years either by taking or professional development courses or by taking an exam. This requires them to remain current on the latest ideas and developments in the child life field and may help them advance at their jobs, both in knowledge and in pay.
- Those who want to become a Certified Child Life Specialist should visit the Child Life Council website, linked below, for details on the course and clinical experience requirements as well as the exam. The Child Life Council offers a candidate manual to help interested applicants determine if they meet the requirements for taking the exam, a study guide to help students prepare and an online practice test for applicants to assess their knowledge before the actual certification exam.
