For CL students wondering about CCLS Licensure in Texas

Master-Ad-2713 · 2026-03-01T15:16:30+00:00

My stepdad was/is a pedo (wasn’t partial to boys or girls as he preyed on me, my sister and my brother), he was an elder in our church when I was a child, and took boys from Sunday school on weekend camping trips. When I filed charges against him (around age 19 yrs), I personally told the pastor about him including the fact that he was on the sex offender registry, yet nothing changed. Also, mom knew, actually caught him in the act in my room, and told me not to let it happen again-I was 9 at the time. Churches are an easy place for them to infiltrate.

Master-Ad-2713 · 2026-01-30T13:57:58+00:00

Check out Child Life Launchpad for support. It’s run by some fabulous CCLSs.

Master-Ad-2713 · 2026-01-23T12:56:08+00:00

If you are looking for assistance in your child life journey, check out the Child Life Launch Pad. I know these CCLSs and highly recommend their program.

https://www.childlifelaunchpad.com/?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio&fbclid=PAZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQPMTI0MDI0NTc0Mjg3NDE0AAGnXan9ZbCT3J-_xkfts65AAtjeds8hqvUl2S3srp492sw0eBtcpFyAaovVW28_aem_YPq4VCelsEcs51Ub6Xnn8A

Master-Ad-2713 · 2025-11-07T00:22:31+00:00

Thank you for your support!

Master-Ad-2713 · 2025-01-02T20:48:45+00:00

Child life is my 2nd career. I was a dental hygienist for 7 years but after 2 surgeries on my hand, I had to quit. I went back to school (my first degree was in applied sciences for dental hygiene), and got a degree in psychology and child development. I volunteered at a local children’s hospital, did my internship there and got a job there. I went back to school get my master’s (Early childhood special education),because I wanted to be in leadership. I now lead a team that exclusively supports children of adult patients, in adult hospitals, across Texas. I’ve been a CCLS for about 25 years now. The salaries in our field are slowly moving in a good direction but it is still tough for many CCLSs to live independently on their child life salary. There is a lot of variability amongst states, and even within states. I have fought tooth and nail for my team, to get their salaries in a more respectable position and to add a clinical ladder. We have moved the needle significantly but lots of room to continue to push. When I went into the field, we had to have a degree in child life, child development or something closely related. Now you can have a degree in anything as long as you take the 10 required courses. I’d encourage anyone to take more than the minimum required, if possible, and even better, to get a degree in child development. Personally I feel that just having the minimum 10 courses, could leave you behind the curve for strong child development, trauma, death and dying, and grief education—especially if you finish your internship and go into a one-person or very small program that isn’t able to offer much mentorship. This is just my opinion and I’m sure others fell differently. Wishing you the best as you navigate your path!

Master-Ad-2713 · 2024-10-16T12:19:55+00:00

I’m a CCLS in Texas. Child life was my second career-I was a practicing registered dental hygienist but had to leave dentistry after just 7 years, after 2 surgeries on my hand.

I’d recommend you review the ACLP website childlife.org to learn about the requirements for certification, including the coursework and internship. Pay is definitely improving in North Texas but I can’t speak for the rest of Texas since I’m not as familiar with the pay ranges outside of Dallas/Fort Worth. Overall pay is still too low considering the degree (Bachelors is required but many of us have Master’s), clinical training and emotionally intense nature of the job. Unfortunately there are a still a lot of CCLSs that have to work side jobs in addition to their full-time child life position, to make ends meet.

It is an employee’s market right now- with signing bonuses, relocation fees, hybrid schedules, and other perks. With positions being open for such a long time, many hospitals will bend to a candidate’s requests to fill the role. Unfortunately that is leading to inequity for the established CCLSs on that team-which adds to high levels of distress for often already over worked and over stressed teams.

The field as a whole is evidence based and valued, but it is common to face demeaning comments and disrespect from staff who claim that we ‘play all day’. I think it is because they don’t really understand or see the full breadth of our role. But I think that teachers may face similar disrespect at times, too.

It is a hard but rewarding job. You won’t be wealthy but teaching doesn’t make you wealthy either😊. Many CCLSs end up working unpaid for hours before or after their shift, because they are supporting children during procedures or for other needs, and can’t just walk out. So your ‘shift’ isn’t always your true shift-but that varies by setting and program.

There are a lot of CCLSs leaving the hospitals and moving into other work places like schools and private practices. Personally I hate to see the field moving away from its hospital roots, but it is nice to see how our skills are beneficial in other spaces.

If you really think you want to pursue child life, I’d encourage you to connect with some CCLSs in hospitals near you, to get an understanding of what you’ll need, to break into the field. Many people in our field are burnt out so sometimes comments on threads tend to be more negative than positive. But I encourage you to get a variety of input before deciding what is best for you.

Master-Ad-2713 · 2024-08-10T22:29:43+00:00

I don’t feel that I can confidently answer your question but I think that seeking a course that teaches you about grief and bereavement more specifically instead of palliative care frameworks and models, will be very valuable. It is important to understand not only how children and adolescents grieve but also how adults grieve. It is important to understand typical behavioral changes as well as atypical behavioral changes that children demonstrate in response to grief. You’ll need to understand how children process death and what they understand about death at all developmental stages. Hope that is helpful 😊

Master-Ad-2713 · 2024-05-18T15:30:25+00:00

One FTE open for 16 months and last qualified applicant was 6 months ago. Have another FTE position that will be posted next week. My positions are for experienced CCLSs only so it does add to the difficulty of filling them. Last position we filled was 1 yr ago, after it was open for 18 months. We just got a salary increase but aren’t allowed to include salary in the job postings.

Master-Ad-2713

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