In accordance with the Florida Department of Education Curriculum Framework for the AS degree in Human Services, this certificate program is part of the Human Services AS degree program.
A College Credit Certificate consists of a program of instruction of less than sixty (60) credits of college-level courses, which is part of an AS degree program and prepares students for entry into employment.
This program offers a sequence of courses that provides coherent and rigorous content aligned with challenging academic standards and relevant technical knowledge and skills needed to prepare for further education and careers in the Human Services career cluster; provides technical skill proficiency, and includes competency-based applied learning that contributes to the academic knowledge, higher-order reasoning and problem-solving skills, work attitudes, general employability skills, technical skills, and occupation-specific skills, and knowledge of all aspects of the Human Services career cluster.
This College Credit Certificate program is designed to be the first educational step to a professional career in Human Services as Human Service Assistants, Social Service Aides or Case Management Aides, or other positions that are a part of the social services delivery. It will provide credit course work and field experience for those employed in human service occupations as well as those who seek to enter the profession without experience.
The College Credit Certificate will focus on broad introductory principles of human behavior specific to the good practices and techniques in human service. Course work will enable student’s to employ effective communications and interpersonal skills, understand the legal and ethical responsibilities of human services and demonstrate computer literacy.
Through a twenty-seven (27) credit hour program, students will demonstrate knowledge of the human services system, specifically how it affects practice and policy as well as the roles of human service workers in various settings. Students must be able to demonstrate knowledge of human development from birth to senescence, understand adaptive and maladaptive patterns of behavior and have an understanding of various treatment modalities and therapeutic interventions.
Students must develop effective interpersonal communication with clients, co-workers and supervisors. They must be able to demonstrate assessment, evaluation, problem solving and referral and crisis intervention skills as well as a working knowledge of legal and ethical issues related to human services.
Accreditation:
The Human Services Program AS degree is not currently accredited by The Council for Standards in Human Services Education (CSHSE); however, students will be eligible to sit for the Human Services-Board Certified Practitioner(HS-BCP™) examination after the completion of the AS program and 3 years of work experience with a minimum of 4,500 hours.
Application Process:
Students must meet the college admissions requirements. No additional application process is required for the Human Services Program.