Introduction to Human Services Third Edition Michelle Martin

8/21/2019 Introduction to Human Services Third Edition Michelle Martin

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Designed to help students advance their knowledge, values, and skills, the

Standards for Excellence Series assists students in associating CSHSE’s National

Standards to all levels of human service practice.

FEATURES INCLUDE

Standards for Excellence critical thinking questions tied to the Standards

appearing throughout the chapters

Chapter reviews with scenario-based multiple choice and essay questions

Links to correlated web-based assets

S TA N DA R D S F O R E X C E L L E N C E S E R I E S


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STANDARD CHAPTER

Professional History

Understanding and Mastery…

Historical roots of human services 2, 5, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

Creation of human services profession 2, 5, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12Historical and current legislation affecting services delivery 2, 5, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12

How public and private attitudes inuence legislation and the interpretation of policies related to

human services

2, 5, 8, 9, 14, 15

Differences between systems of governance and economics 2, 14, 15

Exposure to a spectrum of political ideologies 1, 2, 15

Skills to analyze and interpret histor ical data application in advocacy and social changes 1, 2, 15

Human Systems


Theories of human development 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6

How small groups are utilized, theories of group dynamics, and group facilitation skills 4

Changing family structures and roles 4, 5, 6, 7, 12

Organizational structures of communities 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 13, 14, 15

An understanding of capacities, limitations, and resiliency of human systems 1, 4, 13, 14, 15

Emphasis on context and the role of diversity in determining and meeting human needs 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

11, 12, 13, 14, 15

Processes to effect social change through advocacy (e.g., community development, community and

grassroots organizing, local and global activism)

1, 2, 8, 9, 13, 14, 15

Processes to analyze, interpret, and effect policies and laws at local, state, and national levels 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 13, 14, 15

Human Services Delivery Systems


Range and characteristics of human services delivery systems and organizations 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 1

12, 13, 14,

Range of populations served and needs addressed by human services 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 1

12, 13, 14, 15

Major models used to conceptualize and integrate prevention, maintenance, intervention, rehabilitation,

and healthy functioning

1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 1

12, 13, 14

Economic and social class systems including systemic causes of poverty 1, 2, 9, 14, 15

Political and ideological aspects of human services 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 13, 14, 15

International and global inuences on services delivery 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 13, 14,

15

Skills to effect and inuence social policy 1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 13, 14,

15

Adapted from the October 2010 Revised CSHSE National Standards

Council for Standards for Human Service Education (CSHSE) Standards Covered in this Text


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STANDARD CHAPTER

Information Management


Obtain information through interviewing, active listening, consultation with others, library or other

research, and the observation of clients and systems

Recording, organizing, and assessing the relevance, adequacy, accuracy, and validity of information

provided by others

Compiling, synthesizing, and categorizing information

Disseminating routine and critical information to clients, colleagues or other members of the related

services system that is provided in written or oral form and in a timely manner

Maintaining client condentiality and appropriate use of client data

Using technology for word processing, sending email, and locating and evaluating information

Performing elementary community-needs assessment

Conducting basic program evaluation

Utilizing research ndings and other information for community education and public relations and

using technology to create and manage spreadsheets and databases

Planning & Evaluating


Analysis and assessment of the needs of clients or client groups

Skills to develop goals, and design and implement a plan of action

Skills to evaluate the outcomes of the plan and the impact on the client or client group

Program design, implementation, and evaluation

Interventions & Direct Services


Theory and knowledge bases of prevention, intervention, and maintenance strategies to achieve

maximum autonomy and functioning

Skills to facilitate appropriate direct services and interventions related to specic client or client group

goals

Knowledge and skill development in: case management, intake interviewing, individual counseling,

group facilitation and counseling, location and use of appropriate resources and referrals, use of

consultation

Council for Standards for Human Service Education (CSHSE) Standards Covered in this Text


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STANDARD CHAPTER

Interpersonal Communication


Clarifying expectations

Dealing effectively with conictEstablishing rapport with clients

Developing and sustaining behaviors that are congruent with the values and ethics of the profession

Administration


Managing organizations through leadership and strategic planning

Supervision and human resource management

Planning and evaluating programs, services, and operational functions

Developing budgets and monitoring expenditures

Grant and contract negotiation

Legal/regulatory issues and risk management

Managing professional development of staff

Recruiting and managing volunteers

Constituency building and other advocacy techniques such as lobbying, grassroots movements, and

community development and organizing

Client-Related Values & Attitudes


The least intrusive intervention in the least restrictive environment

Client self-determination

Condentiality of information

The worth and uniqueness of individuals including: ethnicity, culture, gender, sexual orientation, and

other expressions of diversity

Belief that individuals, services systems, and society change

Interdisciplinary team approaches to problem solving

Appropriate professional boundaries

Integration of the ethical standards outlined by the National Organization for Human Services and

Council for Standards in Human Service Education

Self-DevelopmentUnderstanding and Mastery…

Conscious use of self

Clarication of personal and professional values

Awareness of diversity

Strategies for self-care

Reection on professional self (e.g., journaling, development of a portfolio, project demonstrating

competency)


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Introduction to HumanServices

Through the Eyes of Practice Settings

Michelle E. MartinDominican University

THIRD EDITION

Boston Columbus Indianapolis New York San Francisco Upper Saddle River

Amsterdam Cape own Dubai London Madrid Milan Munich Paris Montréal

oronto Delhi Mexico City São Paulo Sydney Hong Kong Seoul Singapore aipei okyo


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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Martin, Michelle E. Introduction to human services : through the eyes o practice settings / Michelle E.Martin. — 3rd ed. p. cm. Includes index. ISBN 978-0-205-84805-8 — ISBN 0-205-84805-2 1. Human services—Vocationalguidance—United States. I. itle.HV10.5.M37 2013

362.973023—dc23 2012034134

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

ISBN-10: 0-205-84805-2ISBN-13: 978-0-205-84805-8

Credits and acknowledgments borrowed rom other sources and reproduced, with permission, in this textbook appear onappropriate page within text.


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v

Contents

Preace xvii

PART I: HUMAN SERVICES AS A PROFESSION 1

1. Introduction to the Human ServicesProfession 1Purpose, Preparation, Practice, and Theoretical Orientations

he Many ypes o Human Service Proessionals 1

Why Is Human Services Needed? 3

Human Service Proessionals: Educational Requirements and

Proessional Standards 5

Human Service Education and Licensure 6

Duties and Functions o a Human Service Proessional 9

How Do Human Service Proessionals Practice? 10

heoretical Frameworks Used in Human Services 10

Understanding Human Services through a Look at Practice

Settings 15

PRACTICE TEST 17

2. History and Evolution of Social Welfare Policy 19Effect on Human Services

he Feudal System o the Middle Ages 19

Poor Laws o England 20

he Elizabethan Poor Laws 21

he Protestant Reormation and Social Darwinism 23

Charity Organization Societies 26

Jane Addams and the Settlement House Movement 27

he New Deal and the Social Security Act o 1935 30

Inluences o Arican American Social Workers 31

Gay Rights: From Marriage Equality to “Don’t Ask Don’t ell”

Repeal 33

Welare Reorm and the Emergence o Neoliberal Economic

Policies 34

he Christian Right and Welare Reorm 37

he ea Party Movement 39


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viii Contents

A ime or Change: he Election o the First Arican American

President 39

Concluding houghts on the History o Social Welare

Policy 41

PRACTICE TEST 43

3. Professional Ethics and Values in Human Services 46

Moral, But by Whose Standards? 47

Ethical Values versus Emotional Desires: “I Know It Was Wrong,

But We Were in Love!” 47

When Our Values Collide: “I Value Honesty, But What i Lives

Are at Stake?” 48

he Development o Moral Reasoning 49

Developing a Proessional Code o Ethics 50

Resolving Ethical Dilemmas 50

Cultural Inluences on the Perception o Ethical

Behavior 51

Ethical Standards in Human Services 52

Concluding houghts on Proessional Ethical Standards 53

PRACTICE TEST 55

PART II: GENERALIST PRACTICE AND THE ROLE OF THE HUMAN SERVICE PROFESSIONAL 57

4. Skills and Intervention Strategies 57

Inormed Consent and Conidentiality 58

he Limits o Conidentiality 59

Skills and Competencies 61Sympathy and Empathy 61

Boundary Setting 63

he Hallmarks o Personal Growth 65he Psychosocial Assessment 66

Patience 66

Active Listening Skills 67

Observation Skills 68

Family Genograms 68


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Contents i

Psychological esting 70

Clinical Diagnoses 70

Criticisms o the DSM-IV-R 71

Continuum o Mental Health 72

Case Management and Direct Practice 73

Direct Practice echniques or Generalist Practice 74

ask-Centered Casework 75

Perceptual Reraming, Emotional Regulation, Networking,

and Advocacy 77

Cultural Competence and Diversity 78

Concluding houghts on Generalist Practice 79

PRACTICE TEST 80

5. Child Welfare Services 82Overview and Purpose of Child and Family Services Agencies

he History o the Foster Care System in the United States 83

Historic reatment o Children in Early America 83

Child Labor in Colonial America: Indentured Servitude and

Apprenticeships 84

Slavery and Child Labor 85

Child Labor during the Industrial Era: Children and

Factories 86

he U.S. Orphan Problem 86

he Orphan Asylum 87 he Seeds o Foster Care: he Orphan rains 88

Jane Addams and the Fight or Child Labor Laws 90

Overview o the Current U.S. Child Welare System 91

Getting into the System 93

Child Abuse Investigations 94 Mandated Reporters 94

Sequence o Events in the Reporting and Investigation o

Child Abuse 95

ypes o Child Maltreatment 95

he Forensic Interview 96 o Intervene, or Not Intervene: Models or Decision

Making 97

Working with Children in Placement 99

Permanency Plans 99

Working with Biological Families 101


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x Contents

Working with Foster Children: Common Clinical Issues 103

Separation 104

Loss, Grie, and Mourning 105

Identity Issues 106

Continuity o Family ies 108

Crisis 109Working with Foster Parents 109

Reuniication 110

Family Preservation 111

Minority Populations and Multicultural Considerations 113

Placing Children o Color in Caucasian Homes 114

Native Americans and the U.S. Child Welare

System 116

Concluding houghts on Child Protective Services 118

PRACTICE TEST 119

6. Adolescent Services 122

Adolescence: A New Stage o Development? 122

Developmental Perspectives 123

Common Psychosocial Issues and the Role o the Human Service

Proessional 125

Abstract Reasoning: A Dangerous Weapon in the Hands o an

Adolescent 126

Adolescent Rebellion 126

Eating Disorders in the Adolescent Population 133

Other Clinical Issues Aecting the Adolescent

Population 134

Practice Settings Speciic to Adolescent reatment 135

Multicultural Considerations 137

Concluding houghts on Adolescents 138

PRACTICE TEST 139

7. Aging and Services for the Older Adult 142

he Aging o America: Changing Demographics 144

Old and Old-Old: A Developmental Perspective 145

Successul Aging 148


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Contents x

Current Issues Aecting Older Adults and the Role o the Human

Service Proessional 149

Ageism 150

Housing 151

Homelessness and the Older Adult Population 152

Adjustment to Retirement 153Grandparents Parenting 155

Depression 158

Dementia 159

Elder Abuse 159

Practice Settings Serving Older Adults 161

Special Populations 162

Concluding houghts on Services or Older Adults 163

PRACTICE TEST 164

8. Mental Health and Mental Illness 167

he History o Mental Illness: Perceptions and reatment 168

he Deinstitutionalization o the Mentally Ill 169

Common Mental Illnesses and Clinical Issues 170

Serious Mental Disorders Diagnosed on Axis I 171

Serious Mental Disorders Diagnosed on Axis II 173

Mental Health Practice Settings and Counseling

Interventions 175

Intervention Strategies 175Common Practice Settings 176

Mental Illness and Special Populations 178

Mental Illness and the Homeless Population 178

Mental Illness and the Prison Population: he

Criminalization o the Mentally Ill 180

Multicultural Considerations 182

Current Legislation Aecting Access to Mental Health

Services 183 Mental Health Parity 183

Other Federal Legislation 184

Ethical Considerations 186

Concluding houghts on Mental Health and

Mental Illness 187

PRACTICE TEST 188


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xii Contents

9. Homelessness 191

he Nature o Homelessness: A Snapshot o Homelessness in

America 191

he Diicult ask o Deining Homelessness:

he HEARH Act 192he U.S. Homeless Population: Gauging the Extent o the

Problem 194he Causes o Homelessness 195

History o Homelessness in the United States 198

he Contemporary Picture o Homelessness: he Rise o

Single-Parent Families 199

Homeless Shelter Living or Families with Children 201

Homeless Children: School Attendance and Academic

Perormance 203

Runaway Youth 203

Single Men, the Mentally Ill, and Substance Abuse 205Older Adult Homeless People 206

Current Policies and Legislation 207

he Role o the Human Service Proessional: Working with the

Homeless Population: Common Clinical Issues 209Common Practice Settings or Working with the Homeless

Population 213

Concluding houghts on Homelessness 215

PRACTICE TEST 217

10. Healthcare and Hospice 220

Human Services in Medical and Healthcare Settings 220

Crisis and rauma Counseling 223

Single Visits and Rapid Assessment 224

Working with Patients with HIV/AIDS 225

HIV/AIDS and the Latino Population 227

Concluding houghts on Working with the HIV/AIDS

Population 228

he Hospice Movement 229he History o Hospice: he Neglect o the Dying 229

he Hospice Philosophy 230

he Role o the Hospice Human Services Worker 231he Psychosocial Assessment 231

Intervention Strategies 232

he Spiritual Component o Dying 235


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Contents xi

Death and Dying: Eective Bereavement Counseling 236

he Journey hrough Grie: A ask-Centered Approach 236

Multicultural Issues 237

Concluding houghts on Human Services in Hospice

Settings 239

PRACTICE TEST 242

11. Substance Abuse and Treatment 244

History o Substance Abuse Practice Setting 245

History o Use and Early reatment Eorts Within the United

States 245

he Prohibition Movement 246

he Rise o Modern Addiction reatment in the United States 247

Demographics, Prevalence, and Usage Patterns 248

Deining erms and Concepts 249

heoretical Models o Use and Abuse 250

ypes o Substances Abused 252

Abuse o Prescription Drugs 255

Common Psychosocial Issues and the Role o the Human Service

Proessional 255

he Presence o Substance Abuse across All Practice

Settings 255

Acceptance o Problem 256

Hitting Bottom 257

Generalist Practice Interventions 257

Motivational Interviewing 258

Cultural Sensitivity 259

Deining reatment Goals 260 Abstinence 260

Harm Reduction 260

Mode o Service Delivery 261 Availability o reatment 261

Public Programs 261Private Programs 261

Continuum o Care 262

reatment Modalities 264he Role o the Human Service Proessional 264

Stages o Recovery 265

Relapse Prevention 265


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xiv Contents

Common reatment Settings 266

Detoxiication Programs 266

Inpatient reatment Programs 267

Partial Hospitalization Programs 267

Residential reatment Programs 267

Outpatient reatment 268Pharmacological reatments 269

Sel-Help 269

Family Involvement 270

Concluding houghts on Substance Abuse 270

PRACTICE TEST 271

12. Human Services in the Schools 274

School Social Work 275he School Social Work Model 277

School Social Work Roles, Functions, and Core

Competencies 277

School Counseling 281

Historical Roots o School Counseling 281

School Counselors: Proessional Identity 281

Challenges Facing Urban “Inner-city” Schools 282

Common Roles and Functions o School Counselors 283

Common Ethical Dilemmas Facing School Counselors 284

Concluding houghts about School Counselors 285School Psychologists 285

Common Issues and Eective Responses by Human Services

Personnel 286

Depression and Other Mental Health Concerns 286

Diversity and Race 288

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, ransgendered and Questioning

Youth 290

he errorism hreat and the Impact o 9/11 292

Substance Abuse 294

Child Abuse and Neglect 295eenage Pregnancy 296

Attention Deicit Disorder and Attention Deicit/

Hyperactivity Disorder 297

Concluding houghts on Human Services in the Schools 300

PRACTICE TEST 301


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Contents x

13. Faith-Based Agencies 305

Faith-Based Versus Secular Organizations 306

Federal Faith-Based Legislation 308

Methods o Practice in Faith-Based Agencies 310

he Beneits o Faith-Based Services 310Religious Diversity in Faith-Based Organizations 311

Faith-Based Agencies: Services and Intervention Strategies 312

Jewish Human Services: Agencies and the Role o the Human


Christian Human Services: Agencies and the Role o the

Human Service Proessional 319

Islamic Human Services: Agencies and the Role o the Human


Concluding houghts on Faith-Based Human Services

Agencies 332PRACTICE TEST 333

14. Violence, Victim Advocacy, and Corrections 336

Intimate Partner Violence 337

he Nature o Domestic Violence: he Cycle o Violence 338

Counseling Victims o Domestic Violence 339

Domestic Violence Practice Settings 342

he Prosecution o Domestic Violence 343Batterers Programs 344

Sexual Assault 345Why People Commit Rape 346

he Psychological Impact o Sexual Assault 347

Male-on-Male Sexual Assault 347

Common Practice Settings: Rape Crisis Centers 348

Victims o Violent Crime 348

he Victims’ Bill o Rights 349

Victim–Witness Assistance 350

Surviving Victims o Homicide 351

Common Clinical Issues When Working with Victims o All

Violent Crime 352

Perpetrators o Crime 352

Gang Activity 352

Risk Factors o Gang Involvement 353


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xvi Contents

Human Services Practice Settings Focusing on Gang

Involvement 354

Human Services in Prison Settings 354

he War on Drugs 355

Clinical Issues in the Prison Population: he Role o the

Human Service Proessional 356 Barriers to reatment 357

Concluding houghts on Forensic Human Services 358

PRACTICE TEST 360

PART III: MACRO PRACTICE, INTERNATIONAL

HUMAN SERVICES, AND FUTURE

CONSIDERATIONS 363

15. Macro Practice and International Human Services 363

Why Macro Practice? 364

At-risk and Oppressed Populations 366

A Human Rights Framework: Inalienable Rights or All

Human Beings 367

Mobilizing or Change: Shared Goals o Eective Macro Practice

echniques 368

Common Aspects o Macro Practice 368

he Global Community: International Human Services 371

HIV/AIDS Pandemic 373

Crimes Against Women and Children 374

Indigenous People 380

Reugees 381

Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and ransgendered Rights 382

orture and Abuse 385

Genocide and Rape as a Weapon o War 387

Macro Practice in Action 388

Social Action Eecting Social Change 389PRACTICE TEST 391

Epilogue 394

Index 399


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xv

Preface

he third edition o Introduction to Human Services: hrough the Eyes o Practice Settings includes many important additions. When I relect back on all o the changes thathave occurred since I began writing the irst edition, I am in awe. Never could I haveimagined the various tragedies that would unold in the last decade! An agonizinglylong war in the Middle East; a globalized economic crisis as we have not seen in decades;political and religious polarization that threatens to urther ragment the social, politi-cal, and economic landscape in the United States; and “culture wars” that have pitted“social conservatives,” including those on the religious right against social progressives,including many social advocates. But there were so many good things that happenedas well—the irst Arican American president was elected to oice in the United States,and sexual orientation was included in hate crimes legislation, ollowed by increasingmomentum gained in the marriage equity movement. We’ve also seen a dramatic in-

crease in the eects o globalization ueled at least in part by the globalization o com-munication technologies. Do you want to start a social movement? Create a Facebookpage and mobilize thousands o people globally, creating social awareness through theposting o status updates, online news articles, blogs, and Youube videos!

What you’ll notice throughout the third edition o this book is an exploration oall o these events, their precursors, and some o their consequences. You’ll also notice arelection o the eects o our ever-shrinking world—what we call globalization. I haveupdated all chapters with regard to research, terminology, and applicable legislation. Inparticular, I have made signiicant changes in Chapter where I’ve included some ex-citing inormation about the continued growth o the human services proession, in-cluding inormation on the new certiication process or human service proessionals.

Because o the continued proessional development within the human services ield,I have reduced the material ocusing on related ields, such as the social work proes-sion, and increased the ocus on the human services proession. In Chapter I explorednumerous changes in social welare legislation and policies that took eect under theObama administration, including discussions on increasing rights aorded to theLGBQ population, challenges acing migrant populations and the poor, and the mostrecent inormation on the healthcare debate. In Chapters and I have enhanced theocus on the human services proession. In Chapter I included a section on the historyo child labor, making a connection between this dark part o U.S. history and currentpatterns o abuse o vulnerable children in the United States, and around the world.

I also explored recent changes in child welare legislation. In chapters through I haveupdated the research and theories, and in chapter I have increased interaith content.In Chapter I’ve added content on batterers intervention services, including inorma-tion on the eicacy o these programs. In Chapter I’ve added content on viewingglobal social problems rom a human rights ramework, as well as very important con-tent on reugees, genocide, and other at-risk populations. Overall I hope I have capturedthe most recent trends, research, and contemporary issues on a local and global level thatare important to human service proessionals.


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xviii Preface

I would like to thank several people who helped make this edition possible. Firstand oremost, I would like to thank my amily—my son Xander, who was only whenI started writing this book, and is now . I’d also like to thank my two surrogatRwandan daughters, Elodie Shami and Annabella Uwineza, who have shared my liemy home, and my amily or the last three years. My aunt Jeri Serpico has always bee

my rock. My dear riend Karen Acevedo was a constant support or me throughout thwriting o this edition. I would like to thank my colleagues at Dominican University’Graduate School o Social Work—Kim Kick, Myrna McNitt, Leticia Villarreal Sosaand Charlie Stoops—or their proessional insights and perspectives; they helped tosharpen my thinking. I would like to thank Asma Youse with Islamic Relie USA oher insights on the Muslim aith. Finally I’d like to thank my social work students whsharpen my mind, and give me new ways to think about this wonderul proession.


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Learning Objectives

Identify and describe the varied

reasons why people may need

human services intervention

Describe the various ways one

can enter the eld of human

services, and the various types

of careers within the human

services profession

Identify the most common de-

gree and licensure requirements

associated with the human ser-

vices profession

Describe the new human

services certication process

developed by the Council for

Standards in Human Service

Education

Identify and describe the most

common theoretical frame-

works used in the human

services discipline

Introduction to the

Human Services Profession

Purpose, Preparation, Practice,

and Theoretical Orientations

CHAPTER 1

The Many Types of Human Service Professionals

Sara works or a hospice agency and spends one hour twice a week withSteven, who has been diagnosed with terminal cancer o the liver. He hasbeen told he has approximately six months to live. He has been estrangedrom his adult daughter or our years, and Sara is helping him developa plan or reunication. Sara helps Steve deal with his terminal diagno-

sis by helping him talk through his eelings about being sick and dying.Steve talks a lot about his ear o being in pain and his overwhelmingeeling o regret or many o the choices he has made in his lie. Sara lis-tens and also helps Steve develop a plan or saying all the things he needsto say beore he dies. During their last meeting, Sara helped Steve writea list o what he would like to say to his daughter, his ex-wie, and otheramily members. Sara is also helping Steve make important end-o-liedecisions, including planning his own uneral. Sara and Steve will con-tinue to meet until his death, and i possible, she will be with him and hisamily when he passes away.

Gary works or a public middle school and meets with six seventhgraders every Monday to talk about their eelings. Gary helps them learnbetter ways to explore eelings o anger and rustration. During theirmeetings, they sometimes do un things like play basketball, and some-times they play a board game where they each take turns picking a “sel-disclosure” card and answering a personal question. Gary uses the gameto enter into discussions about healthy ways o coping with eelings,

Courtesy of Michelle Mar


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2 Part I / Human Services as a Profession

particularly anger. He also uses the game to get to know the students in a more personamanner, so that they will open up to him more. Gary spends one session per month todiscuss their progress in their classes. Te goal or the group is to help the students learhow to better control their anger and to develop more prosocial behavior, such as empathy and respect or others.

Cynthia works or her county’s district attorney’s office and has spent every day thipast week in criminal court with Kelly, a victim o elony home invasion, aggravated kidnapping, and aggravated battery. Cynthia provides Kelly with both counseling and advocacy. Kelly was in her kitchen one morning eeding her baby when a man charged througher back door. Te offender was recently released rom state prison, had just robbed a gastation, and was running rom the police in a stolen car. He ran rom home to home until he ound an unlocked door and entered it, surprising Kelly. Kelly immediately startedscreaming but stopped when he pulled a gun out and held it to her baby’s head. Duringthe next hour the deendant threatened both Kelly and her inant son’s lie and at one poineven threatened to sexually assault Kelly. Te offender became enraged and hit Kelly severatimes when she couldn’t nd any cash in her home. Te police arrested him when he wa

attempting to orce Kelly to drive him to an AM to obtain money. Cynthia keeps Kellapprised o all court proceedings and accompanies her to court, i Kelly chooses to asserher right to attend the proceedings. She also accompanies Kelly during all police interviewand helps her prepare or testiying. During these hearings, as well as during numeroutelephone conversations, Cynthia helps Kelly understand and deal with her eelings, including her recent experience o imagining the violent incident again and again, her intense eao being alone, and her guilt that she had not locked her door. Lately, Kelly has been experiencing an increasing amount o crying and unrelenting sadness, so Cynthia has reerreher to a licensed counselor, as well as to a support group or Kelly and her husband.

Frank works or county social services, child welare division, and is working withLisa, who recently had her three young children removed rom her home or physicaand emotional neglect. Frank has arranged or Lisa to have parenting classes and indi

vidual counseling so that she can learn how to better manage her rustrations with hechildren. He has also arranged to have her admitted to a drug rehabilitation program thelp her with her addictions to alcohol and cocaine. Frank and Lisa meet once a week ttalk about her progress. He also monitors her weekly visitation with her children. Franis required to attend court once per month to update the judge o Lisa’s progress on heparenting plan. Successul completion o this plan will enable Lisa to regain custody oher children. Frank will continue to monitor her progress, as well as the progress o thchildren, who are in oster care placement.

Allison is currently lobbying several legislators in support o a bill that would in

crease unding or child abuse prevention and treatment. As the social policy advocator a local grassroots organization, Allison is responsible or writing position statementand contacting local lawmakers to educate them on the importance o legislation aimeat reducing child abuse. Allison also writes grants or ederal and private unding o thorganization’s various child advocacy programs.

What do all these proessionals have in common? Tey are all human service proessionals working within the interdisciplinary eld o human or social services, each


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Introduction to the Human Services Profession

possessing a broad range o skills and having a wide range o responsibilities relatedto their roles in helping people overcome a variety o social problems. Te NationalOrganization or Human Services (NOHS) denes the human services proession asollows: “Te Human Services proession is one which promotes improved service de-livery systems by addressing not only the quality o direct services, but by also seek-

ing to improve accessibility, accountability, and coordination among proessionals andagencies in service delivery.” Human services is a broad term covering a number o ca-reers, but all have one thing in common—helping people meet their basic physical andemotional needs that or whatever reason cannot be met without outside assistance.Te human services eld can include a variety o job titles, including social worker,caseworker, program coordinator, outreach counselor, crisis counselor, and victim ad-

vocate, to name just a ew.

Why Is Human Services Needed?

All human beings have basic needs, such as the need or ood, health, shelter, and saety.

People also have social needs, such as the need or interpersonal connectedness and love,and psychological needs, such as the need to deal with the trauma o past abuse, or eventhe psychological ramications o disasters such as a hurricane or house re. People whoare ortunate have several ways to get their needs met. Social and psychological needs canbe met by amily, riends, and places o worship. Needs related to ood, shelter, and othermore complicated needs such as healthcare can be met through employment, education,and amily.

But some people in society are unable to meet even their most basic needs eitherbecause they do not have a supportive amily or because they have no amily at all. Teymay have no riends or have riends who are either unsupportive or unable to providehelp. Tey may have no social support network o any kind, having no aith community,and no supportive neighbors, perhaps due to apartment living or the act that manycommunities within the United States tend to be ar more transient now than in priorgenerations. Tey may lack the skills or education to gain sufficient employment; thus,they may not have health insurance or earn a good wage. Perhaps they’ve spent the ma-

jority o their lives dealing with an abusive and chaotic childhood and are now sufferingrom the maniestation o that experience in the orm o psychological problems andsubstance abuse and, thus, cannot ocus on meeting their basic needs until they are ableto deal with the trauma they had been orced to endure.

Some people, particularly those who have good support systems, may alsely be-lieve that anyone who cannot meet their most basic needs o shelter, ood, healthcare,

and emotional needs must be doing something wrong. Tis belie is incorrect becausenumerous barriers exist that keep people rom meeting their own needs, some o whichmight be related to their own behavior, but more ofen, the reasons why people cannotmeet their needs are quite complicated and ofen lie in dynamics beyond their control.Tus while some people who are ortunate enough to have great amilies, wonderullysupportive riends, the benet o a good education, not aced racial oppression or socialexclusion, and no signicant history o abuse or loss may be sel-sufficient in meeting


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their own needs. his does not mean that others who ind themselves in situationwhere they cannot meet their own needs are doing something wrong. Human servicagencies come into the picture when people nd themselves conronting barriers to getting their needs met and their own resources or overcoming these obstacles are insucient. Some o these barriers include the ollowing:

Lack o amily (or supportive amily) Lack o a healthy support system o riends Mental illness Poverty Social exclusion (due to racial discrimination or instance) Racism Oppression (e.g., racial, gender, age) rauma Natural disasters Lack o education

Lack o employment skills Unemployment Economic recession Physical and/or intellectual disability

A tremendous amount o controversy surrounds how best to help people meetheir basic needs, and various philosophies exist regarding what types o services trulyhelp those in need and which services may seem to help initially but may actually create more problems down the road, such as the theory that public assistance createdependence. For instance, most people have heard the old proverb, “Give a man a sh

and he will eat or a day. each a man to sh and he will eat oa lietime.” One goal o the human services proession is to teachpeople to ish. his means that human service proessionals arcommitted to helping people develop the necessary skills to become sel-sufficient and unction at their optimal levels, personalland within society. Tus although an agency may pay a amily’rent or a ew months when they are in a crisis, human service proessionals will then work with the amily members to remove any

barriers that may be keeping them rom meeting their housing needs in the uturesuch as substance abuse disorders, a lack o education or vocational skills, health problems, mental illness, or gaining sel-advocacy skills necessary or combating prejudicand discrimination in the workplace.

In addition to a commitment to working with a broad range o populations, including high-needs and disenranchised populations, and providing them with the necessarresources to get their basic needs met, human service proessionals are also committeto working on a macro or societal level to remove barriers to optimal unctioning thaaffect large groups o people. By advocating or changes in laws and various policies, human service proessionals contributed to making great strides in reducing prejudice andiscrimination related to one’s race, gender, sexual orientation, socioeconomic statu

Human service professionals are

committed to helping people develop

the necessary skills to become

self-sufcient and function at their

optimal levels, personally and within

society.


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(SES), or any one o a number o characterizations that might mar-ginalize someone within society.

Human service proessionals continue to work on all socialronts so that every member o society has an equivalent opportu-nity or happiness and sel-sufficiency. Te chie goal o the human

service proessional is to support individuals as well as communitiesunction at their maximum potential, overcoming personal and so-cial barriers as effectively as possible in the major domains o living.

Human Service Professionals: EducationalRequirements and Professional Standards

Each year numerous caring individuals will decide to enter the eldo human services and will embark on the conusing journey otrying to determine what level o education is required or specicemployment positions, when and where a license is required, and

even what degree is required. Tere are no easy answers to these questions, because thehuman services proession is a broad one encompassing many different proessions, in-cluding human service generalist, mental health counselor, psychologist, social worker,and perhaps even psychiatrist, all o whom are considered human service proessionalsi they work in a human service agency working in some manner with marginalized,disenranchised, or other individuals who are in some way experiencing problems re-lated to various social or systemic issues within society.

Another area o conusion relates to the educational and licensing requirementsneeded to work in the human services eld. Determining what educational degree toearn, the level o education required, and what proessional license is needed depends inlarge part on variables such as specic state and ederal legislation (particularly or highlyregulated ields, such as in the educational and healthcare sectors), industry-speciicstandards, and even agency preerence or need. o make matters even more conusing,these variables can vary dramatically rom one state to the next; thus, a job that one cando in one state with an Associate o Arts (AA) degree may require a Master o SocialWork (MSW) degree and a clinical license in another state. In addition, many individu-als may work in the same capacity at a human service agency with two different degrees.

According to the NOHS website, a “human service proessional” is

[a] generic term or people who hold proessional and paraproessional jobs insuch diverse settings as group homes and halway houses; correctional, mental re-tardation, and community mental health centers; amily, child, and youth serviceagencies, and programs concerned with alcoholism, drug abuse, amily violence,and aging. Depending on the employment setting and the kinds o clients servedthere, job titles and duties vary a great deal. (National Organization or HumanServices, 2009, para.11)

Within this text, I use the title human service proessional to reer to all proes-sionals working within the human services eld, but i I use the term social worker,

Human Services

Delivery Systems

Understanding and Mastery of Human

Services Delivery Systems: Range of

populations served and needs addressedby human services

Critical Thinking Question: Humanservice professionals often—but notalways—work with the most disadvan-

taged members of society. What aresome roles in which they serve the movulnerable populations? What are someroles in which they might serve moreaffluent clients?


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then I am reerring to the legal denition and proessional distinction o a licensesocial worker, indicating either a Bachelor o Social Work (BSW) or an MSW level oeducation. Also, I use the term human service agency, but this term is ofen used synonymously in other literature with social service agency. One reason or the dramati

variation in educational and licensing requirements is that the human services eld i

a growing proession, and with the evolution o proessionalization comes increasinpractice regulations. Yet, issues such as the stance o legislators in a particular statregarding practice requirements, the need or human service proessionals within thcommunity, or even whether the community is rural or urban can affect educationaand licensing requirements or a particular position within the human services proession (Gumpert & Saltman, 1998).

Some human service agencies are subject to ederal or state governmental licensinrequirements, such as the healthcare industry (hospitals, hospices, home healthcaregovernment child welare agencies, and public schools, and as such may be requiredto hire a proessional with an advanced degree in any o the social science elds, or particular proessional education requirement might be specied. For instance, in man

states, school social workers must have an MSW degree and educational credentials ischool social work, and school counselors must have a master’s degree in educationacounseling.

Tere is still considerable variability among state licensing bodies in terms o howproessional terms such as counselor, social worker, and related eld are dened. For instance, most states require hospice social workers to be licensed social workers, thurequiring either a BSW or an MSW degree. But in Illinois, or instance, the HospicProgram Licensing Act provides that a hospice agency can also employ bereavemencounselors who have a bachelor’s degree in counseling, psychology, or social work withone year o counseling experience. Some states require child welare workers to be licensed social workers with an MSW, whereas other states require child welare workerto have a master’s degree in any related eld (i.e., psychology, human services, sociology). In states where there is a signicant need or bilingual social workers, such aCaliornia, educational requirements may be lowered i the individual is bilingual anhas commensurate counseling and/or case management experience.

Keeping such variability within specic human services elds in mind, as well as dierences among state licensing requirements, able 1.1 shows a very general breakdowo degrees in the mental health eld, their possible corresponding licenses, as well awhat careers these proessionals might be able to pursue, depending on individual statlicensing requirements.

Human Service Education and LicensureTe Council or Standards in Human Service Education (CSHSE) was established in1979 or the purposes o guiding and directing human service education and traininprograms. Tis organization has developed national standards or the curriculum ansubject area competencies in human service degree programs and serves as the accredtation body or colleges and universities offering degrees in the growing human servicediscipline at the associate’s, bachelor’s, and master’s levels.


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Multiple Discipline Degree RequirementsTable 1.1

Degree Academic Area/Major License/Credential Possible Careers

BA/BS Human Services BS-BCP Caseworker, youth worker, resi-

dential counselor, behavioral

management aide, case man-

agement aide, alcohol coun-selor, adult day care worker,

drug abuse counselor, life skills

instructor, social service aide,

probation ofcer, child advo-

cate, gerontology aide, juvenile

court liaison, group home

worker, child abuse worker,

crisis intervention counselor,

community organizer, social

work assistant, psychological

aide

BA/BS Psychology, Sociology N/A Same as above, depends on state

requirementsBSW Social Work (program ac-

credited by CSWE)

Basic licensing (LSW)

depends on state

Same as above, depends on state

requirements

MA/MS Counseling Psychology LCP (Licensed ClinicalProfessional—on

graduation)

Private practice , some governmen-

tal and social service agencies

30–60 credit

hours

LCPC (Licensed Clinical

Professional

Counselor—~3,000

postgrad supervised

hours)

MSW Social Work (program

accredited by CSWE)

LSW (on graduation) Private practice, all governmental

and social service agencies

(some requiring licensure)

60 credit

hours

LCSW (Licensed

Clinical Social

Worker—~3,200

postgrad supervised

hours)

PsyD 120

credit

hours

Doctor of Psychology PSY# (Licensed

Clinical Psycholo-

gist—~3,500 post-

grad supervised

hours)

Private practice, many

governmental and social

service agencies, teachingin some higher education

institutions

PhD

(Psychol-ogy)

Doctor of Philosophy in

Psychology

PSY# (~3,500 post-

grad supervisedhours)

Private practice, many governmen-

tal and social service agencies, teaching in higher education

institutions

120 credit

hours


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Te CSHSE requires that curriculum in a human services program cover the ollowing standard content areas: knowledge o the human services eld through the understanding o relevant theory, skills, and values o the proession; history o the proessionhuman systems; scope o the human services proession; standard clinical interventionscommon planning and evaluation methods; and inormation on sel-development. T

curriculum must also meet the minimum requirements or eld experience in a humaservice agency, as well as appropriate supervision.Te term human services is new compared to the title social work or mental healt

counselor, and grew in popularity partly in response to the narrowing o the denitioand increasing proessionalization o the social work proession. For instance, in thearly 1900s many o those who worked in the social work eld were called social workers; yet, as the social work eld continued to proessionalize, the title o social workeeventually became reserved or those proessionals who had either an undergraduate oa graduate degree in social work rom a program accredited by the Council on SociaWork Education (CSWE), the accrediting body responsible or the accreditation o social work educational programs in the United States.

Tere is a wide variation between states with regard to what types o degrees arrequired; education levels required; what careers require licensing, certications, o

credentials as well as the variation in titles used to identiy sociaworkers, human service proessionals, and counselors (Rittner &Wodarski, 1999). In many states, the human services proession istill largely unregulated, but this is quickly changing or several reasons, including the act that many third-payer insurance companie

will not reimburse or services unless rendered by a licensed mental health provide(Beaucar, 2000).

In 2010, the CSHSE and the NOHS in collaboration with Center or Credentialing &Education took a signiicant step toward the continuing proessionalization o thhuman services proession by developing a voluntary proessional certication callethe Human Services Board Certied Practitioner (HS-BCP) (2009 was a “grandatheryear that allowed human service practitioners to apply or the certicate without takinthe national exam). In order to take the national certication exam, applicants mushave earned at least a “technical certicate” in the human services discipline rom a regionally accredited college or university and completed the required amount o postgraduate supervised hours in the human services eld. Te number o required hourworked in the human services eld ranges based upon the level o education earnedrom 7,500 hours required or those applicants with a technical certicate, 4,500 hourrequired or those applicants with an associate degree, 3,000 hours or those applicant

with a bachelor’s degree, and 1,500 hours or those applicants with a master’s degreeApplicants who have earned degrees in other than a CSHSE-approved program, such ain counseling, social work, psychology, marriage and amily therapy, or criminal justicemust complete coursework in several different content areas related to human servicessuch as “ethics in the helping proessions,” “interviewing and intervention skills,” “social problems,” “social welare/public policy,” and “case management.” Te implementation o the HS-BCP certication has moved both the discipline and the proession o

In many states the human services

profession is still largely unregulated,

but this is quickly changing.


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human services toward increased proessional identity and recognition within the largerarea o helping proessions (or more inormation on the HS-BCP certication, go tohttp://www.nationalhumanservices.org/certication).

Duties and Functions of a Human Service Professional

Despite the broad range o skills and responsibilities involved in human services, mosthuman services positions have certain work-related activities in common. Te NOHSdescribes the general unctions and competencies o the human service proessionalon its website located at www.nationalhumanservices.org. Tese include the ollowing:

1. Understanding the nature o human systems: individual, group, organization, com-munity and society, and their major interactions. All workers will have preparationwhich helps them to understand human development, group dynamics, organiza-tional structure, how communities are organized, how national policy is set, andhow social systems interact in producing human problems.

2. Understanding the conditions which promote or limit optimal unctioning and

classes o deviations rom desired unctioning in the major human systems. Work-ers will have understanding o the major models o causation that are concernedwith both the promotion o healthy unctioning and with treatment rehabilitation.Tis includes medically oriented, socially oriented, psychologically-behavioral ori-ented, and educationally oriented models.

3. Skill in identiying and selecting interventions which promote growth and goal at-tainment. Te worker will be able to conduct a competent problem analysis andto select those strategies, services, or interventions that are appropriate to helpingclients attain a desired outcome. Interventions may include assistance, reerral, ad-

vocacy, or direct counseling.4. Skill in planning, implementing, and evaluating interventions. Te worker will be

able to design a plan o action or an identied problem and implement the plan ina systematic way. Tis requires an understanding o problems analysis, decision-analysis, and design o work plans. Tis generic skill can be used with all social sys-tems and adapted or use with individual clients or organizations. Skill in evaluatingthe interventions is essential.

5. Consistent behavior in selecting interventions which are congruent with the values oone’s sel, clients, the employing organization, and the human services proession. Tiscluster requires awareness o one’s own value orientation, an understanding o organi-zational values as expressed in the mandate or goal statement o the organization, hu-man service ethics, and an appreciation o the client’s values, lie style and goals.

6. Process skills which are required to plan and implement services. Tis cluster isbased on the assumption that the worker uses himsel as the main tool or respond-ing to service needs. Te worker must be skillul in verbal and oral communication,interpersonal relationships, and other related personal skills, such as sel-disciplineand time management. It requires that the worker be interested in and motivatedto conduct the role that he has agreed to ulll and to apply himsel to all aspects othe work that the role requires.

http://www.nationalhumanservices.org/certificationhttp://www.nationalhumanservices.org/http://www.nationalhumanservices.org/http://www.nationalhumanservices.org/certification


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How Do Human Service Professionals Practice?

Since human beings have walked this planet, people have been trying to gure out whamakes them “tick.” I we were to construct a historical time line, we would see that eacera tends to embrace a particular philosophy regarding the psychological nature o humans. Were we created in the image o God? Are we inherently good? Are persona

problems a product o social oppression, or are individuals responsible or their lot inlie? Do we have various levels o consciousness with eelings outside our awarenesmotivating us to behave in certain ways? What will make us happy? What leads to ouemotional demise? Tese questions are ofen lef to philosophers and more recently topsychologists, but they also relate very much to human services practice because th

view o humankind held by human service proessionals will undoubtedly inuenchow they both view and help their clients.

One o the most common questions human service proessionals are asked in job interview is about their “theoretical orientation.” I recall having a proessor in mgraduate program who cautioned that when we were asked that question to make sur

we never said we were “eclectic” because this was a clear indication to any employethat we had no idea what theoretical orientation we embraced. Essentially what thiquestion is addressing is what theoretical orientation the human service proessionaoperates rom as a oundation. In any mental health clinic, one practitioner mighcounsel rom a psychoanalytic perspective, another rom a humanistic perspectiveand yet another rom a cognitive-behavioral perspective. Te theoretical orientatioo mental health proessionals will serve as a sort o lens through which they viewtheir clients. Depending on the theory, a human service proessional’s theoreticaorientation may include certain underlying assumptions about human behavior (e.gwhat motivates humans to behave in certain ways), descriptive aspects (e.g., commonexperiences o women in middle adulthood), as well as prescriptive aspects, denin

adaptive versus maladaptive behaviors (e.g., is it normal or children to experiencseparation anxiety in the toddler years? Is adolescent rebellion a normal developmental stage?).

Most theoretical orientations will also extend into the clinical realm by outlininways to help people become emotionally healthy, based on some presumption o whacaused them to become emotionally unhealthy in the rst place. For instance, i a practitioner embraces a psychoanalytic perspective that holds to the assumption that earlchildhood experiences inuence adult motivation to behave in certain manners, thethe counseling will likely ocus on the client’s childhood. I the practitioner embraces cognitive-behavioral approach, the ocus o counseling will likely be on how the clienrames and interprets the various occurrences in his or her lie.

Theoretical Frameworks Used in Human Services

When considering all the various theories o human behavior, it is essential to remember that culture and history affect what is considered healthy thinking and behaviorCommon criticism o many major psychological theories is that they are ofen baseon mores common in Western cultures in developed countries and are not necessarily


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Introduction to the Human Services Profession 1

representative or reective o individuals living in developing or non-Western cultures.For instance, is it appropriate to apply Freud’s psychoanalytic theory o human behav-ior, which was developed rom his work with higher society women in the Victorianera, to individuals o the Masai tribe in Arica? Or, is it appropriate to use a theory ohuman behavior developed during peacetime when working with

those who grew up in a time o war? Any theory o human behaviorone considers using in relation to understanding the behavior o cli-ents should include a ramework addressing many systems, such asculture, historical era, ethnicity, and gender, as well as other systemswithin which the individual operates. In other words, it is impera-tive that the human service proessional consider environmental el-ements that may be a part o the client’s lie as a part o any evaluation and assessment.

Consider this example:

A woman in her orties is eeling rather depressed. She spends her rst counselingsession describing her ears o her children being killed. She explains how she isso araid o bullets coming through her walls that she doesn’t allow her childrento watch television in the living room. She never allows her children to play out-side and worries incessantly when they are at school. She admits that she has notslept well in weeks, and she has difficulty eeling anything other than sadness anddespair.

Would you consider this woman paranoid? Correctly assessing her does not de-pend solely on her thinking patterns and behavior, but on the context o her think-ing patterns and behavior, including the various elements o her environment. I thiswoman lived in an extremely sae, gate-guarded community where no crimes hadbeen reported in 20 years, then an assessment o some orm o paranoia might beappropriate. But what i she lived in a high-crime neighborhood, where “drive-by”shootings were a daily event? What i you learned that her neighbor’s children were re-cently shot and killed while watching television in the living room?Her thinking patterns and behavior do not seem as bizarre when

considered within the context or systems in which she is operating.Human service proessionals are ofen reerred to as “general-

ists,” implying that their knowledge base is broad and varied. Tisdoes not mean that they do not have areas o specialization; in act,in the last 100 years human service proessionals have increasingly

ventured into practice areas previously reserved or social work-ers, psychologists, and proessional counselors (Rullo, 2001). But

many believe that in order to be most eective, human serviceproessionals must be competent in working with a broad rangeo individuals and a broad range o issues, using a wide range ointerventions. A conceptual ramework that is most commonly as-sociated with human service generalist practice is one that viewsclients in the context o their environment, specically ocusing onthe transaction or relationship between the two.

It is imperative that the humanservice professional consider

environmental elements that may

be a part of the client’s life as a part

of any evaluation and assessment.

Human Systems


Systems: Emphasis on context and the

role of diversity in determining and meet

ing human needs.

Critical Thinking Question: Human service professionals are generalists, drawin

on a wide range of knowledge, skills,and theoretical perspectives in order

to best serve their clients. How might this broad array of tools help a profes-sional to effectively serve clients fromdiverse cultural and/or socioeconomicbackgrounds?


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Several theories capture this conceptual ramework, and virtually all are deriverom general systems theory, which is based on the premise that various elements inan environment interact with each other, and this interaction (or transaction) has aimpact on all elements involved. Tis has certain implications or the hard sciences suchas ecology and physics, but when applied to the social environment, its implication

involve the dynamic and interactive relationship between environmental elements, suchas one’s amily, riends, neighborhood, church, culture, ethnicity, and gender, on ththoughts, attitudes, and behavior o the individual. Tus, i someone asked you whoyou were, you might describe yoursel as a emale, who is a college student, marriedwith two high school–aged children, who attends church on a regular basis. You mighurther describe yoursel as having come rom an Italian amily with nine brothers ansisters and as a Catholic.

On urther questioning you might explain that your parents are older and you havbeen attempting to help them nd alternate housing that can help them with their extensive medical needs. You might describe the current problems you’re having withyour teenage daughter, who was recently caught “ditching” school by the truancy o

cer. Whether you realize it or not, you have shared that you are interacting with thollowing environments (ofen called ecosystems): amily, riendships, neighborhoodItalian-American culture, church, gender, marriage covenant, adolescence, the medicacommunity, the school system, and the criminal justice system.

Your interaction with each o these systems is inuenced by both your expectationo these systems and their expectations o you. For instance, what is expected o you aa college student? What is expected o you as a woman? As a wie? As a Catholic? Whaabout the expectations o you as a married woman who is Catholic? What about thexpectations o your amily? As you attempt to ocus on your academic studies, do thes

various systems offer stress or support? I you went to counseling, would it be helpul othe practitioner to understand what it means to be one o nine children rom a CatholicItalian-American amily?

Tis ocus on transactional exchange is what distinguishes the eld o human servicerom other elds such as psychology and psychiatry, although recently, systems theorhas gained increasing attention in these latter disciplines as well. Several theories havbeen developed to describe the reciprocal relationship between individuals and theienvironment. Te most common are Ecological Systems Teory, Person-in-Environmen(PIE), and Eco-Systems Teory.

BRONFENBRENNER’S ECOLOGICAL SYSTEMS THEORY Urie Bronenbrenne(1979) developed the Ecological Systems Teory. In his theory, Bronenbrenner catego

rized an individual’s environment into our expanding spheres, all with increasing levelo intimate interaction with the individual. Te Microsystem includes the individual anhis amily, the Mesosystem (or Mezzosystem) includes entities such as one’s neighborhood and school, the Exosystem includes entities such as the state government, and thMacrosystem would include the culture at large. Figure 1.1 illustrates the various systems and describes the nature o interaction with the individual. Again, it is importanto remember that the primary principle o Bronenbrenner’s theory is that individual


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can best be understood when seen in the context o their relationship with the varioussystems in their lives. Understanding the nature o these reciprocal relationships will aidin understanding the individual.

PERSON-IN-ENVIRONMENT Another theory that is similar in nature to EcologicalSystems Teory is reerred to as “Person-in-Environment,” or PIE. Te premise o thistheory is quite similar to Bronenbrenner’s theory, as it encourages seeing individualswithin the context o their environment, both on a micro and macro levels (i.e., intraand interpersonal relationships and amily dynamics) and on a macro (or societal) level(i.e., the individual is an Arican American, who lives in an urban community with sig-nicant cultural oppression).

ECO-SYSTEMS THEORY Similar to Bronenbrenner’s theory, inEco-Systems Teory, the various environmental systems are repre-sented by overlapping concentric circles indicating the reciprocalexchange between a person and environmental system. Althoughthere is no official recognition o varying levels o systems (rommicro to macro), the basic concept is very similar, and most whoembrace this theory understand that there are varying levels o sys-

tems, all interacting and thus impacting the person in various ways.It is up to the human service proessional to strive to understandthe transactional and reciprocal nature o these various systems(Meyer, 1988).

It is important to note that these theories do not presume thatindividuals are necessarily aware o the various systems they oper-ate within, even i they are actively interacting with them. In act,

Dan

Family

Faith

Community Gender

Ethnicity Employer

FIGURE 1.1

Example of Commo

Eco-Systems with the

Person in the Middle

Human Systems


Systems: Theories of human developmen

Critical Thinking Question: The fieldof human services focuses on the indi-

vidual within the context of her envi-ronment. How might this perspectivelead a human service professional torespond to a client differently thanwould, say, a psychiatrist who focuseson childhood trauma as the root ofadult dysfunction?


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SELF-ACTUALIZATION

NEEDS

ESTEEM NEEDS

LOVE NEEDS

SAFETY NEEDS

PHYSIOLOGICAL NEEDS

effective human service proessionals will help their clients increase their personal awareness o the existence o these systems and how they are currently operating within them(i.e., nature o reciprocity). It is through this awareness that clients increase their level o

empowerment within their environment and consequently in all aspects o their lie.

MASLOW’S HIERARCHY OF NEEDS Another eective model or understanding how many people are motivated to get their needs met was developed byAbraham Maslow. Maslow (1954) created a model ocusing on needs motivation. AFigure 1.2 illustrates, Maslow believed that people are motivated to get their mosbasic physiological needs met irst (such as the need or ood and oxygen) beorthey attempt to meet their saety needs (such as the security we ind in the stabilityo our relationships with amily and riends). According to Maslow, most peoplwould ind it diicult to ocus on higher-level needs related to sel-esteem or selactualization when their most basic needs are not being met. Consider people youmay know who suer rom low sel-esteem and then consider how they might reaci a war suddenly broke out and their community was under siege. Maslow’s theorysuggests that thoughts o low sel-esteem would quickly take a back seat as worrieabout mere survival took hold. Maslow’s Hierarchy o Needs can assist human ser

vice proessionals in helping clients by recognizing a client’s need to prioritize morpressing needs over others.

FIGURE 1.2Maslow’s Hierarchy of

Needs

Maslow, Abraham H.; Frager, Robert D.; Fadiman, James, Motivation and Personality , 3rd Ed., ©1987.

Reprinted and Electronically reproduced by permission of Pearson Education, Upper Saddle River,

New Jersey


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Understanding Human Services through a Look at Practice Settings

It is important to remember that the nature o intervention is completely dependent onthe specic practice setting where the human service proessional is providing directservice. Tus, how clients are helped to improve their personal and social unctioning

will look very differently depending on whether services are provided in a school set-ting, a hospice, or a county social service agency. Human service proessionals practicein numerous settings, some o which include schools, hospitals, advocacy organizations,aith-based agencies, government agencies, hospices, prisons, and police departments,as well as in private practice.

It would be difficult to present an exhaustive list o categories opractice settings due to the broad and ofen very general nature othis career. Practice settings could be categorized based on the so-cial issue (i.e., domestic violence, homelessness), target population(i.e., older adults, the chronically mentally ill), or the area o spe-

cialty (i.e., grie and loss, marriage and amily). Regardless o howwe choose to categorize the various elds within human services,it is imperative that the nature o this career be examined and ex-plored through the lens o practice settings in some respect to trulyunderstand both the career opportunities available to human ser-

vice proessionals and the unctions they perorm within these various settings.Some o these practice settings include (but are not necessarily limited to) medi-

cal acilities, including hospitals and hospices; schools; geriatric acilities, includingassisted-living acilities; victim advocacy agencies, including domestic violence, sexualassault, and victim–witness assistance departments; child and amily service agen-cies, including adoption agencies and child protective service agencies; services or the

homeless, including shelters and the government housing authority; mental health cen-ters; aith-based agencies; and social advocacy organizations, such ashuman rights agencies and policy groups.

Regardless o the manner in which practice settings are catego-rized, there is bound to be some overlap because one area o prac-tice could conceivably be included within another eld, and somepractice settings could also be considered an area o specialization.For instance, there are Christian hospices (medical social work andaith-based practice), some human service proessionals work withboth victims o domestic violence (victim advocacy) and batterers(orensic human services), and adoption is sometimes considered apractice setting unto itsel and sometimes included under the um-brella o child welare.

For the purposes o this text, the roles, skills, and unctions ohuman service proessionals will be explored in the context o par-ticular practice settings, as well as areas o specialization within thehuman services eld—general enough to cover as many unctions

Human service professionals

practice in numerous settings, some

of which include schools, hospitals,

advocacy organizations, faith-based

agencies, government agencies,

hospices, prisons, and police

departments, as well as in private

practice.

Human Services

Delivery Systems


Services Delivery Systems: Range and

characteristics of human services deliver

systems and organizations

Critical Thinking Question: Human service professionals work in a wide variet

of settings, including hospitals, schools, the legal system, child advocacy agencieand mental health clinics, to name just afew. In what settings have you come intcontact with human service professionaso far in your life?


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and settings as possible within the eld o human services, but narrow enough to bedescriptively meaningul. Te role o the human service proessional will be examineby exploring the history o the practice setting, the range o clients, the clinical issuemost commonly encountered, mode o service delivery, case management, and moscommon generalist intervention strategies within the ollowing practice settings an

areas o specializations: child welare, adolescents, geriatric and aging, mental healthhousing, healthcare and hospice, substance abuse, schools, aith-based agencies, violence, victim advocacy and corrections, and macro practice, including internationahuman rights work.


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1

1. The following are reasons why people may need toutilize human services:

a. Mental Illness

b. Racism

c. Trauma

d. All of the above

2. According to the chapter, someone is consideredto be working in the human services eld if he isworking

a. in the occupational and/or speech therapy elds

b. with marginalized, disenfranchised, or other indi-

viduals who are in some way experiencing prob-lems related to various social or systemic issueswithin society

c. with marginalized, disenfranchised, or other indi-viduals who are in some way experiencing prob-lems related to various personal or pathologicalissues within oneself

d. None of the above

3. According to the National Organization for HumanServices, the human services profession is one whichpromotes ______________ not only by addressingthe quality of direct services, but by also seeking to

improve _________________ among professionalsand agencies in service delivery.

a. a healthy lifestyle/collaboration

b. societal structures/accessibility and collaboration

c. improved service delivery systems/accessibility,accountability, and coordination

d. None of the above

4. The Human Services Board Certied Practitioner(HS-BCP) is a

a. voluntary national professional certication

b. license that allows paraprofessionals to work inschools and hospitals

c. name for the accreditation of human serviceseducational programs

d. national professional certication required by in-surance companies for payment reimbursement

5. The foundational theoretical approaches to the hu-man services discipline include

a. Person-in-Environment

b. Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Systems Theory

c. Eco-systems Theory

d. All of the above

6. In Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, a person would rstneed to meet her _____ needs, before meeting her _____ needs.

a. higher level/lower level

b. central level/lower level

c. internal/external

d. lower level/higher level

he ollowing questions will test your knowledge o the content ound within this chapter.

CHAPTER 1 PRACTICE TEST

7. Compare and constrast the human services eld with the social work and psychology disciplines.

8. Describe the basic tenets of Bronfenbrenner’s Ecological Sytems Theory and provide an example of how this

theory applies in the human services discipline.


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Internet ResourcesAmerican Counseling Association: http://www.counseling.orgCouncil or Accreditation o Counseling & Related

Educational Programs: http://www.cacrep.orgCouncil or Standards in Human Service Education:

http://www.cshse.org

Human Services Career Network: http://www.hscareers.comNational Organization or Human Services: http://www.

nationalhumanservices.org

ReferencesBeaucar, K. O. (2000). Licensing a mixed bag in ’99. NASW News,

45(2), 9.Bronenbrenner, U. (1979). he ecology o human development:

Experiments by nature and design. Cambridge, MA: HarvardUniversity Press.

Gumpert, J., & Saltman, J. E. (1998). Social group work practice inrural areas: he practitioners speak. Social Work with Groups,21(3), 19–34.

Maslow, A. (1954). Motivation and personality. New York: Harper.Meyer, C. H. (1988). he eco-systems perspective. In R. A. Dor-

man (Ed.), Paradigms o clinical social work (pp. 275–294).Philadelphia: Brunner/Mazel, Inc.

National Organization or Human Services. (n.d.). Whatis human services? Retrieved rom http://www. nationalhumanservices.org/what-is-human-services

Rullo, D. (2001). he proession o social work. Research on SocialWork Practice, 11(2), 210–216.

Rittner, B., & Wodarski, J. S. (1999). Dierential uses or BSW andMSW educated social workers in child welare services. Children& Youth Services Review, 21(3), 217–238.

http://www.counseling.org/http://www.cacrep.org/http://www.cshse.org/http://www.hscareers.com/http://www.nationalhumanservices.org/http://www.nationalhumanservices.org/http://www.nationalhumanservices.org/what-is-human-serviceshttp://www.nationalhumanservices.org/what-is-human-serviceshttp://www.nationalhumanservices.org/what-is-human-serviceshttp://www.nationalhumanservices.org/what-is-human-serviceshttp://www.nationalhumanservices.org/http://www.nationalhumanservices.org/http://www.hscareers.com/http://www.cshse.org/http://www.cacrep.org/http://www.counseling.org/


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1

Learning Objectives

Recognize how economic,

religious, and social policies

influence society’s perception

of the poor

Recognize the historic role of

people of color in the develop-

ment of the human services

profession

Understand the impact of the

Great Depression and the con-

text in which New Deal social

welfare programs were created

Compare and contrast con-

temporary socio-political

perspectives

Identify and develop methods of

identifying and addressing bias in

perceptions of disenfranchised

populations, including bias based

on race, socioeconomic status

(SES), gender, sexual orientation,

and age

History and Evolution of

Social Welfare Policy Effect on Human Services

CHAPTER 2

he practice o helping others in need can be traced back to ancienttimes, but the human services proession in its current context has his-toric roots dating back to at least the late 1800s. Te development o thesocial welare system in the United States was very much inuenced byEngland’s social welare system; thereore, it is important to understandthe evolution o how the poor were treated in England to truly under-stand how social welare policy has developed within the United States.

The Feudal System of the Middle Ages

A good place to begin this examination would be in England’s Middle

Ages (the 11th century), where a system called eudalism prevailed asEngland’s primary manner o caring or the poor. Under this elitist sys-tem, privileged and wealthy landowners would parcel off small sectionso their land, which would then be armed by peasants or sers. Manypolicy experts rame the eudal system not only as an effective methodor controlling poverty, but also as a governmentally imposed orm oslavery or servitude, because individuals became sers through bothracial and economic discrimination and were commonly born into ser-dom with little hope o ever escaping. Sers were considered the legalproperty o their landowner, or “lord”; thus although lords were requiredto provide or the care and support o sers in exchange or arming their

land, the lords had complete control over their sers and could sell themor give them away as they deemed t (Stephenson, 1943; rattner, 1998).

Despite the seeming harshness o this system, it did provide insur-ance against many o the social hazards associated with being poor, andit was complemented by the prevailing attitude toward the poor duringthis time period, which was based on the notion that there was no shamein poverty. In act, the commonly held societal more during medieval

Everett Collection/SuperSto


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times was that poverty within society was unavoidable, and the poor were a necessarcomponent o society, in that it gave an opportunity or the rich to show their grace angoodwill through the giving o alms to those less ortunate than themselves. Te poowere also necessary because without them there would be no servants.

Tis attitude was inuenced by religious teachings, particularly teachings within th

Judeo-Christian tradition, and was reinorced by church authorities, who shoulderethe primary responsibility, within a governmental capacity, o administering relie tothose unable to support themselves. Tus, caring or the poor was perceived as a noblduty that rested on the shoulders o all those who were able-bodied. Almost in the samway that evil was required to highlight good, poverty was likewise necessary to highlighcharity and goodwill as required by God.

A policy o charity is not limited to Judeo-Christian aiths though; in act, mosreligions include charity as requirements o aith. For instance, in Islam ollowers arrequired to contri

Introduction to Human Services Third Edition Michelle Martin

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