Family Sciences
Program Description
The Family Sciences program strives to integrate relationships between individuals, families, and communities as well as the environments in which they function. The profession focuses on the strength and vitality of families; the use of personal, social, and material resources to meet human needs; the well-being of individuals and families; the role of individuals and families as consumers of goods and services; and the development and management of home and community environments that are supportive of individuals and families.
Students will gain a basic understanding of family studies that will prepare them to pursue further education at a university. To reach the objectives of the profession, students are advised to continue and complete a bachelor’s degree for employability in this area.
Any student may take courses in this area for personal or professional development. Some Families Sciences courses fulfill general education requirements in the Social and Behavioral Sciences category.
Graduates of these programs will successfully complete the following learning outcomes:
- Identify and discuss effective communication practices and construct conversations utilizing skills learned
- Summarize and determine family strengths as they pertain to solving problems
- Utilize technology to support learning and understanding of family studies
- Research an assigned topic and synthesize information in a research paper, citing all sources using appropriate style and format
- Identify and explain how influences in an individual’s life impact their family and wellbeing
- Characterize and compare effective methods to support and empower families to promote holistic family development
- Use systematic observation, writing, and other effective assessment strategies to demonstrate an understanding of how multiple factors can impact families
- Employ an understanding of and relationships with children and families and an understanding of developmentally and culturally effective approaches to build upon family strengths
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Schedule NowDegree(s) / Certificates(s)
| Title | Local Bachelor's |
|---|---|
| Family Sciences - A.A. Transfer Degree | |
| Family Development Credential - CERT Occupational Certificate | - |
Career Outlook
Successful completion of this program can open doors to various employment opportunities, many of which require further higher education at the university level. Below are examples of related occupations and their annual mean wages in Arizona, based on career and wage data from Pipeline AZ, which utilizes government sources for its reports and forecasts.
Description
Provide social services and assistance to improve the social and psychological functioning of children and their families and to maximize the family well-being and the academic functioning of children. May assist parents, arrange adoptions, and find foster homes for abandoned or abused children. In schools, they address such problems as teenage pregnancy, misbehavior, and truancy. May also advise teachers.
Duties/Tasks
- Maintain case history records and prepare reports.
- Interview clients individually, in families, or in groups, assessing their situations, capabilities, and problems to determine what services are required to meet their needs.
- Serve as liaisons between students, homes, schools, family services, child guidance clinics, courts, protective services, doctors, and other contacts to help children who face problems, such as disabilities, abuse, or poverty.
- Develop and review service plans in consultation with clients and perform follow-ups assessing the quantity and quality of services provided.
- Address legal issues, such as child abuse and discipline, assisting with hearings and providing testimony to inform custody arrangements.
- Counsel parents with child rearing problems, interviewing the child and family to determine whether further action is required.
- Consult with parents, teachers, and other school personnel to determine causes of problems, such as truancy and misbehavior, and to implement solutions.
- Place children in foster or adoptive homes, institutions, or medical treatment centers.
- Recommend temporary foster care and advise foster or adoptive parents.
- Counsel students whose behavior, school progress, or mental or physical impairment indicate a need for assistance, diagnosing students' problems and arranging for needed services.
- Evaluate personal characteristics and home conditions of foster home or adoption applicants.
Salary Information (AZ)
$43,660
$34,980
$38,980
$59,360
$20.99
$16.82
$18.00
$28.54
Typical Education Level
Bachelors Degree
Description
Diagnose and treat mental and emotional disorders, whether cognitive, affective, or behavioral, within the context of marriage and family systems. Apply psychotherapeutic and family systems theories and techniques in the delivery of services to individuals, couples, and families for the purpose of treating such diagnosed nervous and mental disorders.
Duties/Tasks
- Encourage individuals and family members to develop and use skills and strategies for confronting their problems in a constructive manner.
- Ask questions that will help clients identify their feelings and behaviors.
- Develop and implement individualized treatment plans addressing family relationship problems, destructive patterns of behavior, and other personal issues.
- Maintain case files that include activities, progress notes, evaluations, and recommendations.
- Counsel clients on concerns, such as unsatisfactory relationships, divorce and separation, child rearing, home management, or financial difficulties.
- Collect information about clients, using techniques such as testing, interviewing, discussion, or observation.
- Confer with clients to develop plans for posttreatment activities.
- Confer with other counselors, doctors, and professionals to analyze individual cases and to coordinate counseling services.
- Determine whether clients should be counseled or referred to other specialists in such fields as medicine, psychiatry, or legal aid.
- Follow up on results of counseling programs and clients' adjustments to determine effectiveness of programs.
Salary Information (AZ)
$58,360
$37,270
$49,360
$62,950
$28.06
$17.92
$23.00
$30.26
Typical Education Level
Masters Degree
Contact Information
Department Contact(s)
Faculty/Staff Contact(s)
| Name | Title | Phone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dubia Zaragoza | Professor of Family Sciences | (928) 344-7556 | dubia.zaragoza@azwestern.edu |
| Aryca Arizaga | Professor of Family Sciences/Psychology | (928) 317-6421 | aryca.marron@azwestern.edu |