About Us
Child & Family Studies
Child & Family Studies (CFS) is one of seven departments and schools within the College
of Behavioral & Community Sciences (CBCS) at the 黑料老司机 (USF).
CFS offers five academic programs including five graduate certificates. We have three
research divisions (profiled below) who are involved in numerous training, technical
assistance, and evaluation activities.
CFS efforts are consistent with the CBCS mission of combining knowledge gained through
the behavioral sciences with knowledge gained from the community. CFS faculty, staff,
and
students, who are well immersed in the local community as well as state and national
efforts, are deeply connected to the college鈥檚 focus of Creating Healthy Communities.
All activities within CFS are aligned with USF strategic goals.
OUR VISION
Child and Family Studies is committed to improving the well-being of individuals, children, and families within communities across the country through promoting respect, acceptance, development, achievement, mental and behavioral health, and an optimum quality of life.
oUR Mission
- Generate hope and solutions for the complex issues confronting individuals, children, families, and communities through leadership in research and evaluation, theory, policy, and practice innovation.
- Promote successful, well-educated, highly skilled, and adaptable graduates who contribute to the well-being of individuals, children, and families, and are engaged citizens in a democratic society, functioning in local and global communities.
- Support faculty and student excellence conducting high-impact research and developing new knowledge and innovative practices to create positive global impact in the lives of individuals, children, and families.
- Advance the effective application of the best available practices in communities and agencies through partnership and engagement including education, training, dissemination, consultation, evaluation, advocacy, and collaboration.
- Develop healthy communitities through demonstrating a sensitivity to and
understanding of the cultural, economic, and social experiences of our society through the way we conduct our work and the outcomes of that work. - Engage in visionary planning and sound stewardship to ensure a strong and sustainable
financial base that will allow us to continue our activities, improve services, and
influence policy-making bodies, funding agencies, communities, and other organizations
that support individuals and families while adapting to emerging opportunities.
oUR Values
Values are those beliefs essential to reaching the vision, mission, and the purpose of the mission. Our beliefs are demonstrated by the respectful and professional ways in which we conduct research, our efforts at teaching, training, and sharing information, and our partnerships with the individuals and families that we serve.
We believe that families and communities are the foundation for the well-being of their members and of society as a whole.
Within the CFS work environment:
- Our mission can best be accomplished in a professional and supportive environment that: (a) relies on the contribution of every member of the department and (b) values all individuals in the department and multi-disciplinary approaches that result from their collaboration.
- We should pursue the active participation of stakeholders in the development of research, programs, policy, and the delivery of services.
- We should be accountable for our work and believe that it should result in outcomes that are valued by our stakeholders.
Regarding CFS activities:
- Services should have empirical support, represent community collaboration, and be delivered in the most natural environment possible.
- All services and supports should be provided in an individualized and inclusive manner that is sensitive to the developmental, social, economic, cultural, and familial circumstances.
- All activities of the department will be conducted in accordance with anti-discrimination laws and university policies. In accordance with the departmental values as articulated in this document, the department will actively and intentionally promote in the departmental work environment and in all work, activities respect for human dignity, equal opportunity for all persons, and sensitivity to individuals.