National endorsement raises profile of CWU’s Child Life graduate program

A new national endorsement is expected to put Central Washington University’s Child Life graduate program front and center for prospective students across the country.

The Association of Child Life Professionals (ACLP) recently approved CWU’s Child Development and Family Science MS specialization as an endorsed program, providing incoming students with valuable incentives as they seek to enter the growing profession.

Child life specialists work in children’s hospitals and other medical settings, providing psycho-social support for kids and families. As Professor Amy Claridge explained, the child life field is highly specialized and requires extensive training, thorough national certification exams, and a highly competitive four-month unpaid internship.

She and her colleagues expect the ACLP endorsement to make the Child Life MS specialization at CWU even more attractive to aspiring professionals.

“The endorsement means students don’t have to jump through as many hoops in the process of becoming certified as students because we have already demonstrated that our students meet the academic criteria,” Claridge said, adding that the program had to meet 85 criteria that are aligned specifically with the profession. “It also makes students eligible for internships, which are much harder to pursue without the endorsement. That alone is a huge advantage for our students.”

Claridge is a marriage and family therapist who came to CWU in 2014 to launch the Child Life undergraduate program, which is housed in the College of Education and Professional Studies. She helped the undergraduate program earn an ACLP endorsement for the first time in 2019 and led the reaccreditation process last year.

She and her colleagues began the push for the graduate program endorsement in 2025, and this spring, it became one of only nine programs nationwide to earn the ACLP endorsement.

“This is really exciting for us because our students now have a streamlined process that will allow them to obtain certification as a CCLS (Certified Child Life Specialist),” Claridge said. “It also increases our national visibility, which will help with recruitment and building our reputation.”

As the only child life program in the Northwest, interest in CWU has continued to grow every year since the program’s inception. The undergraduate program endorsement seven years ago, along with the faculty’s industry-specific expertise, has also helped its gain in popularity.

Child Life Program Coordinator Davi Vitela-Elliott spent six years working in a children’s hospital as a child life specialist after earning her PhD, and she believes that experience allows her to provide her students with a unique view of the profession.

“I have always been passionate about teaching, and this was the first opportunity I found that bridged both worlds,” said Vitela-Elliott, who just completed her first full year at Central. “I am able to show my students exactly what I was doing in the hospital and demonstrate what it will take for them to prepare for their careers.”

As someone who has gone through years of extensive training, Vitela-Elliott is well-versed in all aspects of the child life profession, both on the industry and academic sides.

She explained that her wide-ranging position at Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City has given her a valuable perspective that she has been able to impart to her students.

“A lot of child life positions are specific to certain parts of the hospital, but I got to work everywhere because I was on the palliative care side,” Vitela-Elliott said. “That background helps me teach in a different way because I got to experience every part of the hospital and work with a wide range of patients.”

During her first year at CWU, Vitela-Elliott coordinated a series of clinical visits with Kittitas Valley Healthcare (KVH), providing her students with a variety of hands-on training opportunities.

She and her colleagues believe practical experience like this is essential for students as they progress through the program and prepare for their internships.

“We want to make sure our in-class activities directly apply to what our students will be doing in a hospital setting,” Vitela-Elliott said. “The more hands-on activities they are exposed to, the more familiar they will be when they start their internships.”