In your textbook, you read about populations in need. You may have also known friends, family, or acquaintances who have sought out services. This assignment is a chance to reflect on who your clients might be. In a journal posting, address the following questions: What individuals and groups might meet with a human services professional? Why might they seek help? From what you have read so far, how might you build a professional relationship with them so that they will talk about their problem? Submit your assignment here. Make sure you’ve included all the required elements by reviewing the guidelines and rubric. Populations in Need Human Services: A Field Without Boundaries Human services professionals cannot predict who their client will be on any one day. Depending on the organization the professionals work for, the client can be young, old, of any race and ethnicity, a member of any religion, of any sexual orientation, and facing any problem(s). The diversity of the clients and the challenge(s) of living makes human services an exciting field. It makes every day different and every client a different case. It requires human services professionals to have a variety of tools available to best meet the needs of the client. The National Organization for Human Services publishes Ethical Standards for Human Service Professionals. The standards address issues of confidentiality, working with diverse populations, and protecting the client’s right to self-determination. You will explore these standards more in your coursework for the human services degree. Just as the type of client and issue can differ, so too can the setting you work in as a human services professional. You could work in a hospital, doctor’s office, clinic, or home healthcare. You could work in an office, in a school, in a courtroom, or out of your car. You could work with communities, groups, individuals, and/or families. Just because you have never heard of human services professionals in a specific work setting, does not mean they are not there. Because job titles can vary, so can qualifications for a job. Also, do not forget about international opportunities. In fact, sometimes an international office can be located in the United States and in your area. Think outside the box! Once you have a field of interest, then you can begin to look at who offers services to that population. Services can include material distribution (e.g., clothing, household items, food), individual appointments (e.g., assessments, job placement, referrals to resources in the community), groups (e.g., parents of children with a disability, parenting classes, loss of spouse, divorce, addiction), advocacy (e.g., legal support, financial counseling), and community development (e.g., the development of new programs, assessing what services the community might need, lobbying). Your roles in these positions could include caregiver, case manager, teacher, trainer, coach, administrator, evaluator, advocate, and/or researcher. So now it is up to you! In this module, you will determine your area of interest for the final project. What agency will you pick?
