Social problems and human services: historical perspectives and key authors

Social Problem Related to Human Services

Social justice implies citizens’ equal entitlement to the self-same services and rights. In this paper, the inequalities in providing various human services to different societal groups in the nation will be addressed.

Beginning with education, a fundamental human service, it is a highly concerning fact that the nation’s educational system continually fails unwanted, abused and neglected children. Also, foster children totally at society’s mercy for survival are largely ignored. As children don’t have any avenue for voicing their views and demands, and cannot finance political campaigns, protest for improved services, or lobby elected representatives in order for being heard, it is the responsibility of society’s adults to speak for this faction of society. Attempts at organizing an effective child welfare system can be traced back to the late nineteenth century, when the nation’s contemporary system of foster care was established and Charles Loring Brace initiated his Orphan Train Movement for resettling New York’s orphans to Midwestern states and beyond. Despite efforts like strategic planning, privatization, transformation of systems, thinking out of the box, increased accountability, computerization, etc., child welfare in the form of a national priority is almost an afterthought. And if no child deaths are publicized from time to time, this issue would probably fall completely off the radar. Unfortunately, their tale is usually dark and reveals an alarming underbelly of society. However, some like turning a blind eye to such images, thereby exacerbating the issue (Bowen, 2018).

In the year 2015, three million child abuse cases were reported in the US (2.9 for every thousand children) and four children succumbed to abuse daily, with experts claiming this figure was only 33 percent of the actual figure; the rest go unreported. This is unsurprising given society’s staunch defense of adults’ right of physically disciplining children. So long as there are no injuries, children may be struck by their parents at liberty. Neglect, linked frequently to poverty, resulted in slightly more cases of annual child deaths as compared to abuse. Latest census figures reveal 17.6 percent of minor children lead an impoverished life (the poverty level set by the federal government is 20,000 dollars annually for a 4-member household). An alarming 42 percent of children hailing from female-headed families live below poverty line (DuMont & James 2015).

Social workers who directly deal with individuals suffering from tough living conditions and chronic deprivation understand and report their feelings of insecurity and powerlessness. These underprivileged individuals harm themselves through self-medication, unsafe sex, discontinuing education, unemployment, suicide, ineffective parenting, crime, murder, abuse, attacks and disregard for self-care. Social workers possess the expertise and professional obligation of promoting positive coping (in the form of community activism and other social advocacy, and financial, health-related and social support and other self-advocacy) and preventing individuals from engaging in negative coping (DuMont & James 2015). They may either leave it to economists to deal with poverty or fight to achieve economic justice. There is growing consensus on the idea that adverse conditions and economic hardships result in social and individual issues and not the other way round, as had been assumed earlier. This mandates social change and prevention. While some believe this politicizes an essentially unpolitical and objective profession, arguing for neutrality represents a political stand tolerating governmental neglect, compromising social workers’ professional ethics, and not challenging status quo. As social workers cannot totally avoid the political sphere, explicitly tackling such issues is far better as compared to turning a blind eye. In the absence of middle ground, one must choose a side as, according to Martin Luther King, Jr., “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter”. These challenges also cut across the health sector, which is another highly fundamental human service area.

Of late, uninsured persons have increased greatly in number owing to a continued drop in ESI (employer-sponsored insurance). Even in instances where insurance is provided by organizations, workers often find skyrocketing premiums unaffordable. Lack of health insurance has life-altering consequences. According to the KCMU, uninsured persons display decreased likelihood of receiving preventive care like mammograms, besides increased likelihood of being admitted to hospitals for preventable conditions. Misguided attempts at cost-cutting through not treating minor issues typically leads to development of more serious and costly problems. Uninsured individuals will likely struggle with paying health service bills as well with almost 25% contacted by collection agents. Most importantly, according to Institute of Medicine (IOM) estimates, 18,000 uninsured US citizens die premature deaths, annually. If these uninsured individuals enjoyed continuous insurance coverage, their mortality rates can decrease by five percent (Sheikh et al., 2015).

Disparities in healthcare provision are avoidable. Extant and new solutions may focus on cost-cutting as well as performance efficacy. Policies for locating and enrolling eligible persons for public initiatives may be implemented, with program eligibility casting a bigger net. Further, policymakers can reduce ESI premiums, and demand that organizations with a particular number of individuals on their payroll allocate a fixed payroll percentage towards health benefits. Furthermore, small organizations may be provided economically-priced insurance plans (Sheikh et al., 2015). Child health insurance may also be made an entitlement program, covering all in need. It is no overstatement if public health workers claim their zip code has been dying as their neighborhood’s children, impoverished individuals and individuals from minority communities may be plagued with premature deaths. It is social workers’ mission to look at the big picture which isn’t shown by rankings and advocate for the needy to make a difference for future generations (Sheikh et al., 2015).

References

Bowen, H. (2018). Investment in learning: The individual and social value of American higher education. Routledge.

DuMont, K., & James-Brown, C. (2015). Special Foreword: Making Research Work in Child Welfare: Overcoming Challenges. Child Welfare, 94(3), 17.

Sheikh, A., Sood, H. S., & Bates, D. W. (2015). Leveraging health information technology to achieve the “triple aim” of healthcare reform. Journal of the American Medical Informatics Association, 22(4), 849-856.