A number of other helping professionals like social workers, persons in foster care and all mental health professionals can also address the population served by this agency. The children are from difficult situations often involving multiple kinds of abuses. Immediate placement in a safe environment along with counseling is a priority. The children have challenges with authority and trust; they also have a high propensity to hurt themselves or others. There is also a need to have institute structure and order in their lives.
The funding for agencies engaged in serving children comes mainly from the government and individual private donors. The government's attempt to reduce to cost of the social safety net negatively influences the ability of these agencies to accomplish their goals. The funding received is never adequate and agencies face the critical decisions at times of purchasing key equipment, or providing adequate facilities for the clients they serve. The corporate world has been slow to adopt agencies serving underprivileged and disadvantaged persons. Zippay (1992) suggests that the pool of resources available for distribution to agencies from the corporate world is becoming smaller, at the same time the needs of the agencies are increasing exponentially. A sense of their social responsibility moves corporate bodies to give to these agencies. The management of a successful agency however, requires a more consistent source of funding.
Corporate bodies often require that agencies apply for grants and other forms of financial aid. The funding agency often employs sophisticated analytical tools to allow them to maximize the limited funding available (Klepinger, 1989). The requirements...
Clients also meet with disappointment in accessing services and funding. For many clients the government agencies are the most readily available options for, free or low cost counseling, housing and other services. Private, not for profit options are limited in the number of persons that can access those services.
Job satisfaction in these types of professions comes from observing the success of the persons who are helped. There is almost a vicarious celebration every time a broken individual finds healing. These successes are sometimes limited in number and scope. The volume of human suffering is overwhelming and at times personally threatening (Washington, 2008). However, when an individual, given up on by many agencies, is turned into a productive citizen, there is satisfaction. The human factor of the human services provides the reason for the existence of these facilities. Unlike corporations that measure success in the bottom-line of financial profit. The human services professional finds deep lasting satisfaction from rescuing and redeeming lives. Satisfaction comes to the professional one life at a time.
References
Kincaid, S. (2009). Defining human services: A discourse analysis. Human Service Education,
29(1), 14-24.
Klepinger, B.W. (1989). Computerization of human service agencies: a funder's viewpoint.
Computers in Human Services, 4(3), 243-52.
Washington, M. (2008). Human services: A view from the top. Policy and Practice, 14-18.
Zippay, A. (1992). Corporate funding of human service agencies. Social Work, 37(3), 210-214.
