Describe and compare several models (including both Christian worldview and secular) of case management or supervision in use in the human services sector. Include discussion, analysis and evaluation of underlying values, current debates, ethical dimensions, Christian worldview perspectives and application to personal learning.
Answer:
Introduction
The following paper focuses on discussing about the various attributes of the human services sector and its underlying connections with the different religious factors. Though, human service is keen on serving the human need, the factor of religious undertone is felt very consciously. Various organizations work on serving the poor and the needy on different grounds. Some serve to gain the religious advantage and focus in the society and some do it from a secular point of view. It is one profession that is keen on serving on all types of people with an improved service delivery process. The professionals and the agencies who are engaged in service delivery must be accessible, accountable and they must have a good coordination between them. It is to note with importance that the human services professionals look to provide their service delivery in different direct service roles. These roles can be residential, vocational or therapeutic as well. The idea of Christian worldview is prominent here as some of the churches and missionaries look to involve in this sector as a part of the social work. The role of the Community Support Skill Standards is very important here as they help to create the paths for competencies in human services.
Different aspects of Human services
Human service is a kind of profession that caters to the needs of the society (Monette, Sullivan & DeJong, 2013). There may be various professions in this sector but the one common thing that is very significant in this context is it serves the society in many ways. All the occupations look to serve the societal needs and the people who are in dire need of help. The main purpose of human services is to help people in many ways who are suffering from difficult or chronic situations. The human services professionals stand by side of the people who are going through a serious crisis. These professionals deal with the problems like supplying the needy people with shelter, food and other necessary things (Kadushin, 2012). Other kind of thing that the human services professionals serve is about treating the mental health of the disturbed persons or people in need of medical treatment The kind of human services jobs that are available in common are psychologist, occupational therapist, public administrator, Health educator, social services administrator, child life specialist, correctional treatment expert, grief counselor and many more (Woodside & McClam, 2014).
Christian worldview perspectives
There are many historical influences about the Christian faith and the social care workers. The code of ethics in the Christian worldview of The National Association of Social Workers (NASW) has some presuppositions (Demone & Gibelman, 2013). According to the Christian worldview, the chief aim of the social workers is to help the needs of the people and address their social problems. Jesus Christ is the motivator to the Christians who has said regarding social work that ‘Whoever wishes to be great among you must be your servant and whoever wishes to be first among you must be your slave, just as the Son of Man came not be served but to serve, and give his life a ransom for many’ (Matthew 20:26-28). In this way it can be said that social work and Christian views go hand in hand (Ironside, 2015).
Another thing that the Christian worldview values in their social work concept is the social justice. It has been talked about with emphasis in both Old and New Testaments (Strawn, 2012). Jesus Christ had broken all the social barriers and gender discriminations as he had spoken with the women of Samaria. The other social work values according to the Christian worldview are the dignity and worth of the individual and the importance of human relationships. It says that the principle work of the social care workers is to realizing the worth and dignity of the person as well as understanding the relationships between the human beings. There are some other core values in social work as well. These values are integrity and competence. There is some code of ethics according to which the social workers believing in the Christian faiths must behave (Reamer, 2013). They have to be ‘trustworthy in their behavior’ and they also must ‘practice within their competent areas’. This would help to make them expertise in their own fields. According to the Christian worldview, the Christian social workers must be acting above hate and reproach (Timothy 5:4) and they should be doing things thinking that they are being done for God (Colossians 3:17).
Case management
The need of case management in the social services is very crucial because it is the gateway to solve the various problems that arise in the people regarding mental and physical problems. These people who receive the help from the human services case managers really suffer from the deficits in certain areas. The human services case managers help the needy persons in many ways by going through a needs assessment on those people. When the needs assessment is taken on the people, it means that certain areas about the strengths and weaknesses of the concerned persons are done. Needs assessment is an important tool of the cae management.
Duties of a case manager
One important duty of the human services case manager is to advocate for the people he is treating. There are clients who cannot speak up for themselves in different areas (Mackelprang & Salsgiver, 2016). The responsibility of the case managers is to speak for themselves. When the clients are unable to talk about the rights of themselves, the case managers have to stand in the line to fight against the odds to give the clients advantage in securing their rights (Hemingway & Priestley, 2014). The viewpoints of the case managers can be looked at from both the secular and Christian worldviews.
Case management models
There are various contexts in the case management. These different approaches need for different solutions (de Vet et al. 2013). Strong case management is one aspect that is related with the needs, constraints and resources of that particular context. It may be said in this context that the kind of approach or case management model that is followed in treating the physically disabled clients may be not relevant enough for the clients who are suffering from mental health issues of children or addiction to something. Some important case management models relating to human services are:-
The Brokerage case management model
The approach to brokerage model of case management is very brief. In this model, the case workers try to help the clients identify their needs and broker the services of support in one or two contacts (Bruns et al. 2015). This Brokerage model is very useful when the client is unable to access the services rather than avail them.
In this model, the case managers generally do not serve the clients directly but they work as a go-between the clients and the resources within the community. Undeniably, this model is a secular one. The focus of the case managers in this context is to assess the needs of the clients, plan a proper service strategy and then connect the clients through it (Bruns et al. 2015). The brokerage model puts very little emphasis on monitoring and measuring the outcomes from the cases. The organizations who work on human services may be able to establish coordination between data collection and data collection across the service providers. The use of the case management system is one process by which the case managers can address the situation and encourage the clients. When the case managers use these integrated systems for assessing needs and tracking systems, the outcomes can be better measured (Bruns et al. 2015).
The Clinical Case Management Model
In this clinical case management model, the clinical care provider serves as the case manager (Somme et al. 2012). So, the thing turns that the case manager turns out to be the counselor or the therapist in this context. In this model, the case manager provides direct counseling for the individual concerns of the clients. The areas in which the counseling is needed are mental health services, addiction recovery support, treating the chronic health conditions. It is to say that the clinical care case managers are keener on encourage the ability of the clients to connect with the social and informal resources like the family and friends (Somme et al. 2012). The case managers have to collaborate and these collaborating abilities may tend to follow the services.
Case management model for Christian worldview
Christian worldview is one of the most important aspects from which the context of human services can be assessed. The National Association for Social Workers (NASW) provides social care or human services from the perspectives of Christianity (Kadushin & Harkness, 2014). They support the adolescent people who are concerned about their health. The case managers of this organization help their clients on different perspectives. Other things like the aging, behavioral health, bereavement to the families who have lost their dear ones are done by this organization by quoting the different lines from the Bible. Many other factors are associated with the case management according to Christianity. The fact of clinical social work, an important factor like the equity and diversity are also well managed by the Churches and the Missionaries. In Bible, it can be found that ‘Rich and poor have this in common: The Lord is the Maker of them all’. The missionaries use these quotes to encourage the lagged behind people (Fiorenza, 2015).
Evaluation of the case management models
The attempt for improving the human services is gaining supreme importance day by day because the number of challenged persons in regard to physical and mental disabilities is increasing. So, the need to support the challenged people is immense and the role of the case managers is gaining more importance. These programs for the human services have to be evaluated in context of the accomplishments of the programs, its cost and the ways in which it should be operated to incur the maximum rate of cost-effectiveness (Kumar & Klein, 2013). The evaluation of the case management of human services has to be evaluated in terms of some factors. These factors can be noted as:-
Impact evaluations
These case management models have great impact on the physical and mental health of the clients. The clients have been helped by the case managers in the models like the Brokerage model and the clinical case management model. These two models are significant when analyzing the secular factors. These models do not intend to put light on any religious fact. These models just help and attempt to resolve the problems of the clients in a big way (Newcomer, Hatry & Wholey, 2015). The other case management models that can be carried out by the organizations like NASW are very effective as well in the name of Jesus Christ and God. The clients under the care of the case managers are helped immensely in curing the physical and mental disabilities.
Performance monitoring
The performance of the case managers have to be evaluated in terms of how they have catered to the needs of their clients. Both the case management models in the secular and Christian beliefs have the similar aim i.e. the welfare of the clients (Newcomer, Hatry & Wholey, 2015). If this is completed successfully and the clients are benefitted, then it can be said that the models have worked. No matter what kind of model is applied-secular or religious.
Comparison
When both the styles of the secular and Christian worldview supported models are applied and compared, it can be said that both of these models aim to welfare the clients in need of human services. Christian worldview helps the people in motivating the people from the lines of Bible and Jesus Christ (Valk, 2012). Whereas, the people who are cured by the secular case management models are motivated by their families and the need to adapt in order to survive.
Conclusion
The paper can be concluded by saying that Human Services is a very important aspect in reducing the disabilities (both physical and psychological) from the society. The social workers or the Church and missionaries need to shift their focus from religious propaganda to real care of the needy people. It is not a matter of serious issue whether the case managements used are secular or religious in nature. The main aspect relies on the fact whether it has catered to support the clients. The case managements relating to human services have been discussed as per the requirements. The related quotations have been supplied from the Christian point of view. The sayings of Jesus are highlighted as it helps to motivate the clients who believe in the religious values. The factors of secular case managements have been discussed as well in terms of evaluating them and comparing them.
References
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