Carl Sandburg College provides students with an opportunity to go into careers working with children, juveniles, disabled, etc. through a growing human services department. Additionally, rewarding career opportunities exist within the criminal justice field in the areas of law enforcement and private security, as well as the judiciary and corrections systems.

Features
The Child Development program provides graduates the knowledge to work with children in nursery schools, child care centers, Head Start and after-school programs. Satisfactory completion of the program provides the educational background required by the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services to serve as a director, teacher, or group worker in a child care center.
The Criminal Justice program provides students the chance to either transfer to a four-year institution or graduate from the Carl Sandburg College program with the knowledge and skills necessary to get employment with various criminal justice organizations. Individuals interested in working with the mentally and physically challenged, drug and alcohol abusers as well as individuals with other abuse issues will greatly benefit from our Human Services program. This certificate can also provide needed in-service training for those who are already employed in human services positions.
Benefits

Short-term Benefits:

• Criminal justice program is transferable to WIU
• Certificates and degrees prepare you for immediate employment in the field
• Internships are provided in the program to help you decide that this is the direction you want to go
  

Long-Term Benefits

• Helping children grow, learn, and gain new skills can be very rewarding
• Develop excellent communication skills
• Continuing education

The Future of Human Services
Law enforcement work is attractive to many because the job is challenging and involves personal responsibility. Furthermore, law enforcement officers in many agencies may retire with a pension after 25 to 30 years of service allowing them to pursue a second career. Employment of police officers and detectives is expected to grow about as fast as the average for all occupations through 2014. However, employment growth will be hindered by reductions in Federal hiring grants to local police departments. The level of government spending determines the level of employment for police and detectives. The number of job opportunities, therefore, can vary from year to year and from place to place. Job opportunities for human service assistants is expected to be excellent, particularly for applicants with appropriate postsecondary education. This field is ranked among the most rapidly growing. Employers may increasingly rely on social and human services assistants to take greater responsibility for delivering services to clients. High replacement needs should create good job opportunities for child care workers. The growth in demand for child care workers will be moderated, however, by increasing emphasis on early childhood education programs.