Provisionally approved for Fall 2002 7/9/02
THE DEVELOPMENT OF HUMAN SERVICES
Level III
RATIONALE: The structure and character of the human service system we have today have been shaped by incremental changes in values, policy, and methods that have taken place over at least the last two centuries. Social, economic, political, and cultural forces have had a deep effect on the development of human service values and policy, most particularly on our definitions of which individuals and groups are seen as "needy" in our society and our perceptions of which sectors of our society are responsible for meeting those needs. In order to understand fully the issues facing the human services today, human service workers need to be informed about how current human service values, policy, and organization developed and to be able to identify the forces that affect this development.
COMPETENCY: Can discuss the key periods in the development of human service policy and critically analyze how they have influenced the delivery of current human services.
CRITERIA:
1. Identify and describe the prevailing social, economic, political, and cultural forces which shaped the development and delivery of human services in at least three historical periods.
2. Discuss the definition of "need"–particulary as it relates to poor people and other vulnerable populations–and the social perception for meeting these needs by the individual, the government or public sector, private and the voluntary sector (church, community group, etc.) in each of three historical periods.
3. Discuss how the current values and beliefs about need and responsibility have been shaped by the past developments discussed in Criterion 2.
4. Discuss the effect of the values and beliefs defined in Criterion 3 have on the current policy and delivery of human services.
PORTFOLIO LINK: You are expected to use the Level III Communications Portfolio writing standards as guidelines for the essays required by this competency. At a minimum, writing should demonstrate Level II Communications Portfolio standards.
Papers written for this competency, therefore, may be considered for submission to the Level III Communications Portfolio
STANDARDS:
1. For Criterion 1, the key historical periods that can be addressed are:
a. Elizabethan Era
b. Colonial Period (1607–1783)
c. Early 19th century
d. Post Civil War Era (1865–1900)
e. Progressive Era
f. New Deal and Post War Era
g. 1960s
h. 1970s and the New Federalism
i. The Present
One of the periods selected for Criterion 1 must be The Present.
2. For Criteria 2 and 3, students should focus on one particular policy area such as poverty, health care, child welfare, education, etc.
3. For Criteria 2–4, when discussing policy, the student should include laws, regulations, and official practices developed to address the identified needs.
4. For Criteria 1–4, the analysis of the development of human services that is asked for must be derived from a variety of sources which are approved by an instructor and must be presented in proper bibliographic form.
EXAMPLES OF DEMONSTRATION:1. Prior Learning: A student draws on programs/policies with which she has familiarity as a worker or a consumer and uses this knowledge as the basis for working on the competency. After obtaining readings from a faculty evaluator, the student negotiates to do a substantive oral presentation and to supplement this presentation with a written paper in accord with the criteria and standards of the competency.
2. Independent Learning: Based on readings on the three historical periods, the student prepares a paper which is properly cited, addressing the stated criteria and standards.
3. Course: A student completes assigned exercises given in a CPCS course which addresses the competency.