Family and Community Service

Brian Camp
Professor of Family Science
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Family and Community Service is part of the department of Psychology, Sociology and Family Science in the Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences.

My degree options:

• Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Family and Community Service

What makes an OBU Family and Community Service degree special?

The FCS degree prepares people for a variety of people helping service careers. There is great flexibility in the application of the skills. It is generalized training for anyone wanting to address the needs of families. It has application in ministry as well as the secular workforce.

What are OBU grads doing with their Family and Community Service degrees?

This is a new degree, so students have not been graduating with it for long. Most students with this focus are working for social service agencies or attending graduate school. Currently one of our grads is working at the local county family shelter helping families cope with various family problems. Another is working for a county agency where she works with teens who are experiencing difficulties in their families.

We also have many students in graduate school training. Some of our graduates are in Masters of Social Work programs at the University of Oklahoma, University of Texas, John Brown University, and Baylor University. Others are in graduate programs in Marriage and Family Therapy at Friends University and Oklahoma State University.

Examples include the following:

• Abstinence Educator
• Adoption/Placement Counselor
• AIDS Counselor/Educator
• Child Abuse Prevention Coordinator
• Counselor at Domestic Violence Center
• Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA)
• Department of Corrections - Alternative Treatment Program
• Drug & Alcohol Educator in Public School System
• Halfway House Manager
• Homeless Shelter Coordinator
• Juvenile Probation Officer
• Meals on Wheels Director
• Minister
• Parent Educator
• Pregnancy Counselor
• Program Director (Big Brothers/Big Sisters, Scouting, 4-H, YMCA)
• Volunteer Coordinator (American Red Cross, Peace Corps)

What courses can I take?

The classes are very popular with students. The most popular are:

• Marriage (a class that focuses on how to be married);
• Sexuality (a class where we discuss the details of God's creation of sexuality);
• Parenting (where we learn what it takes to raise healthy kids);
• Family Issues (which gives us an in depth discussion of current issues that impact families);
• Family Life Education (where students are given the training to construct a program that can be used in their future careers).

Tract Options:

• Community Service—For those students who are headed in a direction of social work or other particular social service jobs.
• Family Life Education—For those students who are interested primarily in the family and its well-being.

Departmental extras:

Students are encouraged to take classes for practical experience. In doing this our students have opportunities to work with adoption organizations, children's homes, crisis pregnancy centers, domestic abuse shelters, and various youth agencies. Our students also can combine their experiences in summers or on missions trips in a way that allows them to get credit for their educational experiences where they are serving.