Description: | The purpose of this study is to introduce the student to current trends and pertinent issues in the field of human services. It will look at relevant topics with special emphasis on diversity issues and special populations. The student will learn to identify several contemporary trends or issues that may have impact on human services, be able to compare and contrast how these issues effect the delivery of services, and analyze current issues from both the consumer and provider perspectives.
Also, the study will explore the origins and concept of the Human Services, general purposes, goals, delivery modes, various settings and fields of human service practice. Specific issues that will be examined in detail include: challenges in social policy formulation and implementation, adequacy of professional training and practice, adherence to professional codes of ethics, accessibility to, and utilization of, services by children & families, mentally ill, the poor, as well as the efficacy of a range of human service intervention strategies employed today. Other issues that will be analyzed in this study include poverty, special populations, and international dimensions of the Human Services. Each student will be expected to choose/identify a specific human service issue (or set of inter-related issues) that he /she is "passionate" about and to produce a good research paper on it - possibly for publication. The issue may be related to social problems, social policy, programs / services, administration/delivery of services, accessibility/utilization of services etc. |