|
Our economy, though showing some signs of bouncing back, is still stressed by last decades' economic meltdown. Our cities are plagued with problems that include domestic violence, homelessness, substance abuse, unemployment, AIDS, limited health care and crime. Our social structure is being challenged by the need to care for an increasingly large number of people, both young and old, who - for one reason or another - have found that they are unable to take care of themselves and their families. Social service agencies have attempted to ameliorate these problems. But the problems just seem to be getting worse. Nonetheless, even with their limited ability to help, social services are important components of virtually every urban area. Social services are programs that have been designed to achieve social welfare goals. Agencies and institutions employ social workers and related professionals in an attempt to restore balance in socially dysfunctional individuals and families. Welfare services, which are part of the social service system, try to help people to enjoy the basic human necessities. These needs include housing, healthcare, earning a living, childcare and housing. Caseworkers who are employed by social service organizations counsel individuals and input the data that they have gathered into case files. Then they often use information and referral software to help to direct their clients so that their clients will be better able to effectively function in society. The services that they might refer clients to include, but are not limited to those involving socialization, education and rehabilitative therapy. These services are made available primarily at social service agencies or through social welfare organizations. Social workers are the main "cogs in the wheel" that keep the process flowing. A lot of people who are the clients in the social service system have tried to get help through more traditional means. These means have failed them. They have, unfortunately, found many traditional methodologies to be inadequate or to have simply "disappeared" because of budget cuts or other reasons. Social services are actually pretty much a last resort for people who have found that more traditional ways of getting help have either not helped them or have not been a part of their lives. Their problems, which might include poverty, drug addiction, unsafe or inadequate housing and/or major health problems have not been properly addressed by their families, religious organizations or friends. Consequently, they have turned to the government for help. Unfortunately, the social service policy in the United States has developed via a political process which is often self-serving and corrupt. Rather than being dealt with in a rational, comprehensive manner, the pork barrel laden legislative process that has produced social welfare programs and services has often either overlapped, been grossly ineffective, and at times has even been contradictory. These problems will not go away by themselves. And yet existing social services cannot adequately address them. The current political environment is not sympathetic to our citizen's needs. It appears that politicians are primarily motivated by their own self interests. Thus, it seems that in order to make the necessary changes - changes that will help the less fortunate in our society - basic philosophical changes will have to become part of our country's credo.
|
![[Valid RSS feed]](http://www.megaezines.com/images/icon_Rss.png "XML Feed For RSS"){kind=icon}
Category Rss Feed