Child Life Specialist

Apply for Job Job ID 105426
Location Aurora
Position Type Regular
Regular/Temporary Regular
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Job Overview

The Child Life Specialist (CLS) works in health care and community settings to address the psychosocial, emotional, and family concerns that accompany the illness and injury of infants, children, adolescents, and youth. The CLS utilizes developmentally appropriate information, procedure support, emotional processing, play, self-expression and empowerment to improve the coping and adjustment of patients and families. As a member of the psychosocial team, the CLS collaborates with the multidisciplinary healthcare teams to ensure that emotionally safe, family-centered care is being provided to patients and families. In addition, the CLS takes an active role in developing and maintaining resources, planning, and facilitating special events and providing educational opportunities throughout Children's Hospital Colorado (CHCO) and the community.

This position will support the Palliative Care service line.

The Palliative Medicine team is growing, and we are excited to share that a new Palliative Medicine Child Life Specialist position will be posted very soon! The team is currently serving a robust inpatient and outpatient census - with plans for continued growth and creative community engagement in the years to come. Per the PM Team, they are excited for candidates who are interested in collaborative innovation, interprofessional work, and in being a part of a team that is rapidly expanding their practice models across settings.

The PM team currently provides inpatient consultation to a service of about 50 patients across the hospital. They also support patients and families in the outpatient setting throughout the eight-state region through primarily telehealth platforms. Their patient population ranges widely and includes those facing serious illness, those living with severe neurologic impairment, and those who have moved through trauma. Their service aims to provide support with regard to medical decision making, goals of care/advance care planning, and overall coping for the patient and their community. The CCLS role would work in collaboration with the Palliative Medicine team and the Child Life Department to identify opportunities for highest yield subspecialty

Duties & Responsibilities

• Applies formal and informal techniques to assess patient/family acuity and psychosocial risk while adapting services to meet the patient/family's needs, goals, and preferences. Collect, interpret, and integrate relevant data into psychosocial assessment and plan of care.
• Provides education on the scope of child life services, the impact of healthcare on development, providing developmentally appropriate and emotionally safe medical care and professional boundaries for primary unit/population.
• Provides guidance, feedback, and professional skill development opportunities for child life students.
• Considers the impact of diagnosis, procedures, and treatment. Incorporates into interventions the anticipated impacts of illness, injury, and healthcare experiences.
• Facilitates basic interventions which allow children/youth to express feelings, process upsetting events, and explore positive coping skills while creating opportunities which strengthen the patient's self-esteem, independence, and understanding of medical diagnosis and care.
• Utilizes best practice and/or evidenced-based practice to ensure high level of care.
• Facilitates basic interventions including psychological preparation and/or procedure support to infants/children/youth undergoing medical procedures or surgeries to improve coping and understanding.
• Implements short-and long-term plans, resources, and/or programming to provide support for patients and families; monitors progress and evaluates overall developmental response to hospitalization and/or medical care.
• Collaborates with internal and external CHCO organizational partners and participates in special events including fundraising efforts, to foster hospital engagement.
• Documents in the patient electronic medical record to meet regulatory and departmental documentation and productivity requirements.
• Participates in departmental committees, quality improvement, professional development, and/or research initiatives/programs related to child life services.

Minimum Qualifications

• Degrees
  • Bachelor of Science
• Area of Study
  • Child Life, Child Life Dev, Counseling Psychology, Social Work, or Education.

• Experience

  • Successful completion of 600 hours of child life internship under the direct supervision of a certified child life specialist.

    • 2 years of CCLS experience preferred in a range of inpatient and outpatient settings including experience in critical care as well as experience facilitating CCLS support for end of life, grief, sibling support, therapeutic groups, and telehealth visits.
• Licenses & Certifications
  • Cert Child Life Specialist

Schedule/Shift

• M-F 830-5p
• 40hrs FT

Salary Information

Relocation Eligible*

Pay is dependent on applicant's relevant experience.

Annual Salary Range (Based on 40 hours worked per week): $54,790.77 to $82,186.16

Benefits Information
Here, you matter. As a Children's Hospital Colorado team member, you will receive a competitive pay and benefits package designed to take care of your needs that includes base pay, incentives, paid time off, medical/dental/vision insurance, company provided life and disability insurance, paid parental leave, 403b employer match (retirement savings), a robust wellness program, and access to professional development tools, including an education benefit to help you advance your career.

As part of our Total Rewards package, Children's Colorado offers an annual employee bonus program that rewards eligible team members based on organizational performance. If organizational goals are met for the year, the bonus is paid out the following April.

Children's Colorado delivers annual base pay increases to eligible team members based on their performance over the previous year.

EEO Statement
It is our intention that all qualified applicants be given equal opportunity and that selection decisions be based on job-related factors. We do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, disability, or any other status protected by law or regulation. Be aware that none of the questions are intended to imply illegal preferences or discrimination based on non-job-related information. The position is expected to stay open until the posted close date. Please submit your application as soon as possible as the posting is subject to close at any time once a sufficient pool of qualified applicants is obtained.

Colorado Residents: In any materials you submit, you may redact or remove age-identifying information such as age, date of birth, or dates of attendance at or graduation from an educational institution. You will not be penalized for redacting or removing this information. Estimated Close Date 09/10/2026