International Child Life Groups

Child life specialists are currently practicing in locations around the globe. With members in more than 25 countries, the Association of Child Life Professionals (ACLP) is enriched by the unique experiences and contributions of an increasingly diverse group of practitioners. Each of the following international child life groups represents child life specialists and/or related professionals in a nation outside of the United States. Although ACLP is not directly affiliated with any of these organizations, they may offer further opportunities for you to network closer to your home, or to connect with peers in a different country.

CANADA

Canadian Association of Child Life Leaders (CACLL)

The Canadian Association of Child Life Leaders (CACLL) is an association of Certified Child Life Specialists® from across Canada, and currently represents 23 children's health facilities. CACLL advocates for the child life profession in Canada and promotes membership and certification with the Association of Child Life Professionals. Please visit the CACLL website to learn more about its mission and the child life profession in Canada.

JAPAN

Japanese Association of Certified Child Life Specialists (JACCLS)

The Japanese Association of Certified Child Life Specialists (JACCLS) is a professional association for Certified Child Life Specialists (CCLS) in Japan. The JACCLS was founded in 2011 to help members maintain their professional level as CCLSs, advance knowledge and technique, provide peer support, and conduct research, in order to continue to provide better psychosocial support for children and their families in Japanese hospitals.

The JACCLS ensures that members provide high-quality child life services in healthcare settings while maintaining the standard of child life practice in Japan at a level equivalent to that in North America, based on the principles set forth by the Association of Child Life Professionals.

KUWAIT

Kuwait Association for the Care of Children in Hospital (KACCH)

Kuwait Association for the Care of Children in Hospital (KACCH) is a non-governmental, charitable organization that is managed by volunteers and funded by donations. KACCH employs child life specialists who have become an integral part of the pediatric teams in six hospitals in Kuwait.

NEW ZEALAND

Hospital Play Specialist's Association of Aotearoa/ New Zealand

The Association was established in 1996. Its aims are to: promote the profession of hospital play specialist; provide professional support for hospital play specialists throughout New Zealand; set and monitor standards; encourage research and publication; develop training programmes for hospital play specialists; disseminate information on the psychosocial needs of children and young people in healthcare settings; promote the employment of appropriately trained staff to be responsible for play and recreation programmes; and liaise and cooperate with organisations which have common objectives.

Membership of the Association enables the organisation to continue its valuable work in promoting play in hospitals, advocating for healthcare environments which support children's and young people's wellbeing, and supporting the role of hospital play specialists.

SWITZERLAND

Verena del Valle, CCLS at Hospital de l'Enfance de Lausanne

Verena del Valle, CCLS at Hospital de l'Enfance de Lausanne, is currently a one-person child life program that offers psychological preparation, mainly for surgery but also for other kind of medical encounters, in the pediatric university hospital in Lausanne (one of the French speaking cities of Switzerland).

SOUTH AFRICA

Organisation for Paediatric Support in South Africa (OPSSA)

The Organisation for Paediatric Support in South Africa (OPSSA) utilizes Child Life principles to empower children and families in health care. OPSSA strives to increase the availability of information and to promote quality health care in all healthcare facilities throughout South Africa.

UNITED KINGDOM

National Association of Hospital Play Staff

The object of the National Association of Hospital Play Staff (NAHPS) is to promote the physical and mental well-being of children and young people who are patients in hospital or hospice, or are receiving medical care at home. The charity aims to promote high professional standards for play staff, and to ensure the provision of appropriate therapeutic and stimulating play facilities in hospitals. NAHPS provides professional support for all hospital play staff.

UNITED KINGDOM

The United Kingdom Society for Play and Creative Arts Therapies

The United Kingdom Society for Play and Creative Arts Therapies is a professional organization dedicated to promoting the use of play and creative arts therapies as ways of enabling children to reach their full potential by alleviating emotional, behavioral and mental health problems.

HONG KONG

Hong Kong Child Life Association

The Hong Kong Child Life Association promotes the continued development of child life practice in Hong Kong and develops connection and partnership with child life specialists and child life associations around the world.