History and Current Issues in Human Services
Introduction
According to Burger, human services have the objective of meeting human needs through the application of knowledge, remediation of problems, and the subsequent maintenance of a commitment to the improvement of the quality of life (12). The human services promote individual autonomy in making services more efficient and effective in the advocacy for social change.
History of Human Services
Human services have roots in the charitable service provisions from the religious and civic organizations. The human services can be backdated to the colonial era. However, the academic discipline related to the human services did not exist until the 1960s. A group of activists emerged that promoted the adoption of the new issues in the academic field of professionalism and human service delivery. The groups aimed to ensure that the service delivery to humanity was efficient, humane, and efficient. According to Burger (46), other objectives entail having an inter-professional tutorial that entails the approval of persons as whole entities, known as humanistic psychology. However, traditional professions such as nursing, education, and medicine were hesitant since this new field challenged their status.
The fresh groupings and social engagements called on the experts to toil and embark on their responsibilities for social effect and transformation. Moreover, the groups’ agenda was to ensure that human service delivery would become comprehensive, integrated, as well as more accessible to the general humanity. Eventually, the conflict arising from the conventional options and experts assisted in creating the movement for the trainers in advanced rank of training to start the fresh career. Consequently, human services area is a factual alike area in which the experts harmonize and enhance other careers.
Current Issues
There are current issues that have arisen in the sphere of human services. These issues are faced by the service providers as well as the service recipients. These include low pay that characterizes the profession and work related to human services. Low pay is specifically evident in behavioral health during providing of services to people who are largely underserved or organizations that depend heavily on grants and other sources of funding for operations (Neukrug 78). For instance, teachers might not adequately be compensated for the effort they put in the duties. Since the recipients of these services are largely underserved, one might find it difficult to abort the service provision and choose to persevere under the low pay. Also, the service providers undergo emotionally draining work, fatigue, and burnout characterized by the nature of their profession. Service providers working on the welfare of the children, a complex population characterized by chronic conditions or in a trauma-ridden place are adversely affected by these conditions. Similarly, in organizations that specialize in human services, the workload is heavier. The workers have to undertake more roles in areas outside their job specifications. In such circumstances, the staff turnover increases. If the workload is compounded with the low pay burden, the human service providers would be worn out, and this would adversely affect their performance.
The use of technology is increasingly becoming sophisticated. However, it is necessary for providing services to the people. This involves the use of applications in healthcare, telemedicine, as well as risk management tools. However, most people are not tech-savvy, and hence it would be difficult for the recipients to access the necessary services from the providers amicably.
Conclusion
Human services are critical to the human population. The traditional professions can not necessarily fulfill These services. Human services have existed since time immemorial. However, the human services face various threats including low pay and fatigue as a result of the workload involved.
Works Cited
Burger, William. Human Services in Contemporary America. 2017.
Neukrug, Ed. Theory, Practice, and Trends in Human Services: An Introduction. 2016.