CCLS Connection Newsletter

Hello Everyone,

It's that time of year for me when time seems to be moving in fast forward. The Child Life Certification Commission (CLCC) has been very busy crafting a new exam form for 2024. The new Exam Content Outline will be available next month. The revised Child Life Code of Ethics was also recently formalized. On top of those projects, we're gearing up for many more that will shape certification in 2025 and beyond. During this busy time, the Communications Committee has crafted articles pertinent to certification to support CCLS' in their work across the globe.

First of all, congratulations to those new CCLS who passed the exam in November! Most relevant to you in this issue may be our article related to utilizing those new credentials! For those who will be supervising students or taking on an internship coordinator role in the new year, check out our article on how academics and clinical specialists can collaborate to support students. And finally, we have an article on certification status. Read on to learn what inactive certification status could mean to you and your colleagues.

On behalf of the CLCC, I would like to extend thanks and gratitude to our dedicated volunteers. These folks work tirelessly to create the content in this newsletter, ensure a valid certification exam, navigate ethical issues in the profession, manage appeals related to certification, audit certification applications, and generally make sure that the CLCC credential remains credible. This thanks and gratitude extends to our amazing team at ACLP who not only support and guide the work of our volunteers but also work directly with the membership and those seeking certification.

Wishing you all a joyful holiday season,

Tracey M. Craddock, MS, CCLS

Chairperson, Child Life Certification Commission

Have you ever wondered how to properly list your credentials behind your name? Or why your colleague might have certain credentials placed first on their email signature? This article will help break down some of the “alphabet soup” questions you may be curious about.

What are credentials and where do I include them?
Credentials represent important information about a person’s experience. This may include the education one obtains (e.g., B.A., M.S., Ph.D.) and/or the certifications one completes (e.g., CCLS). As a professional, some common areas for credential information include your email signature, business cards, and/or chart notes. A professional signature is also something you might find in writing a letter of recommendation, cover letter, or formal note on hospital letterhead. Therefore, it’s important to understand what to include behind one’s name, and in what order, to demonstrate expertise, credibility, and affiliations.

Does order matter?
The order of one’s credentials indicates information about that person’s experience. The general rule is to list credentials in the following sequence: permanent credentials, professional licenses, national certifications, and then additional certifications. Permanent credentials are educational degrees, whereas professional licenses are often state-issued (e.g., counseling, respiratory therapy). An example of a national certification would be one that all Certified Child Life Specialists hold—the CCLS credential. This certification would follow any licensure and degree on one’s signature. Additionally, if an individual holds any additional certifications, such as GC-C (certified grief counselor) then these would be added as well.

An example might look like:

Individual’s Name, M.A., LMFT, CCLS, CPST

Master of Arts, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Certified Child Life Specialist, Child Passenger Safety Technician

There are a variety of different certifications, so how does one know when to list a certain national certification before another?
A common example of two national certifications that people simultaneously hold are the CTRS credential (Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist) and the CCLS credential. When deciding to list CCLS or CTRS first, it is common practice to list the most relevant credential first. Therefore, if an individual is hired to work as a Certified Child Life Specialist in their current role, they may want to list the CCLS credential first.

For more information about possible certifications that may be complementary to child life, check out this CCLS Connection Article from August 2021

Summary:
Listing credentials behind your name is an important component of professional identity. Although the list may look different to everyone, there are some important things to remember:

Always list your degree. A common misconception is that only advanced degrees should be listed on a signature (master’s or above). However, any degree earned represents your expertise and your experience. For example, if you have a Bachelor of Science (B.S.), make sure to include that alongside your CCLS credential!
Do not misrepresent yourself. If you have not fully earned a certification, license, or degree, do not put it on your signature. Including things like (in progress), PhD (c), or (ABD- all but dissertation) are not accurate reflections of one’s earned credentials. Ethically, it is important to only include completed degrees, licenses, and certifications.
Remain consistent. When listing your credentials, use the same punctuation throughout. If you put a period between letters for a Master of Science degree - “M.S.,” then utilize periods for all degrees. (This does not apply to CCLS which is not punctuated with periods.)
Multiple credentials. If a CCLS has multiple credentials, it is up to the individual if they want to list everything behind their name or limit to the most relevant information. This can be helpful when trying to highlight expertise or qualifications to a current role or situation. This is often a personal preference based on each professional.

Supporting future professionals as they seek certification is one of the biggest privileges that a Certified Child Life Specialist can have. It is a privilege that can come with some of the biggest challenges. Students come to us with a wide variety of backgrounds and levels of experience. When supporting our students, we certainly are not on an island! Clinical-based and academic child life specialists can lean on each other, and it is this collaboration that can make magic happen for our future professionals.

From a clinical-based perspective, it can sometimes be challenging to determine 'who is steering the ship’ when it comes to different aspects of student supervision and support. Here are a few tips to enhance collaboration between hospital-based specialists and academic specialists during a student experience:

Communicate, early and often!
If your student is affiliated with an academic program, this can be a big advantage in terms of student support. The internship coordinator and rotation supervisors are by no means ‘on an island’ when it comes to addressing student needs. Introductions should be made at the beginning of a rotation, and regular check-ins can be scheduled.

Clarify roles and responsibilities
There are so many important tasks that come along with guiding a student through their rotation. Among these tasks may be reviewing journals, tracking hours, and evaluating projects, just to name a few. Going over these details at the outset of an experience can be helpful. Clarifying who does what can help prevent some issues.

The all-important site visit
Typically, faculty supervisors will perform at least one virtual or on-site visit during a student’s experience. Not only does this give the academic supervisor a better schema for their student’s experience, it helps form and solidify the relationship between these two supportive parties. When this relationship is strengthened, communication between the two parties feels more natural and is likely more effective.

When a challenge arises
Generally speaking, academicians provide mentorship to students as they progress through their internship, and clinical supervisors provide day-to-day instruction and guidance. Clinical supervisors need to utilize their academic colleagues if and when a knowledge or skill gap is identified by a site supervisor.

Outside of the Student Experience
Hospital-based and community-based specialists, are you connected with the academicians in your region? Networking between academic and clinical programs can create beautiful partnerships, as well as a more natural and efficient pipeline for our new professionals entering the field.

Reach out to your regional child life group:
Most regional child life groups have at least an annual get-together.

Reach out to your local academic programs:

Are you part of an excellent clinical-academic partnership? Share your secrets to success!

What is ‘Inactive Status’?

Inactive Status is the result of a Certified Child Life Specialist failing to pay their certification maintenance fees. Every year (except for the year you are due to re-certify), you will pay certification maintenance fees. These fees go towards funding activities that promote the growth of the child life certification program. Examples of such activities include job analysis studies, surveys that lead to policy development, and marketing the value of certification to support certified child life professionals. If payment is not received by the March 31st due date, the individual will go into ‘Inactive’ status for up to nine months (April 1st until December 31st).

While a Certified Child Life Specialist is Inactive:

They are not permitted to use the CCLS credential
They are removed from the CCLS Directory

To return to Active status, the individual will pay the maintenance fee, the late fee, and a reinstatement fee. If an individual does not pay these fees before December 31st, their certification will lapse. When certification lapses, the individual is no longer considered a Certified Child Life Specialist. An individual would have to re-establish eligibility under the current eligibility requirements and pass the Child Life Professional Certification Examination to become a Certified Child Life Specialist.

Are you unsure of your certification status? Please, use this opportunity to check! Did you pay your maintenance fees? Are you inactive? If so, this is your chance to fix the problem with only a small financial impact. If you wait until after December 31st, you will be faced with the prospect of recertification. If you were originally certified before requirements changed significantly in 2019, regaining the credential would be particularly challenging.

During this busy season, we encourage everyone receiving this newsletter to take a moment and check their status. Log into childlife.org, and click the ‘My Profile Menu’ icon. Under ‘Your Child Life Profile’, you can quickly see what your status is.

Please, if you have any questions or doubts about your certification status, don’t hesitate to reach out via e-mail at certification@childlife.org.

Darby Adams
Olivia Adams
Miryam Aguilar
Ruvimbo Alifasi
Lauren Amaro
Margaret Avenel
Rebecca Baldridge
Alexandra Barber
Bailey Batt
Rebecca Bauer
McKenziee Belton
Catarina Benninghoven
Ashley Biggins
Brooke Boddiford
Megan Bright
Naomi Brown
Sara Brown
Lucy Burton
Laura Busher
Meghan Butler
Samantha Calautti
Samantha Castillo
Kelly Christensen
Elysabethe Clayton
Josselyn Connor
Regan Corsi
Elissa Dominguez
Megan Drolet
Andrea Evans
Hannah Fajack
Natalie Favero
Sam Frank
Mikaela Freeman
Joelle Friesen
Codi Furjanic
Catherine Gabrish
Olga Gandarilla Rivero
Keana Gonzales
Megan Grandel
Emma Granville
Madison Greig
Dena Guerrero
Madeline Gustafson
Emily Hand
Lindsey Hanlin
Leslie Heredia-Garcia
Alexis Hill
Samantha Hill
LaToya Hillson
Ashton Hodge
Francesca Holborn
Carey Hotaling
Kayla Hudgins
Allyson Inouye
Sydney Jenkinson

Camryn Johnson
Aminah Kadri
Logan Kaifes
Caroline Kenny
Julie Klomps
Jessica Long
Rachel Lyme
Daisy Martinez-Martinez
Maggie Mayeaux
Caroline McLendon
Elena Medina
Abigail Meeks
Uen Pui Mok
Claire Muenks
Misa Nakamura
Stephanie Nelson
Sydney Nelson
Melanie Ou
Madeline Purdy
Maureen Pushea
Hannah Rasch
Bryanna Reid
Darian Rogers-Sysak
Katelyn Ross
Anna Rozell
Kaitlin Salim
Elena Sanchez de Varona
Jacquelyn Sandlow
Rebecca Scobee
Chloe Shively
Abigail Silver
Hallie Sitison
Michelle Smith
Samantha Snyder
Ashley Speake
Mackenzie Spencer
Karly Stuttgen
Breanna Tabor
Aushia Urquhart
Julia Verdugo
Allison Weil
Christa Wells
Kaylee-Ana Wells
Chloe Williams
Claire Worthen
Lindsay Youssef
Jenny Yuhnke
Alexa Zeiter

Countries

Australia 5

Canada 396

China 1

Georgia 1
Germany 1

Hong Kong 9

India 1
Ireland 1

Japan 62

Kenya 1
Korea 1

Kuwait 1

Luxembourg 1

Mexico 3

New Zealand 3

Norway 1
Puerto Rico 2

Philippines 4

Qatar 5

Romania 2
Saudi Arabia 1

Singapore 6

South Africa 1

Spain 2

Switzerland 2

Taiwan 6

United Kingdom 8
United States 6156

U.S. States

AK 11
AL 86
AR 40
AZ 140
CA 622
CO 132
CT 87
DC 20
DE 25
FL 273
GA 182
HI 8
IA 96
ID 17
IL 276
IN 101
KS 47
KY 52
LA 70
MA 268
MD 114
ME 21
MI 194
MN 177
MO 192
MS 26
MT 6
NC 243
ND 12
NE 41
NH 31
NJ 173
NM 17
NV 21
NY 296
OH 317
OK 45
OR 44
PA 228
RI 20
SC 96
SD 16
TN 149
TX 605
UT 88
VA 104
VT 19
WA 133
WI 137
WV 10