© 2019 Cengage. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in
PART ONE
DEFINING HUMAN SERVICES
© 2019 Cengage. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in
CHAPTER 1
AN INTRODUCTION TO HUMAN SERVICES
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
After reading this chapter, students will be able to:
1.1 Identify the themes and purposes of human services.
1.2 Define problems in living and illustrate how individuals experience these
problems.
1.3 Relate the growing number of problems in the modern world to the needs of the
1.4 Identify the aspects of self-sufficiency and the barriers to achieving it.
1.5 Compare the functions of social care, social control, and rehabilitation.
1.6 Apply the contributions of sociology, psychology, and anthropology to the human
service profession.
1.7 Identify four tasks that human service workers perform during the helping
1.8 List abilities of human service professionals that enhance the helping relationship.
1.9 Define the term social justice and explain why it is an important concept for
1.10 Name three characteristics of human service teams.
1.11 Summarize the contributions of case management to human service delivery.
1.12 List the characteristics of the generalist approach to human services.
© 2019 Cengage. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in
CHAPTER OUTLINE
I. Themes and purposes of human services
A. Problems in living
1. Who experiences problems in living?
2. Why are there so many problems in living?
B. The growing number of problems in the modern world
1. The economic downturn that began in 2008 exacerbated the problems
individuals and communities faced.
2. Climate change, overpopulation, urbanization, malnutrition, terrorism,
wars, and social conflict are global problems frequently seen via electronic
media.
C. Self-sufficiency
1. A major goal in human service delivery
2. Includes the psychological and financial state
3. Empowerment and independence contribute
D. Social care, social control, and rehabilitation
1. Social care refers to assistance to clients to meet their social needs.
2. Social control is provided to those who could provide for themselves
but have failed to do so.
3. Rehabilitation is the process of returning an individual to a prior level
of functioning.
4. The human service delivery system may include multiple approaches.
II. The human service profession
A. The interdisciplinary nature of human services.
a. Various disciplines contribute to the definition of human services.
1. Each discipline brings a unique perspective to understanding
individuals, families, and groups.
2. It is difficult to separate these functions.
3. Multicultural and social justice perspectives pervade interactions.
b. Examples
1. Sociology examines how human societies influence those who live in
the societies.
2. Psychology is the study of mind and behavior.
3. Anthropology studies the cultural, physical, and social development of
human behavior.
B. The relationship between the client and the helper
a. The process of helping is client-oriented.
1. The roles of human service professionals are changing to focus on the
whole person.
2. The responsibility of the human service professional includes
developing a relationship with the client.
b. Helping requires professional and problem-solving skills.
C. The client and the client’s environment
a. The helper must learn about the client and his or her environment.
1. Understanding the client’s environment
2. Empowering the client
3. Encouraging client participation
b. Human service professionals
1. Function as educators
2. Help clients use a problem-solving process
3. Prepare clients to negotiate social and physical environments
D. The importance of social justice
a. Support fairness for all individuals
b. Challenge discrimination
E. Management principles in human service delivery
a. Networking to develop a human service umbrella
1. Human services is a complex web of helping organizations and
agencies.
2. Human service professionals help clients link between services.
b. Forming teams and partnerships to provide services
1. Teaming is an important way human service professionals
work together.
2. Technology facilitates teamwork.
3. The primary beneficiary of good team work is the client.
4. Partnerships occur when two or more agencies or individuals agree to
5. Partnering, like teaming, requires cooperation, time, and trust.
c. Case management
1. Case management is a viable service delivery strategy today.
2. The context of delivering services is changing because of the shift to
smaller, community-based service delivery and reduced funding
3. There is an increasing need to provide services and coordination with
other professionals.
4. Case managers teach clients to manage their own cases providing
5. What do case managers do?
a. Gather information, make assessments, and monitor services
b. Advocate for services and determine resource allocation
1. Uses knowledge about the effectiveness of a specific intervention
2. Uses results of qualitative or quantitative research studies
b Influences development of programs, policies, assessment, and
1. Evaluation of research findings
2. Determining if enough evidence is present
3. Assessment of the viability of the program in the client’s situation
G. The generalist approach to human services
1. Individuals in the client’s environment
2. Includes those in the human service delivery system
b. The macro system
1. Organizations, agencies, communities, and neighborhoods with which
2. The human service professional works with clients to understand the
larger environments in which they live.
CHAPTER SUMMARY
Chapter 1 defines the concept “human services” and introduces its themes and
purposes. These include the challenges of meeting human needs that arise from the
problems of everyday living and the difficulties encountered in our modern world.
Another way to describe human services is to focus on the relationship between
1. To explore the themes and purposes of human services.
2. To examine the interdisciplinary nature of human services.
3. To explain the relationship between client and helper.
4. To express the need to study the client and the client’s environment.
5. To examine the importance of social justice.
6. To introduce the management principles in human service delivery.
7. To describe the evidence-based practice approach.
8. To become familiar with the generalist approach to human services.
© 2019 Cengage. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in
SUGGESTIONS FOR ACTIVITIES
1. Ask a student in class to read aloud the first paragraph about Almeada and Anne.
Divide the students into small groups and ask each group to generate reasons why
an introductory class in human services is asked to read this case. List the reasons
2. Ask each student to write a definition of human services. Then pair students and
ask them to share their definitions. List definitions on the board. Note: Consider
3. Apply classroom concepts by having students explore the campus for evidence of
human service practices. (This activity may also be an out-of-class assignment.)
a. Divide the class into 4 groups.
b. Appoint a leader, a recorder, and a presenter for each group.
c. Pass out a campus map divided in quadrants and assign each group
a quadrant.
d. Each group will explore the area on the quadrant of the map
(campus map handed to you) and answer the following questions:
i) Describe the types of people that you see.
ii) Describe the care of the physical environment.
iii) Do you see people working? What are they doing?
iv) Do you see any human services being provided? What are
these? Who are the clients? Who are the workers?
e. At the next class meeting, each group will present the group’s
4. Assist students in thinking about human service problems, participants,
organizations, and issues by looking in the news. Each student will select a news
story that reflects a human service problem and will follow this story in the
newspaper, on television, and in other media for a specified length of time.
Questions students may address in this assignment include the following:
a. How would you describe the situation you identified?
b. What is the problem?
c. Who are the participants? Describe each and identify his or her
perspective of the problem.
d. How is the situation resolved?
e. How well or how poorly do you think the situation was portrayed
by the media? Why?
© 2019 Cengage. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
Review the case of Almeada and baby Anne and answer the following questions:
1. What were the problems in living that Almeada and baby Anne experienced?
2. How did the human service delivery system address each of these problems?
MINDTAP VIDEO IN-CLASS DISCUSSION
A HUMAN SERVICE PROFESSIONAL DISCUSSES ALMEADA AND SELF-SUFFICIENCY
© 2019 Cengage. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in
Listen to Blair, a human service professional, discuss Almeada and
baby Anne, and answer the following questions:
KEY TERMS
Anthropology: Study of the cultural, physical, and social development of humans and the
variation in their customs and beliefs.
Case management: The activities of planning and coordinating and, in some cases,
delivering treatment strategies.
Evidence-based practice: A growing trend in the human services to provide services to
clients based upon knowledge about their effectiveness.
Generalist approach: The knowledge, values, and skills to perform several job functions
in many human service settings.
Networking: Establishing links among human service professionals and agencies to
deliver quality services.
Partnerships: When two or more human service organizations work together to better
serve the client.
Problems in living: The term used to describe problems that focus on the client, the
environment, and the interaction between them.
© 2019 Cengage. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in
Profession: An occupation that is important to society, based on academic training, and
bound by ethical standards.
Psychology: The study of the mind and behavior.
Rehabilitation: The process of returning an individual to a prior state of functioning.
Self-sufficiency: The ability to care for one’s self.
Social care: Assistance to clients in meeting their social needs, especially those clients
who either temporarily or long-term cannot care for themselves.
Social control: Assistance for those individuals who could provide for themselves but
have failed to do so or have done so in a manner that deviates from society’s norms for
appropriate behavior.
Social justice: Supporting and encouraging fair treatment of all individuals in a society
and opposing and confronting injustice.
Sociology: Study of the ways in which human societies influence the people who live in
these societies.
Teaming: Working together in groups or units to provide efficient and effective client
services.
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
These questions may help the students identify important concepts as they read the
chapter.
1. What are the perspectives that provide definitions for human services?
© 2019 Cengage. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in
6. What are the problems that human beings encounter as they live in our modern
world?
7. How do these problems compound Almeada and baby Anne’s situation?
8. For Almeada, economic self-sufficiency is a difficult goal. Why?
© 2019 Cengage. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in
24. Name three characteristics of the generalist worker.
The following questions will help students in their review of the chapter.
The following exercises allow students to apply what they have learned from the
chapter.
1. Take away one of the functions (social care, social control, or rehabilitation) that
the human service system delivered to Almeada and Anne. Write a paragraph
describing what Almeada and Anne’s life would be like without that function.
© 2019 Cengage. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in
LO/STANDARD CORRELATION TABLE
Chapter Heading
LO
NOHS
Standards
CSHSE
Standards
HS-BCP
Standards
Themes and Purposes of Human
Services
1.1
30
Problems in Living
1.2
13, 14, 15
12, 13, 15
5, 6, 7
The Growing Number of
Problems in the Modern World
1.3
13, 14 15
12, 13, 15
5, 6, 7
Self-Sufficiency
1.4
15
13, 15, 17,
19
2
Social Care, Social Control, and
Rehabilitation
1.5
15
13, 15, 17,
19
2
The Interdisciplinary Nature of
Human Services
1.6
16, 26
12, 13
The Relationship Between the
Client and the Helper
1.7
11, 29
12, 15, 17,
19
1, 6
The Client and the Client’s
Environment
1.8
11, 15
12, 15, 17
2, 6, 7, 8
The Importance of Social Justice
1.9
16
19
6
Management Principles in Human
Service Delivery
1.10
1.11
19, 29, 31
15, 16, 19
4, 8, 9, 12
The Generalist Approach to
Human Services
1.12
11, 29
12, 15, 17
4, 6