Become a Child Advocate
The only prerequisite to becoming a child advocate is an identification with the concept of love. Wanting to help children live safe, healthy, happy and thriving lives originates from love. Researching and investigating the many types of child advocacy opportunities that exist today is the second part in the path to becoming an advocate of children. There are both paid and
volunteer opportunities in child advocacy. Paid child advocates consist of both career full-time positions such as social service providers, child psychologists, school counselors and teachers among thousands of others. Part time paid advocates include coaches, specialized instructors or trainers, adolescent treatment providers, mentors and child abuse victim advocates to name just a few. Most paid and many volunteer child advocate positions require an application, interview and background screening process along with experience and training. Possessing good communication skills, patience and the ability to interact with people of various ethnic, educational and socio-economic backgrounds is an essential requirement to the vast majority of paid child advocate positions. Child advocacy is a field that is dedicated to promoting optimal care for children. Each and every facet of child advocacy provides ways for a loving individual to assist youth in society who are not able to adequately help themselves. Government agencies and educational service district websites are a “gold mine” of opportunities to become a child advocate be it paid, volunteer, full or part time. Child advocacy does not always involve direct contact with families and children. If a child advocate sees issues of concern in the infrastructure of the child welfare system, he or she may work toward changing policies that hinder children’s rights, health or wellbeing. Spending the time to research organization’s that advocate for children in a way that interests you is a great beginning step in the careful process of selecting your child advocacy path forward. A mentor in an organization such as “Big Brothers Big Sisters of America” can use her or his love of a sport like fishing, baseball or horseback riding to bring adventure, excitement and happy childhood memories to a young persons life. Becoming an advocate for children is a personally rewarding experience that historically has few regrets. As a child advocate, you have the choice of working in your specific area of expertise and interest. Whether taking the higher educational requirement path to a career in child advocacy, or the path of a volunteer, many options and choices exist globally in the 21st century. Child advocacy centers, school districts and government agency websites are great places to start your search. No matter which advocacy direction you ultimately decide, once you have searched yourself and all the available avenues of advocacy in your chosen field, you will be providing a voice and a helping hand for a delicate population that otherwise would go unheard and without. The Embassy Enterprises Hall of Fame does not specifically endorse any single child benefitting organization or agency even if mentioned by name, we endorse only the child advocacy lifestyle. We strongly encourage the careful and meticulous choosing and investigation of organization’s, agencies and non-profits that offer child advocate service opportunities before becoming involved. We wish you the best of luck in your search and thank you sincerely for your willingness to help children. We hope someday to induct your name into the Embassy Enterprises Hall of Fame as a world-class child advocate.
