Child Life Specialists

The employment outlook for child life specialists is very favorable. "There is a growing awareness of the child life profession within the health care community as well as in general public, and we expect to see a corresponding increase in demand for child life specialists," according to an article about the profession at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign's Web site.

The American Academy of Pediatrics reports that most hospitals specializing in pediatric care have child life programs, with more than 400 hospitals in North America having such a program. Child life services are recommended and provided to different degrees in community hospitals with pediatric units, ambulatory clinics, and emergency departments. The U.S. Department of Labor reports that employment for healthcare social workers (a related career) will grow by 10 percent from 2022 to 2032, or much faster than the average for all careers. Job opportunities for child, family, and school social workers are expected to increase faster than the average during this same time span.

Although managed-care providers encourage short hospital stays that may result in a reduced need for staffing in hospitals, opportunities for child life specialists are increasing outside of the hospital setting. Specifically, present and future employers of child life specialists in non-hospital settings include hospice and palliative care programs, camps for children with chronic illness, rehabilitation centers, sexual assault centers that treat children, healthcare centers for abused women and children, and some dental and physician offices.