certified family life educator (cfle) - ncfr · family life education is any organized effort to...
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Certified Family Life Educator (CFLE)
Step by Step Guide to the CFLE Abbreviated Application Process
Family Life Education
Is any organized effort to provide family members with information, skills, experiences, or resources intended to strengthen, improve or enrich their familyexperience.
Operational Principles of FLE
Prevention
FLE is relevant to individuals and families throughout the life span because it focuses on prevention
Education
FLE takes an educational rather than therapeutic approach
Collaboration
• FLE is based on the needs of individuals and their families through professionals and family members collaborating together
– FLE is a multi-disciplinary area of study and is multi-professional in its practice
– FLE programs are offered in many different settings
– FLE presents and respects differing family values
Family Life Education
While various professionals assist families, it is the family life educator who incorporates a family-systems, preventive and educational approach to individual and family issues.
Certification for Family Life Educators
National Council on Family Relations (NCFR) sponsors the only program to certify family life educators.
FLE Content Areas
Families & Individuals in Societal Contexts Internal Dynamics of FamiliesHuman Growth & Development over the Life SpanHuman SexualityInterpersonal RelationshipsFamily Resource ManagementParent Education and GuidanceFamily Law & Public PolicyProfessional Ethics & PracticeFamily Life Education Methodology
Individuals and Families in Societal Contexts
• Structures and functions• Cultural variations• Dating• Courtship• Marital choice• Cross-cultural and
minority families• Kinship• Changing gender roles• Demographic trends• Historical issues• Work-family relationships• Societal relations
Understanding families and their relationships to societal institutions
Internal Dynamics of Families
Understanding family strengths and weaknesses and how family members relate to each other
• Internal social processes
• Communication• Conflict management• Normal family stresses• Family crises• Special needs in
families
Human Growth & Development Across the Life Span
Understanding the developmental changes of individuals and families throughout the life span
• Prenatal• Infancy• Early and middle childhood• Adolescence• Adulthood• Aging
Human Sexuality
Understanding the physiological, psychological, and social aspects of sexual development throughout the lifespan
• Reproductive physiology
• Biological determinants
• Aspects of sexual involvement
• Sexual behaviors• Sexual values and
decision-making• Family planning• Sexual response• Influence on
relationships
Interpersonal Relationships
Understanding of the development and maintenance of interpersonal relationships
• Self and others
• Communication skills
• Intimacy• Love• Romance • Relating to
others
Family Resource Management
Understanding the decisions individuals and families make about developing and allocating resources, including…
• time• money and material assets• friends and neighbors• space
Goal-setting and decision-making
Development and allocation of resources
Social environment influences
Life cycle and family structure influences
Consumer issues and decisions
Parent Education & Guidance
Understanding of how parents teach, guide, and influence children and adolescents
• Parenting rights and responsibilities
• Parenting practices and processes
• Parent-child relationships• Variation in parenting
solutions• Changing parenting roles
over the life cycle
Family Law and Public Policy
Understanding of legal issues, policies, and laws influencing the well being of families.
Family and the law Family and social
services Family and education Family and the
economy Family and religion Policy and the family
Professional Ethics & Practice
Understanding the character and quality of human social conduct and the ability to critically examine ethical questions and issues
Formation of values Diversity of values in pluralistic
society Examining ideologies Social consequences of value
choices Ethics and technological
change Ethics of professional practice
FLE Methodology
Understanding the general philosophy and broad principles of family life education in conjunction with the ability to:• plan• implement• evaluate• educational programs
• Planning and implementing
• Evaluation• Education
techniques• Sensitivity to others• Sensitivity to
community concern
Career Opportunities in Family Life Education
Family life educators work with individuals and families in varying capacities. They have specific training in family systems and development that enables them to bring a family perspective to their chosen career, regardless of the employment sector.
Where do Family Life Educators Work?
Faith Communities
Caregiver & Long Term Care
Programs
Where do Family Life Educators Work?
Marital and Pre-marital Education
Where do Family Life Educators Work?
Family Law Settings
Schools & Educational Settings
Where do Family Life Educators Work?
Curriculum Development
Adoption Agencies
Where do Family Life Educators Work?
Emergency Preparedness
Non-profit Administration
Where do Family Life Educators Work?
Grant-Writing
Where do Family Life Educators Work?
Public Policy Settings
Medical Settings
Family Life Education Venues
Practice- teaching, education, program or curricula development,
Administration - leadership or management, organizing, coordinating, and
Promotion - public policy, lobbying, advocating for system change and awareness
Benefits of CFLE Certification
• Increases credibility as a professional by showing that the high standards and criteria needed to provide quality family life education have been met
• Validates experience and education
• Adds credibility to the field by defining standards and criteria needed to provide quality family life education
Benefits of CFLE Certification
• Recognizes the broad, comprehensive range of issues which constitutes family life education and expertise in the field
• Acknowledges the preventive focus of family life education
• Provides avenues for networking with other family life educators both locally and nationally
Benefits of CFLE Certification
• Quarterly newsletter, Network, and a Directory of Certified Family Life Educators
• Access to CFLE listserv
• Certification offers the opportunity to attend special CFLE meetings and events
Two Paths to Certification
• Completion of the CFLE Exam
• Abbreviated Application Process
Academic Program Review
Because NCFR has already approved your school’s course work in the 10 content areas, you qualify to apply using the Abbreviated Application process which saves you time and money!
People who did not graduate from an NCFR-Approved program need to complete the CFLE Exam
CFLE Exam
• 150 multiple-choice questions
• Offered three times each year
• Exam Application fee (fees are non-refundable)
$215 for NCFR members; $290 for non-members
• Successful completion of the exam results in Provisional Certification
CFLE Exam
• Exam applicants with experience in family life education can apply for Full Certification by submitting work experience.
• Work Experience Review Fee $82 NCFR members; $112 non-members.
• Graduates of NCFR-approved programs do not need to take the CFLE exam.
Abbreviated Application Process
• Graduates of NCFR-approved academic programs can apply for Provisional Certification through the Abbreviated Application process.
• Each NCFR-approved program has a checklist of pre-approved courses.
• Graduates complete the checklist and submit it along with the application and an official transcript showing degree completion and the application fee
Abbreviated Application Checklist
Abbreviated Application Process
• Checklist
• Official transcript
• Submissions welcomed year-round• Apply within 2 years of graduation; all coursework used
on the checklist must have been completed no more than five years prior to the applicant’s graduation date.
• $126 fee for NCFR members; $172 for non-members(fees are non-refundable)
Provisional Certification
• Provisional Certification is intended for applicants who have met the academic requirements of the CFLE designation.
• Provisional CFLE’s upgrade to Full Certification status once they can document a specified amount of work experience in family life education. Provisional CFLEs MUST upgrade to Full Certification by the end of the five year Provisional period.
FLE Work Experience RequirementsDegree Type Provisional Full If your degree
is a Bachelor’s
If your degree is a Master’s or Ph.D.
Family Degree from an NCFR-approved Program earned within the past two years
Complete Abbreviated Application Process
Complete Abbreviated Application Process & document FLE work experience by completing the FLE Work Experience Summary form
Document at least 3,200 hours FLEwork experience to qualify for Full Certification
Document at least 1,600 hours FLE work experience to qualify for Full Certification
Benefits of the Abbreviated Application ProcessYou save money! It is less expensive and less time intensive to apply under the Abbreviated process!
Submissions welcomed year-round; you don’t have to wait for a submission deadline.
Provisional CFLEs can upgrade to Full Certification after earning work experience in family life education
Congratulations! You have completed the first step to certification. You are attending an NCFR CFLE-approved school!
Here’s how to apply:
• Access NCFR’s website – www.ncfr.org• Under CFLE Certification select Become Certified, then
Abbreviated Application Process• Print the following:• Abbreviated Application Directions • Abbreviated Application form• Checklist from your school• CFLE Code of Ethics
It Pays to Plan Ahead….
• Consult your school’s checklist as you plan your coursework within your major.
• Keep in mind that the course requirements for the CFLE designation may be different than for your degree. You may need to take extra classes
What if I am missing a few classes?
• NCFR allows for TWO substitutions• Substitutions MUST cover required content area
(e.g. Infant Development is not an acceptable substitute for an aging class in Content Area #3)
• When substituting classes, always submit the class syllabus and a brief description of how the class met the content area
• If the substitution course was completed at a school other than the approved school, submit an official transcript showing completion of the course.
• All coursework must have been completed no more than five years prior to graduation
• NCFR will pre-approve substitutions prior to submission of an Abbreviated Application
What if I transferred classes?
NCFR accepts transferred classes from both approved and non-approved schools. However, these courses would be counted as substitutions and would follow the substitution requirements.
You must provide an official transcript for the transfer classes if they were taken at another school
Avoid the most frequent mistakes
• Submitting a photocopy of an official transcript rather than the OFFICIAL TRANSCRIPT
• Submitting a transcript that does not show DEGREE COMPLETION.
• Substituting more than 2 classes.
• Including coursework completed more than five years prior to your graduation date.
Avoid the most frequent mistakes
• Not providing a syllabus for a class being used as a substitution for an approved class
• Thinking that you do not need a course from the CFLE checklist because you did not need it for your degree program
• Waiting more than two years after graduation to apply
• Not being an NCFR member. Being an NCFR member saves you money (You do not have to be a member of NCFR to be a CFLE but NCFR members pay lower fees)
Graduation!!
Submit:
• A filled out and signed Abbreviated Application form
• An Original Official Transcript Showing Degree Completion
• A Completed Checklist
• The Abbreviated Application Fee
• A signed copy of the CFLE Code of Ethics
Additional Information
• Once Certified, all CFLEs, Provisional and Full, pay a CFLE Annual fee.
• The CFLE Annual fee covers the CFLE newsletter, Network, the CFLE listserv, and other CFLE benefits
• The CFLE Annual fee is currently $74 for NCFR members and $99 for non-members
Questions?
Please feel free to contact Maddie Hansen at NCFR with any questions, concerns, or comments.
Maddie can be reached at [email protected] or by calling 888-781-9331.
Thank You!
National Council on Family Relations (NCFR)
www.ncfr.org