Client Empowerment in the Human Services: Personal and Professional Agenda

1989 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 499-521 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yeheskel Hasenfeld ◽  
Mark A. Chesler
Keyword(s):  
Human Service ◽  
Human Services ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Professional Lives ◽  
Life Chances ◽  
Human Service Providers ◽  
Human Service Agencies ◽  
The Social ◽  
Action Researcher ◽  
Autobiographical Accounts

The authors juxtapose autobiographical accounts of their personal and professional lives to examine the interplay of their personas and work in the social sciences. Chesler is an action researcher and change agent who focuses primarily on young people and their parents and on those providing them human services. Hasenfeld is an academic who focuses primarily on relations between clients and human service providers and on the systemic changes needed to improve these relations. They share domain assumptions, particularly a belief in the “good” society based on justice, social equality, and respect for diversity, are committed to improving the life chances of the oppressed and disadvantaged, and believe that empowering the clients of human service agencies is crucial to improving the effectiveness and responsiveness of such organizations.

scholarly journals The Changing and Challenging Environment of Nonprofit Human Services: Implications for Governance and Program Implementation

2016 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 63-76 ◽  
Author(s):  
Steven Rathgeb Smith ◽  
Susan D. Phillips
Keyword(s):  
Child Protection ◽  
Human Service ◽  
Human Services ◽  
Business Models ◽  
Community Care ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Safety Net ◽  
Order Effects ◽  
Human Service Agencies ◽  
Service Agencies

AbstractNonprofit human service agencies are an essential part of the social safety net and their role in many policy fields such as community care, workforce development, and disability services is growing. The funding, delivery and entire configuration of human services systems is in transition in the US, as in many other countries, albeit with great variation depending upon local and regional circumstances. Consequently, nonprofit human service agencies need to develop sustainable program and business models that are also responsive to the heightened expectations on transparency and accountability. In addition, policymakers and government officials will need to work closely with nonprofit human service agencies in order to ensure effective and efficient service delivery. Drawing on evidence from the policy and nonprofit literatures, this brief offers a set of hypotheses about the implications, and possible paradoxes, for the nonprofit sector that are likely to emerge from the increasingly competitive environment among service providers and corresponding pressure by public and private funders for more collaboration among agencies. We explore both public policy for nonprofits in human services and strategic responses by this sector, considering the first order effects designed to enable nonprofits to adapt to a reconfigured model, and the second order effects in which governments and nonprofits address the consequences of the first round. These effects are likely to vary by organizational size and by service field, resulting in quite different outcomes and relationships with government for large multi-service agencies and those in highly regulated fields such as child protection versus small nonprofits, particularly in fields such as community care with closer connections to the informal sector.

Neoliberal Managerialism and the Human Services

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mimi Abramovitz ◽  
Jennifer Zelnick
Keyword(s):  
Human Service ◽  
Human Services ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Budget Cuts ◽  
Service Workers ◽  
Human Service Agencies ◽  
The Social ◽  
Economic Collapse ◽  
The New Deal

Neoliberalism emerged in the United States in the mid-1970s in response to the second economic crisis of the 20th century. Seeking to undo the New Deal enacted in response to the 1930s economic collapse, neoliberalism redistributes income upward and downsizes the state using tax cuts, budget cuts, privatization, devolution, and reducing the power of social movements. Privatization, a key neoliberal strategy, is typically understood as shifting responsibility for entitlement programs such as Social Security or Medicare from public to the private sector. Managerialism (i.e., the adoption of business principle and practices) refers to operationalization privatization within human service agencies. The growing dominance of managerialist productivity, accountability efficiency, and standardization has redefined the landscape of the human services The troubling impact on service provision, working conditions, and the well-being of human service workers leads us to ask if the social work mission will become a casualty of managerialism.

scholarly journals THE SOCIAL DETERMINANTS OF LATE-LIFE MIGRATION IN THE U.S.: FINDINGS FROM THE NEW AMERICANS PROJECT

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. S516-S516
Author(s):  
Arati Maleku ◽  
Megan Espana ◽  
Sharvari Karandikar ◽  
Njeri Kagotho ◽  
Rupal Parekh ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Data Analysis ◽  
Social Determinants ◽  
Human Service ◽  
Human Services ◽  
Qualitative Data ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Late Life ◽  
Older Immigrants ◽  
Immigrant Populations ◽  
The Social

Abstract Globally, late-life migration has been a growing phenomenon. Literature on aging and migration however, has primarily focused on immigrant populations who migrated early in life. To expand our conceptualization of aging and to plan for the care of growing older immigrant populations, it is crucial to understand the compounding effects of late-life migration and aging in new spaces. Drawing on the qualitative data (N=71) from a large-scale community-based participatory research project in a mid-western U.S. region, we examined the social determinants of late-life migration on the health and well-being of older immigrants by exploring: (a) barriers and facilitators of socio-cultural adaptation, (b) patterns of human service provision in a local context, and (c) societal patterns of caring for older immigrants in places of relocation. Life course and social convoy perspectives formed the conceptual basis of the study. Using Respondent Driven Sampling method, data collection included six focus group discussions (n=48) with immigrant communities and in-depth interviews with human service providers (n=23). Data analysis followed the Rapid and Rigorous Qualitative Data Analysis technique that generated six salient themes: cultural context of aging; challenges of late-life migration; broken convoy and social isolation; gender and age intersections; human services, and community efforts and solutions. Findings suggest that late-life migration is a conglomeration of losses and gains, contingent on complex determinants such as living arrangements, language, transportation, the built environment, inter-generational relationships, socio-economic status, and social convoys. We conclude with a call to develop age-friendly, culturally responsive human services and health policies.

Professional Portfolio Development for Rehabilitation Counselors and Human Service Providers: A Tool for Professional Development and Leadership

2004 ◽  
Vol 35 (2) ◽  
pp. 3-8
Author(s):  
Debra A. Harley ◽  
Kristine Jolivette ◽  
Belva Collins ◽  
John W. Schuster
Keyword(s):  
Professional Development ◽  
Human Service ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Inservice Training ◽  
Rehabilitation Counselors ◽  
Comprehensive System ◽  
Human Service Providers ◽  
Portfolio Development

Professional development is recognized by various professions as a way to enhance skills, competencies, and marketability of personnel. In addition to inservice training, constructing a portfolio offers a concrete venue for counselors to summarize, showcase, and track their accomplishments. This article outlines professional portfolio development as a tool for professional development and leadership for rehabilitation counselors and human service providers. Key components and strategies of portfolio development are presented as well as implications for the Comprehensive System of Professional Development (CSPD) and leadership.

Access and Use of Information Technology by Human Service Providers

1999 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-16 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Hughes ◽  
Eunjee Joo ◽  
Shannon R. Zentall ◽  
Kerrie Ulishney
Keyword(s):  
Information Technology ◽  
Human Service ◽  
Service Providers ◽  
Human Service Providers
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