HHS 435 Cont Issues, Trends, Health Law Ethics in H & HS-5

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Job Outlook

Employment of human service workers is expected to grow much faster than the average for all occupations through the year 2005. Opportunities for qualified applicants are expected to be excellent not only because of projected rapid growth in the occupation but also because of substantial replacement needs. Turnover among counselors in group homes is reported to be especially high.

Employment prospects should be favorable in facilities and programs that serve the elderly, mentally impaired, or developmentally disabled. Adult day care, a relatively new concept, is expected to expand significantly because of very rapid growth in the number of people of advanced age, together with the growing awareness of the value of day programs for adults in need of care and supervision.

Although projected growth in the elderly population is the dominant factor in the anticipated expansion of adult day care, public response to the needs of people who are handicapped or mentally ill underlies anticipated employment growth in group homes and residential care facilities. As more and more mentally retarded or developmentally disabled individuals reach the age of twenty-one and thereby lose their eligibility for programs and services offered by the public schools, the need for community-based alternatives can be expected to grow. Pressures to respond to the needs of the chronically mentally ill can also be expected to persist. For many years, as deinstitutionalization has proceeded, chronic mental patients have been left to their own devices. If the movement to help the homeless and chronically mentally ill gains momentum, more community-based programs and group residences will be established, and demand for human service workers will increase accordingly. State and local governments will remain a major employer of human service workers, and replacement needs alone will generate many job openings in the public sector.

Salary Range

According to limited data available, starting salaries for human service workers ranged from $25,000 to $30,000 a year in 2000. Experienced workers earned up to about $43,000 annually, depending on the amount of experience and the employer.

Employment

Human service workers held about 375,000 jobs in 1998. About one-fourth were employed by state and local governments, primarily in hospitals and outpatient mental health centers, facilities for the mentally retarded and developmentally disabled, and public welfare agencies. Another fourth worked in agencies offering adult day care, group meals, crisis intervention, counseling, and other social services. Some supervised residents of group homes and halfway houses. Human service workers also held jobs in clinics, community mental health centers, and private psychiatric hospitals.

Employment

Human service workers held about 375,000 jobs in 1998. About one-fourth were employed by state and local governments, primarily in hospitals and outpatient mental health centers, facilities for the mentally retarded and developmentally disabled, and public welfare agencies. Another fourth worked in agencies offering adult day care, group meals, crisis intervention, counseling, and other social services. Some supervised residents of group homes and halfway houses. Human service workers also held jobs in clinics, community mental health centers, and private psychiatric hospitals.

Examples of Occupational Titles of Human Service Workers

Case Worker

Youth Worker

Residential

Counselor

Case Management

Aide

Alcohol Counselor

Drug Abuse

Counselor

Client Advocate

Social Service

Aide

Social Service

Technician

Probation Officer

Parole Officer

Gerontology Aide

Home Health Aide

Child Abuse

Worker

Mental Health

Aide

Intake Interviewer

Social Work

Assistant

Psychological

Aide

Assistant Case

Manager

Family Support

Worker

Social Service Liaison

Behavioral

Management Aide

Eligibility Counselor

Adult Day Care

Worker

Life Skills Instructor

Neighborhood Worker

Group Activities Aide

Therapeutic Assistant

Case Monitor

Child Advocate

Juvenile Court Liaison

Group Home Worker

Crisis Intervention

Counselor

Community Organizer

Community Outreach

Worker

Community Action

Worker

Residential

Manager

Halfway House

Counselor

Rehabilitation Case

Worker

NOHSE: A History of Commitment

The National Organization for Human Service Education (NOHSE) was founded in 1975 at the Fifth Annual Faculty Development Conference of the Southern Regional Education Board. NOHSE grew out of the perceived need by professional care providers and legislators for improved methods of service delivery. NOHSE, with the early support of the National Institute of Mental Health and SREB, has striven to promote excellence in human service delivery in an increasingly complex world.

Through the professional efforts of NOHSE members, many programs of care have been developed to address unique social, behavioral, and educational issues. NOHSE’s focus includes supporting and promoting improvements in direct service, public education, program development, planning and evaluation, administration, and public policy.

Members of NOHSE are drawn from diverse educational and professional backgrounds. Professional backgrounds and experience in corrections, mental health, child care, social services, human resource management, gerontology, developmental disabilities, addictions, recreation, and education reflect this diversity.

The applied philosophy of NOHSE addresses the diverse needs of society by supporting educators and professionals in developing innovative models of service and education.

Purposes of NOHSE

1. To provide a medium for cooperation and communication among human service organizations and individual practitioners, faculty, and students.

2. To foster excellence in teaching, research, and curriculum development for improving the education of human service delivery personnel.

3. To encourage, support, and assist the development of local, state, and national organizations of human services.

4. To sponsor forums via conferences, institutes, and symposia that foster creative approaches to meeting human service needs.

Council for Standards in Human Service Education

Founded in 1979 to improve the quality, consistency, and relevance of human service training programs, the Council for Standards in Human Service Education (CSHSE) is the only national organization providing standards and assistance to accomplish these goals. The council achieves its purpose by the following efforts:

1. Applying national standards for training programs at the associate and baccalaureate degree levels;

2. Reviewing and recognizing programs that meet established standards;

3. Sponsoring faculty development workshops in curriculum design, program policy making, resource development, program evaluation, and other areas;

4. Offering vital technical and informational assistance to programs seeking to improve the quality and relevance of their training;

5. Publishing a quarterly bulletin to keep programs informed of council activities, training information and resources, issues, and trends in human service education.

Through a membership of educational programs, the council provides an organization and an opportunity for all constituencies of the undergraduate human service field to work together in developing and promoting sound programs of human service training as the essential foundation for effective and relevant service delivery.

KEY TERMS FOR PART TWO

After studying Chapters 5, 6, 7, and 8, you should have a command of the following key terms, major concepts, and principal topical references:

active listening

closed-ended questions

nonverbal encouragers

open-ended questions

reflecting feelings

attending behaviors

key words

observing skills

reflecting content

summarization

PTSD

brief therapy

crosswalk

group cohesiveness

unconditional positive regard

Community Support Skill Standards (CSSS)

group leadership

initial disclosure

conflict resolution

skill standards

empathy

constructive confrontation

generic skills

credentialing

PIVOTAL ISSUES FOR DISCUSSION OF PART TWO

1. Make a list of short-range human service interventions, long-term interventions, direct service interventions, and indirect interventions. How do these approaches differ when working with individual clients as opposed to working with groups?

2. Interview a social worker, clinical psychologist, and a psychiatrist and ask what each must possess as skills in performing their respective work. How are they different? Similar?

3. What is the managed health care movement in human services and mental health? What are the major issues in this recent movement? How do they affect the human service client, worker, and intervention services?

4. Give examples of how group approaches are used in human services. What are the advantages and disadvantages of groups?

5. Why is credentialing (i.e., licensure, certification, registration, etc.) a critical issue for future human service workers?

6. Make a list of the ten most important skills human service workers need to have, the ten most important bodies of knowledge, and the ten most important values. Can these be measured or tested for in human service students? How? When? Where? By whom?

7. Why should interviewers avoid giving advice to their interviewees?

8. Discuss the challenges of competency-based learning from both the students’ perspective and that of the instructor.

9. Compare and contrast social conversation and formal interviewing.

SUGGESTED READINGS FOR PART TWO

1. Benjamin, A. (1969). The Helping Interview. Atlanta, GA: Houghton Mifflin.

2. CSHSE. (1989, September). Field Work in Human Services Education. Monograph Issue #6.

3. Ivey, A. E., M. B. Ivey, and L. Imek-Downing (1987). Counseling and Psychotherapy: Integrating Skills, Theory, and Practice (2nd ed.) Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

4. Evans, D. R., M. T. Hearn, M. R. Uhlemann, & A. E. Ivey (1998). Essential Interviewing: A Programmed Approach to Effective Communication, 5th ed. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole.

5. Schram, B., and B. R. Mandell (1983). Human Services: Strategies of Intervention. New York: John Wiley and Sons.

6. Nichols, M. P. (1995). The Lost Art of Listening. New York: Guilford Press.