Anyone who teaches others about family life could be considered a family life educator. Initially, it was not clear who qualified to be a family life educator, and sometimes physicians and nurses were used--people with professional training but no specific training in family life education. Specific training and certification for family life educators was badly needed.

This need was met by the National Council on Family Relations (NCFR), which now offers an accreditation for educators who meet specific academic and experience requirements. For more information see Certification Basics. Additionally, in recent years there have been movements to standardize and professionalize this growing field.

• Lawrence Barry works as a chaplain in Ft. Lewis, WA where along with his regular duties he provides pastoral counseling to soldiers and family members and conducts marriage and family enrichment/education workshops.


• In Houston, Texas local judges appoint offenders and divorcing couples with minor children to attend Edward Stasney’s anger management and co-parenting workshops.


• In Saratoga Springs, Utah, Paula Fellingham does a “Solutions for Families” radio show providing family information to listeners, writes columns for local newspapers and has written two family books.


• Besides teaching premarital and marriage education, stepfamily strengthening, fathering and parenting seminars, Julie Baumgardner in Chattanooga, TN works with First Things First to promote family-friendly workplace policies and increase community awareness of the importance of strong marriages and families through public service campaigns.


• Wally Goddard is an Extension Family Life Specialist with the University of Arkansas Cooperative Extension. He has developed “Guiding Children Successfully," a public television series that is being broadcast nationally. He trains county agents in every corner of Arkansas to deliver effective partnering and parenting education in their communities. He has also worked with Alice Ginott (Haim Ginott's widow), to revise the parenting classic, Between Parent & Child.