Trend Paper

Barbara Greenwood, Jamie Leon, Jessi Moore

BSHS/305

July 28, 2014

Elaine McCullough

Political and Economic Trends in Human Service Delivery Economic and political events relate to current trends in the human service field with the intentions of meeting the growing needs of people everywhere. High-financing requirements provide clients with services in various areas, which are critical to their well-being. Unfortunately, this task is becoming harder by the day to contend with, and the client suffers when quality care is unavailable. According to “Human Services in a Time of Economic Crisis” (2009) “adding to the human services funding deficit, and constituting a second form of disinvestment, are a number of direct cuts made to these programs over the past several years.”

The political relationship links governmental policies as well as funding together. “Governmental policies determine who clients are, ways that clients may be serviced; funding influences the resources we have to help the increasing number of those in need.” (Woodside & McClam, 2011, p. 92). Trends will involve a variety of situations that will need the assistance of human services professionals.

No matter what the trend is, the time, or the individual who it applies to, the ultimate goal is to meet the needs of the clients. Today economics and political events rule the types of trend(s) regulated into today’s society and how it affects human services, by not possessing readily available services for those in need, especially in crises situations. This has become more of a growing phenomenon within the past year(s) with issues such as health care, gun control, terroristic attacks, addictions, childcare, housing, mental health illness, child, and family services to name a few.

According to CWDA, CSAC (2009), “The recession of 2007." The job loss during the Great Recession has meant that family incomes have dropped, poverty has risen, and adults as well as children have lost health insurance. The bursting of the housing bubble and the drop in the stock market has meant that family wealth has dropped dramatically, as well. The impact of the Great Recession on the labor market and working families. Is now recognized as one of the worst economic downturns in decades.

The delivery of human service is undergoing a major fundamental restructuring. The period of high-unemployment rates, housing foreclosures, and poverty rates sometimes deemed the “Great Recession” has created a historically high level of need for social services and strained the existing infrastructure. At the same time, state and federal budget deficits have resulted in deep cuts to basic social programs. Additionally, technological innovation has transformed the ways in which the public applies for and receives social services, as online application tools become more widespread for public safety net programs and telemedicine becomes more common in rural areas. Given these changes, it is of critical importance to understand the geographic distribution of human service needs to direct financial resources to targeted areas of need.

“Fortunately, the need for information coincides with the first-time release of American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year average community-level data by the U.S. Census Bureau in December 2010. Annual data is now released for counties with the population of 65,000 or more; 3-year average data is released for counties with a population of 20,000 or more. Prior to this, data was only available for counties with populations above 20,000-population threshold. Because data is currently available for each county in the United States, it is possible to conduct a comprehensive examination of human service needs across the country.”

The two most common reasons for the need of human services in rural areas are that those living in rural areas have been disadvantaged and are experiencing an erosion in their quality of life. They are most likely older member of disadvantaged minorities in need of human service professionals. It is also suggested that due to a growing trend of relocation to more rural areas and small towns most people are unable to receive the services they require, such a basic human service needs. The other reason for interest in the human services in the rural areas is the difficulties of providing the services and making sure that the help is accessible to those living in rural areas. Recruiting trained health care providers and human service professionals, and the large geographic distances between clients and providers, the cost of services, the maintenance of confidentiality, the isolation, and the coordination of care are all problematic in rural areas. A more common barrier of the need of human services professionals is admitting you have a problem and asking for and receiving help. This negative perception of most individuals is the negative perception of others knowing that they need help and are receiving services from helping professionals. Most opt to seek out the help of their church, extended family and social clubs to get the professional help they need, particularly when formal support systems are lacking.

“Recently, new models have emerged for delivering services to rural clients. They represent attempts to meet the unique needs of this population by providing child welfare services, meeting transportation needs, using members of the community for social support, providing home-based care, targeting the identified needs of clients, and asking about clients’ needs and preferences. Collaboration among services and providing various services at one location allows service provision at a reduced cost. Using video links and telemedicine provides rural dwellers with access to care providers from other areas. In addition, educators now recognize improvisation to meet needs, collaboration with a range of other professionals and informal supports, and the building of infrastructure to provide needed supports to rural residents and communities.”

With the improvement of health care, the human life span has lengthened. While this is a good thing, it also brings new challenges to the human services world. There will be a much bigger need for human service workers to help the elderly transition into available assisted living. This can vary from nursing homes, hospice care facilities, or even in home care. This is greatly vary depending on the personal needs and independence level of the individual.

Immigration is another factor which is greatly changing. Hispanics and African American populations are both on the rise. Most are migrating here, but some are being born within the country. All minorities, just as the growing population of Caucasians, need a lot of help from human services. All races need more help finding jobs, with health care, finding homes, etc. as the population grows. With the immigration, the diversity of cultural differences also grows which can greatly affect how care is giving to the individuals in need.

Veterans are another group of people with an ever growing need for help. Even though their group might be the most important, they are also the ones struggling the most. A majority of veterans come home needing help in some way, and as they grow older, their need only gets bigger. This even stretches to the immediate families of the veterans. While others are getting the help they need, many veterans are going hungry without proper shelter and health care.

In conclusion, there are many groups of people with both similar and different needs, we need to remember this will only continue to grow. Population, immigration, the length of life are not all, but a few factors directly linked to human service trends and influences. The faster we, as helpers, can join, adjust, and learn from these demographic trends, the better off our country will be.

References

Economic Policy Institute. 2012. “Workers with Every Level of Education Hit by Recession” The State of Working America. Washington, D.C.:

Heflin, Colleen; Miller, Kathleen Journal of Family Social Work 2012. An Introduction to Human Services

Woodside, M., & McClam, T. (1998). A CLIMATE OF PARTISANSHIP. An introduction to human services (3rd ed.). Pacific Grove, Calif.: Brooks/Cole Pub. Co.