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CHAPTER THREE
HUMAN SERVICES TODAY
CHAPTER GOALS
1. To examine the expansion of human service
3. To identify areas of technology that have application in human services .
5. To identify trends that influence service delivery.
CHAPTER OBJECTIVES
At the end of the chapter, students will be able to
1.1 List new settings for human service delivery.
1.3 Track the increase in community—based services.
2.1 Identify nontraditional human service settings.
2.3 Trace the development of human services in the military.
3.2 Illustrate each area of technology with an example.
4.1 Recognize the international dimension of human services.
4.3 Discuss the impact of changing demographics on human services.
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5.2 Summarize the impact of the growth and change in the elderly population and
their effects on human service delivery.
5.4 List ways that the workplace has changed.
5.6 Summarize the implications of increased partisanship for human services
professionals.
READINGS
Introduction to Human Services – Chapter 3
Introduction to Human Services: Cases and Applications – Chapter 3
CHAPTER SUMMARY
This chapter discusses many of the recent changes that have occurred or
influenced human services. These include new settings for service delivery, technology,
the international dimension, and new roles and skills for service delivery.
New settings reflect a change in the delivery of human services from institutional
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Technology continues to change the delivery of human services and the helping
process. It has been used in several areas of service delivery: communication,
information management, service delivery, and professional development. This area of
human services is changing rapidly. Not only is the technology changing daily, but the
Human services will be different this century. Five major trends will influence
human services: the needs of older Americans, the increasing diversity of the population,
the changing workplace, new roles and skills for human service professionals, and the
climate of partisanship. Helpers will also encountering the results of economic
downturns: loss of jobs, foreclosures, and decreased pay. Finally, a climate of increased
partisanship in the U.S. presents serious challenges to social welfare. Under attack are
lifestyle issues, ethnic and racial groups, the poor, service provision, and funding.
CHAPTER OUTLINE
I. Settings for service delivery
A. Community-based services
1. Shift to deliver outreach services in the community
3. Community-based services occur in mental health, corrections, work
with families, and hospice care
4. Wraparound services are a strategy to meet the needs of multi problem
clients.
B. Human services in rural areas
2. Barriers limit accessible and adequate services
4. New models for services are emerging
C. Human services and the military
2. New programs meet neees for medical care, mental helath care, family
support, and substance abuse.
4. The military offers a number of support services including employee
assistance, readjustment counseling, advocacy, and family support
II. The impact of technology
A. Communication
1. E-mail, LISTSERVs, IMs, text messaging and teleconferencing
3. The World Wide Web (WWW)
1. Coordination
3. Records of service provision
4. Evaluation
C. Providing services to clients
1. Assess client knowledge and recommend options for a plan of action
3. Services are provided on-line through the WWW
4. E-therapy is helping deliver on-line counseling
D. Professional development
1. CD-ROMs provide professionals with useful information
2. Interactive computer programs and podcasts help for skill development
III. The international dimension
A. Challenges in international human services
2. International migration raises major socioeconomic issues
3. Urbanization has troublesome consequences, particularly in poor
countries.
B. Influences in the United States
2. Population projections signal a new ethnic and racial make-up
3. United States grapples with the issues of diversity
IV. Trends in human service
A. Aging in America
2. This older population is growing even older
4. Housing, depression, and confronting death and dying are important
issues for the aging
B. Emphasis on diversity
1. Changing demographics and ethical standards exist to address diversity
2. Diversity variables include race, ethnicity, religion, and sexual
orientation
C. Changing Workplace
2. Types of jobs will change as the economy recovers.
D. New roles and skills for clients and helpers
2. Sharing responsibility, improved client satisfaction, and learning about
clients are benefits
4. Economic challenges are mortgages, job loss, foreclosures, and
decreased pay
E. Partisanship
1. Bipartisanship is not a reality yet
2.
3. Implications for human services include the mission and role of sate
and federal government in services.
INTRODUCING THE CHAPTER
1. Ask the students to read the following short vignette and answer the questions that
follow.
Sylvia Martinez is a case manager in Miami, Florida. She is involved in re-settling
Questions:
1990.
1990. Generate a list on the board. Ask if any of these pertain to human services.
LEARNING ACTIVITIES
A Liberian Refugee
The purpose of this exercise is to increase student understanding of the problems in
developing countries face. Ask students to read A Liberian Refugee (in textbook). It
1. Describe the problems that Monique faces when she returns to Liberia in 2004.
2. Why does she grab her watch?
3. What is the situation at the American Emabassy?
4. What will happen to her if she is not evacuated?
The Impact of Technology
1. Ask students to search the web for information on topics such as:
human services
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children and youth services
corrections
AIDS
Aging
2. Assign each student a specific topic to research.
3. For the next class period each student will bring in material they found –
including bookmarks
5. Show students how to critique the material they found using criteria such as:
relevancy
Group Activity
Read each of the following situations. Identify the various ways in which you can benefit
from technology. Give specific examples.
1. You work as a case manager in a local women’s shelter. Adrienne has been in an
2. You are a middle school guidance counselor. Several students have reported that
3. You work in a day care. You teach the 2 year olds. A new student has enrolled
4. You are a single parent. You are very successful at a local advertising firm, but
5. You are 14 years old. You live in a middle class neighborhood. No one knows
about the constant fighting that goes on between your parents. It is getting worse.
Your parents don’t seem to care about what the fighting is doing to you. You
1. Ask students to read the following short vignette.
Child and Family Services serves clients on a walk-in basis. A young woman and
her two children approached the agency with some care. They had been in the
U.S. for 3 years and spoke little English. They needed to talk with a professional
who speaks Spanish. Mrs. X (name withheld because of confidentiality) told the
2. Divide the class into four groups and ask them to answer the following questions:
a. Identify 4 issues in this case that represent current social issues or human
READING AND STUDY GUIDE: READ, REVIEW, APPLY
These questions may help the student’s identify important concepts as they read the
chapter.
1. What are wraparound services?
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2. Select one of the settings for human service delivery and describe how human
service occurs.
4.. Describe the delivery of rural human services.
2..
7. How does the WWW influence human service communication?
8. What are services that can be provided to clients using technology?
9. List the tools for technological professional development.
.
11. What are the consequences of urbanization?
12. Describe the problems of the poor in Mumbai (Bombay), India.
13. What are the effects of international migration?
14. What changes are expected in the aging population in America?
15. In what ways will diversity influence human service delivery?
16. What are the new roles of helpers and clients in service delivery?
17How does the partisanship trend affect human service delivery?
The following questions will help students in their review of the chapter.
2. How has technology changed the delivery of human services.
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4. Why is it important to understand the international dimension of human services?
5. Describe how the trends occurring in the next few decades will affect human
service delivery.
6. Describe how religious diversity challenges and brings opportunities to a
community.
The following exercises allow students to apply what they have learned from the
chapter.
2. Assume you are an elementary or primary grade teacher in a public school. You
are serving on a team to develop a human service delivery system in your school.
What services would you include? What would be the hours of service delivery?
Where would the service be located? Who would be eligible?
3.
TEST ITEMS
Multiple Choice
1. Community-based care is
2. Human service delivery in the rural areas has increased
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3. Recruitment and retaining helpelrs, distance, cost and confidentiality are
4. the focus of community-based mental health has changed
a. to a focus on home-based
5. Characteristics of wraparound services include all but
6. Systems of care in schools describe
7. Post-traumatic stress, depression, and anxiety
8.. Technology is changing human services in ONE of the following ways:
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9. Communication using technology is useful in all but ONE of the following ways:
10. The WWW is expanding services to include
11. Clients can benefit from technology
12. Urbanization is a problem because
13. Individuals in the United States must be aware of the international dimension of
human services because
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14. Aging in America is reflected in all but ONE of these statements:
15. Reading, traveling, television, and interacting with others are ways to learn about:
16. Among the trends in human services are
17. Age, color, disabilities, gender, national origin, and religion are examples of
18. Reasons that racial and ethnic minorities bear a greater burden from unmet mental
health needs include all but
19. A term that indicates strong support of one party’s platform
20. The ability to work effectively
with diverse groups means
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Discussion
1. Describe nontraditional human service delivery settings today.
3. What are the advantages
and disadvantages of technology use in human service delivery?
4. What are the challenges in international human services?
5. Explain how technology has enhanced communication in human services.
7. Provide examples of
8. Describe the increased need for advocacy in human services.
10. Explain the new roles and skills needed by human service professionals today.