SHARON, Pa. — The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and the Office of Head Start, an organization through the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, have both formally endorsed the Certified Family Life Educator (CFLE) credential available through the Human Development and Family Studies degree program offered at several Penn State Commonwealth Campuses, including Penn State Shenango.

Any veteran who takes the CFLE exam or graduates from a CFLE-approved program, like Shenango’s, can apply to have their fees reimbursed through the GI Bill. Also, the CFLE credential is now searchable on the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs database, as well as the federal Head Start Early Childhood Learning and Knowledge Center (ECLKC) database.  

“Graduating from an CFLE approved program opens doors to diverse career paths,” said Program Coordinator and Associate Teaching Professor of Human Development and Family Studies Roxanne Atterholt. “The benefit of CFLE certification is that it allows our students to market themselves to employers, clients, and others as meeting a nationally recognized standard in the field.”

According to the National Council on Family Relations (NCFR), these recent recognitions highlight the growing demand for Family Life Educators in a variety of fields including health care, educational settings, social services, correctional institutions, and the military, among others.

“The majority of our Human Development and Family Studies students at Shenango choose to pursue the provisional CFLE credential,” said Atterholt, who mentioned that the HDFS curriculum aligns with the CFLE-approved coursework required by the NCFR. “Making the CFLE credential as accessible as possible is the goal and having these recognitions will better equip our graduates as they make themselves marketable for careers.”

The Human Development and Family Studies degree with the Certified Family Life Educator credential is part of a multi-campus consortium that includes Penn State Altoona, Penn State Fayette, the Eberly Campus, Penn State Mont Alto, Penn State Shenango, Penn State York, and Penn State World Campus.