HHS 497 Health & Human Services Wk5-A

1 HUMAN SERVICE PROFESSIONALS

Human Service Professionals Related to a Social Issue

Chanda Crews

HHS 497 Health & Human Services Capstone

Instructor: Sarah Nowlin

November 26, 2018

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1. HUMAN SERVICE

PROFESSIONALS

Formatting: The formatting of

the assignment was done

incorrectly. Please review

APA guidelines on how to

format the Running head.

[Sarah Nowlin]

Social Issue

The social issue is a case of the client who is a teenager who has suffered from a case of

domestic violence. The client thus requires proper support and counselling that will help him

progress in his academic and mental development. Domestic violence has adverse effects on the

mind of the victims and at times can lead to severe cases of mental damage. The client thus

requires both child welfare worker and mental counsellor to help him recover.

Child welfare worker career protects children from difficult situations that hinder their

development (Hansen-Turton & Mortell, 2014). Some of the situations include abuse and neglect

from their guardians. Child welfare workers thus provide care for children who undergo such

problems giving them an opportunity to live a normal life like any others.

The mental counsellor provides professional services to mental health patients.

Counsellors are essential in cases of child counselling especially for children who have

undergone rough childhood (Hansen-Turton & Mortell, 2014). For example, children who have

suffered from incidents of domestic violence are likely to have trauma. In such cases, the

children can be provided with counselling sessions which are helpful in the long run.

Professional Responsibilities

Child welfare worker

The responsibilities of a child welfare worker are to ensure that the well being of a child

is protected. Professional responsibilities include ensuring that the social, physical, emotional

and psychological well-being is upheld (Jayawickreme, Forgeard, & Seligman, 2012). They thus

have a responsibility of visiting homes to identify any challenges faced by children who have a

history of emotional or mental stress in their foster homes. Also, they have a responsibility of

investigating the cases o neglect or abuse through a detailed assessment of the caregivers.

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1. career

Should this be career with an

"s"? [Sarah Nowlin]

2. o

What does this mean?

[Sarah Nowlin]

3 HUMAN SERVICE PROFESSIONALS

The other professional responsibility of child welfare workers is to complete

documentation and maintaining other types of files involving their client. It is crucial for the

children to be provided with every documentation that will show that they are under the care of a

particular person. All the professional responsibilities of a child welfare worker have to be met

by a professional worker who has the right qualifications.

Mental counsellor

The professional responsibility of a mental counsellor is to ensure that patients are

provided with an assessment of their mental health and treatment plans are determines. Mental

health counsellors work as primary care mental health caregivers. The mental counsellors have

thus the responsibility of providing care to people with a mental health condition which involves

understanding their present situation and determining the exact reason for the complication

(Jayawickreme, Forgeard, & Seligman, 2012). The mental counsellor also has a significant

responsibility of maintaining their client’s confidentiality. The mental health professional is thus

supposed to provide their client with utmost confidentiality which is a critical factor.

The effectiveness of Oral and Written Communication Skills

Oral communication skills are essential when it comes to solving cases of mental health

disorder. Oral communication skills involve observation, listening, and lastly verbal

communication. With proper communication, it will be easy to handle the problem that the client

is facing. It is also important to understand that observation helps in reading the body language

of the client to be able to understand their problem deeper. Listening skills help clients feel

appreciated since the social worker can listen and understand their problem without

interruptions.

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1. Mental counsellor

Do you mean Mental Health

Counselor? [Sarah Nowlin]

2. mental counsellor

Check your spelling. [Sarah

Nowlin]

3. Add a discussion about the

National Organization of

Human Services (NOHS) and

ethical standards. [Sarah

Nowlin]

Written communication skills, on the other hand, are essential for the caregivers since

they directly impact their service delivery (Stensrud, Mjaaland, & Finset, 2012). For any

caregiver, it is necessary for them to provide and keep proper written patient records for the

following reasons. First, the records to be kept are meant to ensure that cure and treatment can

continue regardless of the staff that is on duty. Patients can receive treatment even if their

caregiver is unavailable. Secondly, the records are essential in noting down the care that has been

given to the patient (Stensrud, Mjaaland, & Finset, 2012). Patients receive a different type of care

depending on their condition and in this case, mental care is recorded to help understand their

improvement. Lastly, the written records help in providing evidence of the client complaint. For

example, in the case of domestic violence, the first record will tell the clients condition thus help

them pursue justice in case they need compensation.

Culturally Competent Health and Human Services Elements

The client is from an African American background which presents the case as

challenging since they are unable to get the right counselling. In this case, there has to be a

proper cultural competence in providing the service to ensure that the sensitivity of the issue is

handled correctly. In providing the care, it is thus essential to understand the client’s background

to ensure that the service provided will fit their needs.

Barriers and Limitations

In the provision of social services to clients, there are numerous barriers that

professionals may encounter such as communication which reduces client interaction thus

making it difficult to deliver the service appropriately (Ambrose-Miller & Ashcroft, 2016).

Additionally, social workers might also experience high burnout rates due to the intensity of their

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1. (image annotation)

Discuss nonverbal

communication. [Sarah

Nowlin]

2. there has to be a

proper cultural competence

in providing the service to

ensure that the sensitivity

of the issue is

handled correctly.

Please explain. [Sarah

Nowlin]

3. essential to understand

the client’s background

How would care be

associated with the client's

background, due to service

deliveries? For example, you

mentiond the client is African

American; why would his

services be different from any

other ethnic group with the

same problem. [Sarah

Nowlin]

4. there are numerous

barriers

Discuss several barriers that

reduce client interaction.

[Sarah Nowlin]

5 HUMAN SERVICE PROFESSIONALS

work and tight schedules with clients. Such barriers can limit service delivery, and thus they

must be solved.

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References

Ambrose-Miller, W., & Ashcroft, R. (2016). Challenges Faced by Social Workers as Members of

Interprofessional Collaborative Health Care Teams. Health & social work, 41(2), 101-9.

Stensrud, T. L., Mjaaland, T. A., & Finset, A. (2012). Communication and mental health in

general practice: physicians' self-perceived learning needs and self-efficacy. Mental

health in family medicine, 9(3), 201-9.

Hansen-Turton, T. & Mortell, M. (2014). Making strategy count in health and human services

sector — New York, NY: Spring Publishing Company.

Jayawickreme, E., Forgeard, M.J.C., & Seligman, M.E.P. (2012). The engine of well-being.

Review of General Psychology, 16(4), 327-342.

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