Children, Youth and Families

Formats: On-campus, Intensive Weekend, Online

Youth and family social workers serve on the front lines alongside individuals and families in all phases of the family life cycle.

The children, youth and families specialization will prepare you to provide a broad range of services to individuals and families, including marital therapy, family counseling, parent education and child welfare. Common themes explored in courses include autism, adoption, child abuse, childhood trauma, transitions to adulthood and LGBTQA youth.

Advanced elective coursework permits students to tailor their educational programs to personal learning objectives and career goals.

On-campus students may follow a course of study leading to school social work certification.

Related Opportunities

Sample Courses

  • Child & Family Policy & Service Delivery
  • Family System Interventions
  • Problems Identification, Screening and Assessment/Diagnosis
  • Trauma Informed Social Work Practices with Children & Families

Examples of Field Education Sites

Careers in Children, Youth and Families

  • Child and family social worker
  • Child protection specialist
  • Case manager therapist
  • Residential therapist
  • Trauma services manager
Social worker Katie Russell

“I chose the Mandel School because of the school’s reputation and the student reviews of the program. I wanted to make sure that I was making the best decision for my future, and the Mandel School was the complete package.”

—Katie Russell, MSSA 2018