What does a human service worker do?

Question

What does a human service worker do?

Answer 1

HUMAN SERVICES WORKERS provide many types of assistance to people in the community, from determining eligibility for welfare and health programs and counseling on child care to helping clients with physical and mental problems and those involved in drug and substance abuse.  They help determine and locate appropriate social service agencies such as those providing health care and physical and mental rehabilitation.  Working under the direction and supervision of nurses, counselors, social workers, psychologists, and other professionals,  and depending upon the type of work assignment, they may be a member of a treatment team made up of other human services workers and health professionals, or they may work on their own with little supervision.

Human Services Workers may assist clients in applying for welfare grants, food stamps, and other benefit and services programs by examining the client's financial records, check stubs, rent receipts, and prior years' income tax returns.  Workers may provide transportation, emotional support and accompany clients to medical appointments, community centers, and adult day care facilities.

Some Human Services Workers may lead workshops, organize group activities, provide individual or group counseling, manage group homes, and have

responsibility for the completion of documents and the maintenance of case records and reports.  Human Service Workers may act as mediators between clients and service agencies, help people find the proper agencies to use in the community, or represent their clients before local service providers and government agencies.

Many Human Services Workers serve clients in hospitals, halfway houses, detoxification centers,  residential care facilities, rehabilitation

centers, and outpatient clinics where they provide training in daily living skills, personal communications and personal and vocational counseling.

Other examples of Human Services Worker jobs:

     Gerontology Aide           Neighborhood Worker

     Child Abuse Worker         Crisis Intervention Worker

     Mental Health Aide         Community Organizer

     Residential Manager        Halfway House Counselor

     Adult Day Care Worker      Group Home Worker

     Drug Abuse Counselor       Life Skills Counselor

WORKING CONDITIONS

Human Services Workers may serve their clients in many different types of settings.  They may work in office buildings, community service centers, penal institutions, homeless shelters, adult schools, group homes, clinics, hospitals, private homes and many other places in the field.

Most Human Services Workers work 40-hour weeks.  Those who are assigned to residential care facilities or other places where client's live, may be required to work night shifts and on weekends and holidays since staff must be on hand throughout the day and night.

Human Services Workers must serve clients who may be hostile, physically or mentally ill, severely handicapped, and distressed.  The clients may be located in less than ideal environments such as homeless camps and shelters.

EMPLOYMENT OUTLOOK

The U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that

about one-fourth of the country's Human Services Workers were employed by state and local governments, mainly in public welfare agencies and facilities for mentally disabled and developmentally impaired individuals.  About another 25 percent worked in private social or human services agencies which provided  services such as adult daycare, group meals, crisis intervention and counseling.

The following information is from the California Projections of Employment published by the Labor Market Information Division.

Estimated number of workers in 1993            11,780

Estimated number of workers in 2005            20,270

Projected Growth 1993-2005                        72%

Estimated openings due to separations by 2005   4,630

(These figures do not include self-employment nor openings due to turnover.)

Job opportunities for Human Services Workers are expected to be excellent.  It is considered one of the 50 fastest growing occupations in California between 1993 and the year 2005.  In the above table, approximately 8,500 new jobs are expected to develop by the year 2005.  Nearly 4,600 Human Services Workers jobs will open up because of workers retiring or leaving the occupation for other reasons.  For example, the turnover of staff in group homes is expected to remain high.

This occupation is also projected to be one of the fastest growing

throughout the nation through the year 2005 because of the expected need for services to an increasingly older population and to the handicapped, and because of the anticipated growth in group homes and facilities to serve these groups and others such as the homeless and the chronically mentally ill.

WAGES, HOURS, AND FRINGE BENEFITS

Entry-level Human Services Workers can expect a pay range from around minimum wage to $16.00 per hour.  Experienced workers should earn up to $17.00 per hour, and those with three or more years with the employer may earn up to $20.00 an hour.

Most employers have fringe-benefit packages which include health, life and disability insurance plans, vacation, holiday and sick leave programs and pension plans....