Human Services Journal

Human Services Journal

The definition of a human services agency is so broad that you likely visit one frequently. Go sit in the waiting room of a human services agency in your community. If you are not able to visit an agency in person, refer to one of the agencies featured in one of the optional resources for the module (Bringing Storytime to the Long Wait for Social Services or What if Our Healthcare System Kept Us Healthy?).

Bringing Storytime to the Long Wait for Social Services: https://www.kalw.org/show/crosscurrents/2013-08-14/bringing-storytime-to-the-long-wait-for-social-services

Or What if Our Healthcare System Kept Us Healthy? https://www.ted.com/talks/rebecca_onie_what_if_our_health_care_system_kept_us_healthy

Consider the following questions from the point of view of a worker at the agency and that of a client, it is important to understand the human services waiting room from the perspective of both an employee and a client in need of services. Submit your answers as a journal assignment.

1) What do you think it is like to work at the agency? What might the agency look like through the clients’ eyes?

2) If you worked at the agency, what do you think your day-to-day challenges would be and why?

3) How could you suggest an improved experience or environment to support the agency’s clients?