Discussion question responses and analysis

¶ … human services administrator and the example of social change you selected from the Roundtable Discussion. Then, based on the example you selected, explain how human services organizations can contribute to social change. Finally, given the information presented in this course about human services administration, explain how you personally might influence social change.

Human services and social change

The human services administrator I selected was named Maurice. Maurice said he was always very socially-minded, and going into the field of human services administration seemed like a natural extension of his innate altruism. Maurice has worked with special needs adults, adults with substance abuse problems, and children. He works at the Williams Life Center, serving children who have seen a lifetime's worth of problems before they have reached the age of fourteen. Maurice stated that addressing social needs in his profession is a process of addressing the demands of children one child at a time, versus focusing on grand statements or rallies. He cited an example of placing a sixteen-year-old with a child with special needs in a foster home where she could be cared for, while he put her in contact with the necessary social support staff to take care of her child.

By giving a sense that others care about them, the population served by the William Life Center feels empowered enough to fight for their rights and to change their own lives. Children encompass some of the most vulnerable populations helped by social services. By helping children early on, less damage is done to the child, as the child brings this sense of self-empowerment to the rest of his or her life. Every social worker hopes that a child who is helped while still a child is a child who will not become a prisoner in the future, use drugs, or abuse his or her own children. By shaping the perceptions of young people, the perceptions of the new generation change and grow in a more positive direction. These changes may be small, but they can be lasting, and small changes can have a great impact upon the trajectory of a child's life. And that child may have an influence upon other children, and, later on, upon his or her own children when he or she becomes a parent.