The Field of Human Services - Essay Example

The Shift of Services and Technology The human service field has a man to meet the needs of the people. In that case, one of the most effective approaches to ensuring that all people are prioritized on is by shifting the human services from the institutional to the community based settings. This discourse commences by explaining the main reasons behind the shift such as allocation of resources and ensuring of easy accessibility of health services among the aged and the mentally ill. In addition, it gives limelight to the main settings for the health service delivery such as the rural and the industrial locations. It is also to be noted that the expansion of such settings have helped a lot in ensuring equality and reducing cases of marginalization. Finally, it is important to note that the technology has played a profound role in the delivery of health services as it ensures easy communication across the borders, development of policies, better allocation of resources, and sharing of important information. However, it has various limitations such as identity theft, violation of confidentiality as well as privacy, and creation of digital divide. The Shift of Services and Technology Introduction The human service field has been at the forefront in ensuring that the needs of the people are met on time through providing a sound interdisciplinary base, remediation and preventing problems, as well as guaranteeing improved quality of life among the population. There has been immense shift of human services from institutional settings to the community; hence, improving accessibility, coordination among the agencies as well as the professionals, and enhancing accountability (Woodside & McClam, 2014). Therefore, this treatise focuses on giving limelight to the shift from institutional to the community, the main settings, the role of the technology, and the rationale for the expansion of the human service delivery. The Shift from Institutional to Community Based Settings The civil right representatives, humanitarians, and the professionals agreed that the shift from the institutional based confinements to local settings was an effective approach; hence, the deinstitutionalization movement gained momentum in the early 1960s. One of the main reasons behind the shift was to reduce the length of stay among the mentally ill patients in the hospital and move them to community oriented care facilities. Research shows that the community settings have helped in protecting their rights and reduced cases of stigmatization (Thornicroft & Tansella, 2004, pp. 283-285). Moreover, the shift focused on ensuring that the disadvantaged or the low-income youths and children had access to health services in their neighbourhoods. In that case, the movement allowed for the shifting of resources to strengthen families, individuals, and community health. Therefore, it ensured coordination, culturally competent care, accessibility, and high quality care in the community. The shift of the human services from large institutions to community and increasingly decentralized settings has placed immense demands for the providers as well as workers. The workers are now required to know how to work with the families and the consumers to protect the community resources, provide specialized assistance, promote health and well being, as well as empower the community. Therefore, such workers require training to improve the quality of life among the clients. There are other various reasons that led to the shift of the human services from the institutional settings to the local areas. For instance, the movement was meant to change the human and health service systems, especially those that are related to juvenile and child welfare systems in order to support a family and community cantered interventions. On the same note, it helped in creating integrated local systems that sustained the promotion of healthy development for the youths, children, and the families. In that case, it also helped in safeguarding the economic security of the families; thus, guaranteeing strong families as well as healthy children (Woodside & McClam, 2014, pp. 65-67). Additionally, the shift was meant to reduce cases of marginalization among the ageing population that could not access care in the urban settings. This means that there has been a shift of resources from the institutional to community oriented care; hence, enabling and ensuring there is supportive environments that are accessible, safe, affordable, free from mistreatment, and guaranteeing the empowerment as well as the participation of the ageing population. Various authors agree that shifting of resources has helped the social workers to collaborate directly with the older adults in advocating as well as creating ageing friendly plans and policies as well as offer culturally competent and holistic services (International Federation of Social Workers, 2014). It is also believed that that the accessibility to mental care oriented services is better in the community settings as compared to the psychiatric hospitals. Therefore, the shift has helped in ensuring immense satisfaction and increased rate of needs that have been met. It has also promoted continuity of health care as well as flexibility of various services, making it easy to treat and identify more cases of drug abuse, relapse, and increase the rate of adherence to counselling as well as treatment. Studies have also shown that patients who need long term care in the hospital, the community facilities such as hostel wards are cost effective; thus, ensuring affirmative results, guaranteeing effective social life, reducing the symptoms, and increasing the rate of satisfaction (Leff, 2007. p.162). Settings for Human Service Delivery According to Woodside and Mc Clam (2014, pp.61-62), the human service field has broadened and there has been new settings in which the services are delivered. In most cases, the human services are delivered in institutional, agencies, and community settings to make it easy for people to access services. On the same note, service delivery in the non traditional oriented settings has heightened whereby they have been moved to the rural, military, industrial, and school settings. Rationale for the Expansion of Human Service Delivery The expansion of the human service delivery to various settings has helped in ensuring growth. It has created jobs for the human service workers whereby they earn a salary of approximately $12,000 to $ 20,000 annually with those that are highly experienced earning as high as $15,000 to $25,000 (Collison & Garfield, 2006, pp.116-117). Moreover, Austin (2002, p. 239) asserts that a relative increase of the social work oriented employment has led to the expansion of the community mental based health services. It is also to be understood that changes with regard to the long term care for the chronic mentally ill clients has led to the expansion of the human service delivery whereby they are moved from the institutional settings in which the number of nurses are high to the community where there is a large number of social workers. Another reason behind the expansion is the shift from institutional based incarceration of the first time offenders such as those who are arrested for abusing drugs to the community based treatment centres. Impact of Technology on Human Services There has been increased use of the modern technology in the field of human services, which has had a great impact. However, despite the benefits that have come with its use, various issues of concerns have been raised such as ethical issues. Most people believe that the technology has violated the clients’ privacy and confidentiality. On the same note, they argue that the introduction of the internet in the human services has in some way moved people from the community and isolated them since they spend most of their time using the internet; hence, affecting their social lives negatively. There is also the fear of identity theft, sexual predators, pornography, and deception. In addition, there are concerns with regard to digital divide, whereby various scholars assert that the technology has allowed least access to the underprivileged (Woodside & McClam, 2014). Despite the various drawbacks that come with the use of technology, it is sound to argue that it has helped in enhancing the quality of life as well as manage important resources. Moreover, the internet has helped people to share important information, communicate effectively across the borders, locate significant resources and influence public oriented policies. On the same note, the potential to interact with the client directly has changed, facilitating on timely access of services by persons who are unavailable during the day or cannot leave their institutions of work (Kincaid, 2004) Conclusion It is without a doubt that the shift of health services from the institutional to community based settings has had a profound impact. It has ensured easy accessibility of services among the low income earners, the ageing population, and the mentally ill people among others. The expansion of the human service delivery to various settings has ensured coordination of the local population with the health service workers, increased resource allocation, and guaranteed high quality care. The modern technology has played an immense role in the delivery since it guarantees easy sharing of information, improved communication, location of important resources, and development of sound policies. However, there are various issues of concern with its use such as identity theft, violation of privacy, and deception among others. References Austin, D. (2002). Human Services Management: Organizational Leadership in Social Work Practice. Columbia; Columbia University Press. Collison, B & Garfield, N. (2006). Careers in Counselling and Human Services. New York: Taylor & Francis. International Federation of Social Workers. (2014). Ageing and Older Adults. Retrieved from Kincaid, S. (2004). Technology in Human Services: Using Technology to Improve Quality of Life. Retrieved from Leff, J. (2007). Evaluating the Transfer of Care from Psychiatric Hospitals to District based Services. British Journal of Psychiatry, 19(6):162. Thornicroft, G & Tansella, M. (2004). Components of a Modern Mental Health Service: Overview of Systematic Evidence. British Journal of Psychiatry, 185:283-290. Woodside, M & McClam, T. (2014). An Introduction to the Human Services. Kentucky: Cengage Learning. 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