Human Services

In your textbook, you reviewed what impact more current history has had on human services. Current events and news stories can shed a lot of light on the trends impacting human services agencies. Locate two different newspaper or journal articles on the same issue, published within the last year. To locate articles through the  SNHU Shapiro Library , use the Multi-Search option on the Shapiro Library homepage under the "Find books, articles, and more:" heading. And follow these steps:

1. Type a search phrase into the search box and click Search.

2. Refine search to items with “full text online.”

3. Refine search to desired content type.

4. Fill in the Publication Date fields to limit your search to articles published within the last year.

Post a summary of the issue and information from both articles that best describe the issue. Explain how the issue impacts the work of human services agencies.  In your responses to your peers’ posts, consider the issue they addressed. How are the issues they mention challenging your community or the community in which you hope to work? If your community has yet to experience these issues, reflect on why that might be so.

To complete this assignment, review the  Discussion Rubric  document.

Response #1

4-1 Discussion

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Alyssa Aylesworth posted May 26, 2019 5:55 PM

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The two articles I found that represent a current and trending impact on current human service professionals is the Supreme Court's ruling that a man who is suffering from dementia cannot be executed in Alabama for his crimes.   In 1985 Vernon Madison killed police officer Julius Schulte who was trying to diffuse a domestic dispute he was having with his girlfriend, Cheryl Greene. Since that event and 33 years of solitary confinement, Vernon has suffered from a series of strokes that have rendered him blind, incontinent, and frequently unable to form coherent thoughts and sentences all in comorbidity with his dementia. The Supreme Court has argued that it is unjust and goes against the Eighth Amendment which exempts execution under cruel and unusual punishment, such as if someone had schizophrenia and psychosis. If Madison could not understand or remember why he was being executed, was it morally just to execute him? The Supreme Court was divided and ultimately decided the ruling be decided by a lower court, meaning ultimately Madison could still face execution if they decide as such.

This issue very uniquely impacts the work of human service agencies, especially those working with an inmate population. What's happening to Madison is only expected to increase in the coming years as inmates who have been in prison for decades are entering the later stages of their lives, in which health and mental conditions such as stroke, dementia, and Alzheimer's begin to develop and happen more frequently. The human service professionals who are working with this population will need to have a firm grasp of any new developmental rulings, how health problems affect the elderly, and the knowledge of specialized care and resources that can be utilized and be referred to. Human service professionals also may find that they need to look at the best interest of their aging clients and assess what type of advocacy, law passing, and funding needs to be lobbied for. Different age groups all require different methods of help and those who wish to work in a prison system will benefit greatly if they learn how to address the needs of clients who are entering old age and begin to have a new set of challenges. This is a trend many human service professionals also need to keep an eye out for, due to medical advances and stable economy people are living longer than ever. The number of seniors is expected to increase more and more as the years go on and any agency who deals with elderly clients should prepare quickly for an influx. 

References

Barnes, Robert. "Supreme Court says inmate cannot be executed if dementia means he cannot understand punishment." Washington Post 27 Feb. 2019. Business Insights: Global. Web. 26 May 2019. Retrieved from:    http://bi.galegroup.com.ezproxy.snhu.edu/global/article/GALE%7CA576116573?u=nhc_main

Liptak, Adam. "Divided Supreme Court Rules for Condemned Inmate With Dementia." New York Times 28 Feb. 2019: A20(L). Business Insights: Global. Web. 26 May 2019. Retrieved from:    http://bi.galegroup.com.ezproxy.snhu.edu/global/article/GALE%7CA576163353?u=nhc_main