The mission of the Child Life Certification Commission (CLCC) is to maintain a quality certification program for the child life profession. As the certifying body of ACLP, the CLCC recognizes racial discrimination as a key social determinant of health and driver of racial/ethnic health inequities. The American Academy of Pediatrics statement on the Impact of Racism on Child and Adolescent Health (2019) President Sally Goza, MD, FAAP, states “Racism harms children’s health, starting from before they are born… a growing body of research supports this, and we cannot ignore the impact.” According to the Child Life Code of Ethics, Certified Child Life Specialists have an obligation to maintain an environment that respects variations in culture, age, gender, race, ethnicity, physical ability, sexual orientation, gender identity/expression, religious affiliation, veteran status, and socioeconomic status.
As CCLS, we recognize that diversity, equity, and inclusion have always been integral to the scope of practice of a CCLS. CCLSs utilize stress assessment and family variables that “focus on support systems and resources, family needs, language and cultural beliefs and values, life stressors, opportunities to understand and participate fully in their health care.” (Thompson, 2018, pp. 50). Issues surrounding racism, diversity, equity, and inclusion are implicit throughout all domains of the exam content outline.
ACLP is currently offering many webinars and annual conference opportunities addressing DEI at both the introductory and advanced levels. As stated in the CLCC Recertification Manual, for an educational event to qualify as a Professional Development Unit (PDU), the content must relate to one of the three professional domains from the Exam Content Outline: 1) professional responsibility, 2) assessment, and 3) intervention.
CLCC recognizes that many CCLS are following the ACLP DEI call to action and seeking continuing education and self-reflection opportunities related to DEI.
CLCC supports CCLSs in their quest to further their knowledge and understanding of how racism can impact the practice of and ability to care for children and families that they serve. Therefore, CLCC is accepting DEI PDUs in any of the 3 domains for recertification: Professional Responsibility, Assessment, and Intervention, provided that the PDU has met the necessary requirements for PDUs. At this time, CLCC has not placed a limit on the number of DEI PDUs that can be obtained by an individual applying for recertification.
July 2021