Running head THE FIVE LAWS and the HUMAN SERVICE MOVEMENT .docx

Running head: THE FIVE LAWS and the HUMAN SERVICE
MOVEMENT 1
LAWS
4
Laws: The Five Federal Laws and the Human Service Movement
Chanda Crews
HHS 435 Cont Issues, Trends, Health Law Ethics in H & HS
Professor: Cora Clavel
November 28, 2017
The Five Federal Laws and the Human Service Movement
The Establishment of the National Institute of Mental
Health (1946). In 1946 President Harry Truman signed the
National Mental Health Act to pave the way for the
establishment of National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
("National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)", 2017). The
intent for the establishment of this institute was aimed at
transforming the understanding and treatment of mental
disorders through clinical and basic research, thereby
facilitating effective prevention, recovery, and cure ("National
Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)", 2017). During this time,

cases of mental illnesses were prevalent, and this law was
passed in an attempt to meet the growing public health
concerns. It aimed at fostering innovative thinking to facilitate
the use of a full array of novel scientific perspectives to
advance more understanding of the evolving science of brain,
behavior, and experience. This law was formulated on the
basis that further enhancement of scientific research will benefit
all people with mental disorders.
The Mental Health Study Act (1955)
The Mental Health Study Act also known as the Public Law 84-
182 was passed in 1955 to facilitate a thorough, objective and
nationwide analysis and evaluation of the economic and human
problems of mental health (Burger, 2017). This Act prepared
the way for the establishment of Joint Commission on Mental
Illness and health.
The Community Mental Health Centers Act (1963)
The Community Mental Health Centers Act was signed into law
in 1963 by President John F. Kennedy. The adoption of this act
was aimed at establishing comprehensive community mental
health centers throughout the nation (Community Mental Health
Act, 2017). It was intended to drastically alter the delivery of
mental health services and bring about a new era of
improvement in mental health care. It targeted to decentralize
mental health services from hospitals and other few institutions
that offered these services back to the communities where
everybody can readily access.
Also, this law was aimed at establishing a more effective
psychotropic medication. The new approaches brought about by
the implementation of this law facilitated the success of
community-based care for people with mental illnesses. This
approach was supported by a growing body of evidence that
showed mental illnesses could be treated in a cost-effective
manner in community settings than in traditional psychiatric
hospitals.
The Economic Opportunity Act (1964)
The Economic Opportunity Act was adopted in 1964 to initiate

the creation of local community action agencies to supplement
the campaigns carried out to fight poverty. The established
agencies are controlled directly by the federal government
(Burger, 2017). This act was therefore intended to supplement,
strengthen and coordinate efforts in furtherance of that policy.
The Schneuer Sub-professional Career Act (1966)
The Schneuer Sub-professional Career Act signed into law in
1966 provided federal funds to recruit and train entry-level
human service workers. This law alongside the Economic
Opportunity Act spurred the creation of the new field of human
services (Burger, 2017). It was intended to bring new changes
in human service sector following the shortfall of qualified
human service workers as a result of decentralization and
deinstitutionalization movements that started in the 1950s.
References
Burger, W. (2017). Human services in contemporary America.
Boston, MA, USA : Cengage
Learning.
Community Mental Health Act. (2017). National Council.
Retrieved 28 November 2017, from
https://www.thenationalcouncil.org/about/national-mental-
health-association/overview/community-mental-health-act/
NIMH, (2017). National Institutes of Health (NIH).
Retrieved 28 November 2017, from https://www.nih.gov/about-
nih/what-we-do/nih-almanac/national-institute-mental-health-
nimh
MOVEMENT
1

Chanda Crews
Professor
: Cora Clavel
November 28, 2017
MOVEMENT 1
Chanda Crews
Professor: Cora Clavel
November 28, 2017

Chapter 2 HISTORICAL ROOTS OF HUMAN SERVICES
JOEL F. DIAMBRA
Writing from Knoxville, Tennessee, home of the late Alex
Haley, author of the epic novel and made-for-television mini-
series, Roots, it seems only appropriate to begin this book by
reviewing our professional roots. Indeed, it is prudent and
necessary to review the recent history of human service work
prior to propelling ourselves into prophetic speculation and
prognostications of times to come. History and future are
juxtaposed with the forever-fleeting present, sharing an ever-
present boundary that quickly vanishes into the past. This
makes the past and future unusual relatives: two stepsisters,
both twins to a third sister, the present. Confounding and more
dynamic than sisters, one becomes the other as cyclical time
passes: future becomes present, present becomes past, and the
past predicts the future. This chapter will review the twentieth-
century historical roots of human services. The focus is a macro
rather than micro review, enabling the reader to place into
historical perspective the contents of the upcoming chapters.
The history of human services struggles to clearly identify a
“big-bang” origin. Its inception is subject to more than one
interpretation. However, human service history is clearly
developmental in nature, with evolutionary roots. From
inauspicious beginnings to its professionally tailored and
internationally collaborating present, recent developments in
human services will be briefly reviewed in this chapter.

So why does a book entitled Human Services: Contemporary
Issues and Trends, which is clearly focused on present and
future events in human services, include a chapter dedicated to
a recent historical review? Students often complain and express
their dislike of history. The traditional excuse that it has no
relevance on the events of today may be heard echoing through
the cinderblock halls of public and private institutions of higher
learning. In these same halls, the vernacular may be more
commonly stated as “Let’s get on with it.” You, too, may be
internally voicing like sentiments.
But before you dive into the following chapters, remember that
many of the upcoming projections for the field of human
services will someday be historical events. They will not simply
be bygone events to be quickly dismissed and discounted, but
events that have shaped tomorrow’s future of human service
delivery—so read with renewed interest and appreciation.
Accurate predictions will become the future, the future will
become today, and today will become a past full of rich stories
and events that once predicted and defined human services for
tomorrow.
Before beginning to retrace the recent historical path of human
services, an operational definition is required. Harris and
Maloney (1996) broadly defined human services as “a process
of negotiating social systems to respond in the best interest of
people in need” (p. 13). Burger and Youkeles (2000) identified
the common denominator of all human services as meeting
people’s needs. Specific to the human service worker, Woodside
and McClam (1998) defined the professional as a generalist able
to work side-by-side with a variety of other professionals.
Neukrug (2000) points out that human service professionals
must be skillful at wearing many professional hats as they play
a number of roles to encourage client growth and change.
Simply put, human services is about facilitating clients’ efforts
to grow and change while also effectively negotiating the
service system in order to meet their needs.
A BLEND OF PROFESSIONS

Human services, as a bona fide profession with a defining
mission and distinctive history, emerged from a blend of
disciplines. The fields of social services, psychology, and
counseling have provided the preeminent material to form a new
hybrid species: human services. It may be more accurate to say
that the human service profession borrowed from many of its
sister professions and eclectically broadened its perspective by
inclusion rather than exclusion. Social services provided a sense
of mission and genuine compassion from its earliest roots.
Furthermore, contemporary policy has been strongly influenced
by social services. The disciplines of psychology and mental
health contributed a theoretical and scientific component to the
profession. Later, vocational and school counseling furnished
human services with a contemporary perspective full of
practical tools and helping strategies. Let us review these
perspectives to see specifically how each influenced the
development of human services as we know it today.
Social Service Roots
The human service literature is replete with historical accounts
written from a social service perspective. A few significant
historical events pertinent to social services highlight the
genuinely humane response to the plight of others displayed by
early social service workers.
The 1890s brought a more devastating depression than that felt
during the 1870s. Social unrest caused by unemployment and
racial tensions stimulated the need for social services. These
early social and human service workers, through exposure to the
conditions of their “clients,” began to understand that poverty
was a complex problem and more difficult to resolve than they
had been led to believe. Effective assistance required dedicated,
paid professionals trained to remain objective and perform a
variety of skills in systematic fashion.
One of the most significant developments of this period was the
settlement house movement. Settlement social workers, out of
their genuine concern and compassion, saw themselves more as
neighbors than as professionals. This posture allowed them to

empathize with the daily struggles of the people to whom they
provided assistance. The English and American settlement
house movements had many similarities, but they had a few
distinct traits as well. American social workers’ religious
orientation was subtler than that of their British counterparts,
and the British movement had more men involved than did the
American movement. Women, usually young, college-aged
women, were predominant figures in the settlement house
movement within the United States. Two of these remarkable
young women, Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Starr, started the
most famous American settlement house: Chicago’s Hull House.
Prejudice was also a typical profile common to both sets of
social workers. Driven by a strong desire to help others, many
remained ignorant of their own personal biases and
consequently accepted popular stereotypes.
Forced by overwhelming client needs, social workers began to
look beyond themselves and their immediate neighborhoods.
Determined to create a more efficient and effective
organizational system, social workers initiated a plan to
improve the lives of women and children on a broader level.
These efforts resulted in a national Children’s Bureau headed by
Julia Lathrop from Chicago’s Hull House in 1912 (Council on
Social Work Education, 2000). Influenced by the Children’s
Bureau research efforts, the “Widow’s Pension” was a proposal
recommending that children be supported in their natural homes
rather than institutional settings.
Beyond the scope of the settlement house movement, social
work stretched its wings and entered into a number of fields
new to social services: medical social work, psychiatric social
work, school social work, occupational social work, and family
social work. Professional schools of social work, guided by the
Association of Professional Schools of Social Work (APSSW),
emerged. In the 1930s, the APSSW adopted increasingly
stringent curriculum guidelines and accreditation requirements.
Social work has clearly identified itself as a unique entity and
field with dual approaches, commonly referred to as micro

(clinical) and macro (administrative) foci. Today, the field
embraces service provision focused on encouraging individual
change in concert with bringing about social reform and
systemic intervention.
Compassionate and genuinely concerned for the welfare of
others, early social service workers paved the way for human
services by constructively exercising compassion for their
fellow human beings, creating practical services to meet client
needs, developing organized programs, and instigating and
lobbying for social policy reform.
Psychology and Mental Health Roots
As professions, psychology and mental health have contributed
greatly to the human service profession by providing workers
with a host of theories to better understand the human condition
and practice skills to intervene when challenges arise. A cursory
review of these two fields is provided.
Clifford Beers first entered the mental health field as a patient.
He used his unique experience as a patient and later as a
professional helper to shape the human service profession.
Beers’s most enduring legacy may be his advocacy of the
principle that people are to be treated humanely, regardless of
their condition or circumstances. After suffering a mental
breakdown, he was confined to an asylum for three years where
he received harsh treatment. After his recovery, Beers published
his autobiography, based on his experience in American
psychiatric institutions, in 1908. His account aroused public
concern about the care of people with mental illness. Beers
continued his campaign by founding the Connecticut Society for
Mental Hygiene, the National Committee for Mental Hygiene
(later becoming the National Association for Mental Health and
known today as the Mental Health Association), and, years
later, the International Foundation for Mental Health Hygiene.
Human service educators strive to instill Beers’s message that
people with mental illness are to be treated with respect and
dignity, regardless of their circumstances.
The fields of psychiatry and psychology emerged at about the

same time. There are so many prominent early figures that it is
not possible to describe them all within this context. Two
familiar key figures include Sigmund Freud (1856–1939) and
Wilhelm Wundt (1832–1920). Of the two, Freud enjoyed the
widest acceptance for his psychoanalytic theory focused on the
dynamics of the inner person and the resulting human behavior.
His influence is still felt today within human services,
psychological treatment, and counseling. Wundt is best known
for his establishment during the late 1870s of the first
experimental psychological laboratory in Germany (Capuzzi and
Gross, 1997). Wundt focused on researching how the mind is
structured and did so by asking clients to self-reflect aloud.
William James (1842–1910) adapted Wundt’s approach and
focused on the functions of the mind. His work in the United
States attracted a great deal of attention, and he and his
followers were labeled as “functionalists.” G. Stanley Hall
(1844–1924) is considered the “father of American psychology”
by many and is credited with organizing the American
Psychological Association (APA). Hall believed that the means
of resolving social problems could best be discovered via
empirical research. He collected information on children.
and their mental characteristics. Hall established the first
psychological laboratory in the United States at Johns Hopkins
University in 1883.
Significant contributions to the development of mental health
counseling were also made by founding behaviorists such as
Edward Thorn-dike (1874–1949), John Watson (1878–1958),
and B. F. Skinner (1904–1990). Thorndike studied educational
psychology and the psychology of animal learning. Thorndike is
remembered for his stimulus response “laws” of effect,
readiness, and exercise. Watson established an animal research
laboratory where he became known for his behaviorist
approach. He later applied his work on animals to human
behavior and is well remembered for his classical conditioning
of Albert by associating a loud noise with the presence of a
white rat. Watson helped us to understand how conditioning

may affect fears, phobias, and prejudice. He also coined the
term “behaviorism.” B. F. Skinner is perhaps the most
influential learning theorist. Using basic principles of
reinforcement, Skinner’s operant conditioning theory is found
in a wide array of successful human service interventions (token
economies, programmed instruction, behavior modification,
etc.) and is used with a variety of human service clientele
(adolescent offenders, chronically mentally ill, mentally
retarded, etc.).
Human service professionals use principles of educational
psychology and learning theory to help clients change
maladaptive behaviors, identify compensatory strategies, cope
with the daily stresses of life, and function in our cyber-paced
world. Behavioral theory is highly regarded in the human
service arena today because of its emphasis on measurable
outcomes and interactional strategies. Many interventions used
in modern-day human service programs can trace their ancestry
to behaviorally based theory and practice.
Historical events also influenced the development of the fields
of psychology and mental health. War played a large part in
advancing both of these fields. The U.S. armed forces used
standardized assessment to place servicemen and women in
military and industrial positions before and during World War
II. Uncle Sam used psychologists and counselors to select and
train military personnel for special assignments (Capuzzi and
Gross, 1997). Mental health services were also needed to deal
with the mental anguish soldiers were experiencing from battle
and to help those who returned to their homes in need of
vocational guidance. Picchioni and Bonk (1983) credited the
government for inviting the counseling profession into the
community by noting that a government official indicated that
counseling is counseling, whether it is conducted in homes,
schools, business or industrial settings, or churches. Human
service professionals who provide services across these
environments and more are still celebrating this induction
today.

Following World War II, the National Institute for Mental
Health was established in 1946, authorizing monies for research
and demonstration focused on assisting persons with mental
illness in the areas of prevention, diagnosis, and treatment. A
series of political steps involving psychology and mental health
followed, influencing the human service profession. The Mental
Health Study Act (1955) initiated the existence of the Joint
Commission on Mental Illness and Health. Also, a 1963
landmark decision led to passage of the Community Mental
Health Centers Act (CMHCA). This legislation had a
considerable impact on the expansion of the human service
profession by mandating that outreach, counseling, and service
coordination be offered in the community through more than
2,000 newly created mental health centers (Capuzzi and Gross,
1997). Human service professionals are contemporary front-line
workers who are still implementing the services inspired 37
years ago through the CMHCA.
The list of key people and critical events from the psychological
and mental health arena that influenced human services is too
lengthy to cover within the confines of this chapter. These
disciplines have advanced our understanding of human behavior
and developed health services within communities. Human
services, based on the work conducted in the mental health
centers, have capitalized on the fruits of their labor by using
theoretical approaches and adopting strategies for helping
people. Suffice it to say that human service professionals
attempt to help the client reflect inward to self and outward
toward the environment to identify areas needing adjustment or
change. Theoretical constructs provided by psychology and
mental health leaders have provided an eclectic foundation from
which human service professionals are able to draw in their
work with a variety of people. This foundation has provided an
integral understanding of client behavior in a multitude of
settings.
Vocational and School Counseling Roots
Human service professionals can be found assisting school-aged

clients and those transitioning from school to school, school to
work, or job to job. School and work are two primary aspects of
client life and often provide the opportunity to change current
living conditions and address the associated challenges.
Therefore, human service workers rely on the learning and
practices that resulted from the fields of vocational and school
guidance. Whether it be assessing client aptitude and vocational
skills through rehabilitation case management, building client
skills in vocational readiness workshops, job coaching in
competitive employment settings, or assisting students of all
ages to seek out appropriate educational experiences, human
service professionals have benefited from vocational and school
policy and research.
In 1881, Lysander S. Richards published Vocophy, a slim text
that described a system whereby individuals could identify a
vocational calling best suited to their abilities (Capuzzi and
Gross, 1997). The profession of guidance was on the map. Frank
Parsons, considered the “father of guidance,” shared similar
views. Parsons was active in social reform and focused his
efforts toward assisting people to make good occupational
choices.
Later, Jesse Davis was credited with bringing vocational
guidance into schools. After being extensively questioned by
one of his Cornell University professors regarding his career
plans, Davis realized that others were in need of this same
guidance. Over his career, he introduced his developing
guidance plans to schools in Detroit and Grand Rapids,
Michigan. Using Social Darwinism as a foundation, two other
individuals influenced the guidance movement from opposite
coasts. In New York, Eli Weaver realized that the students with
whom he worked were in need of vocational guidance. Even
without additional monies, Weaver began recruiting teachers to
spend time with students and help them identify their own skills
and abilities and match them to the needs of the current job
market. In Seattle, Anna Reed took a more commercial route
toward guidance, urging that the world of business be used as a

model and goal for upcoming students. She believed that
students ought to focus their energies on making money. Reed
also felt schools should direct young people to enter vocations
whereby they could earn money.
Due to the increasing interest in vocational guidance, in 1906
the National Society for the Promotion of Industrial Education
(NSPIE) was established. At the third national convention in
1913, the National Vocational Guidance Association (NVGA)
was founded. Two more recent events that greatly influenced
vocational services include the creation of the Dictionary of
Occupational Titles, first published in 1946, and the Vocational
Rehabilitation Act (1954), which recognized persons with
disabilities as having unique needs for specialized services.
Sputnik is a familiar term to those who have studied vocational
and school guidance history. In the 1950s, the Russians
successfully launched Sputnik, the first artificial Earth satellite,
into orbit. Fearing that the United States would be left behind in
the race to space, the U.S. government mobilized. The goal was
to identify promising young people who could be guided into
studying mathematics and the sciences in preparation for
careers that would develop the space program. The National
Defense Education Act (NDEA) is considered a landmark in
terms of establishing vocational and school guidance programs.
Capuzzi and Gross (1997) recount that NDEA appropriated
monies to pay for primary- and secondary-level school
counselors and developed training programs to produce
qualified public school counselors. Over the years, guidance has
established itself as a profession and offers training programs
within most universities. The field has adopted ethical
guidelines, written professional competencies, and published a
number of journals dedicated to the profession. Although
professional organizations at the national level have split and
changed names numerous times and school guidance programs
have been under fire on occasion, the effects of NDEA are still
evident today.
Human service professionals work alongside school guidance

counselors in full-service schools, as tutors and counselors
within Upward Bound programs, in residential settings with on-
campus schools, and as colleagues when representing
community agencies working with troubled youth. On the
vocational track, human service professionals are employed as
vocational rehabilitation case managers (with master of arts or
master of science degrees), employment specialists, and in
work-related capacities. Understanding school and work
environments, negotiating steps to successfully transition within
and across these domains, and being familiar with the tools of
the trade (e.g., Occupational Outlook Handbook, Dictionary of
Occupational Titles, and computer-based interest and aptitude
assessment programs) are within the human service
professional’s capacity. Human service professionals offer
kudos to early vocational theorists and school practitioners for
clearing the vocational and school guidance forest to create the
path evident today.
The combined fields of social services, psychology, mental
health, and school and vocational guidance have contributed
greatly to the development of human services. Compassion for
the human condition, theoretical constructs, practical
interventions, and assessment practices are some of the benefits
human services have received from these sister vocations. After
reviewing the roots of human services, it is important to look at
contemporary perspectives.
CONTEMPORARY PERSPECTIVES ON HUMAN SERVICE
HISTORY
The human service movement began when the Mental Health
Study Act was passed and a shortage of qualified human service
workers emerged in the 1960s. This shortage prompted an
increase in training programs for generalist human service
workers at two- and four-year colleges (Burger and Youkeles,
2000). An increased emphasis on mental health care,
proliferation of social service agencies, an ongoing shift to
community-based services, and greater demand for more highly
trained professionals, coupled with the social strife evident in

the 1960s, all had a part in the emergence of the human service
field. During this period, Harold McPheeters received a
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) grant to support his
proposal to develop a human service curriculum at the
community college level, culminating in an associate’s degree.
Neukrug (2000) recounts that because of McPheeters’s initiating
efforts, he is often regarded as the “founder” of the
contemporary human service field. Added to McPheeters’s
efforts is the timing and direction taken by the sister fields of
psychology, counseling, and social work. While these already-
established disciplines began to focus their attention on
graduate-level training, the need for qualified entry-level human
service professionals continued to grow. And, while these sister
disciplines became more specialized and arguably more
exclusive, human services remained broad-based and inclusive.
As we look into the programs that are in this organization
(NOHSE), we will see an extremely wide variety of different
orientations, professions. Not just social work, psychology or
sociology, but also nursing; education; corrections; drug,
alcohol, and substance abuse programs; gerontology; health
sciences; allied health professional sciences; etc. (Maloney,
personal interview, October 28, 1999).
Human services filled a niche that had been created by a variety
of circumstances and has continued to the present day.
Two legislative acts spurred the development of the new field of
human services. The 1964 Economic Opportunity Act and the
1966 Schneuer Sub-professional Career Act provided federal
funds to recruit and train entry-level human service workers.
These changes were necessary due to the predicted shortfall of
qualified human service workers resulting from the
deinstitutionalization and decentralization movements that
began in the 1950s. Neukrug (2000) recounts that McPheeters,
supported by an NIMH grant, began developing human service
training programs at the associate level. Around this same time,

four-year baccalaureate degree programs began emerging.
During formal training, students learned the skills necessary to
work with a variety of clients and other health professionals.
Many of the routine and time-intensive duties that kept more
highly trained practitioners from diagnosing and treating clients
were perfectly matched to the skills of the newly trained human
service workers. The involvement of human service workers
helped to broaden the treatment focus from the individual client
to include systems or forces surrounding the client. Systems
included the client’s family, environmental factors such as
living conditions and work, larger systems such as community
supports, and ultimately, societal constraints or supports.
Human service workers observed and interviewed clients,
making initial assessments. Gathering individual and family
histories, directly observing clients, connecting individuals and
families to community resources, working with other
professional helpers and community groups, and developing
resources when they did not already exist were some of the
tasks undertaken by the first human service workers. Maloney
(Maloney, personal interview, October 28, 1999) asserted,
“They [human service programs] can specialize and attract
students to given areas within the field, namely drug and
alcohol, for instance, and working with [persons] with mental
retardation or the mentally ill.” However, initially, human
service workers are most aptly considered generalists who may
go on to specialize in a specific genre of human service work
once they enter the field.
After McPheeters’s grant from the NIMH identified the need to
train mental health workers, institutes of higher education
responded. Purdue University created the first associate’s
degree program in 1965. By 1975, 174 associate and
baccalaureate programs had been started, and by 1991, the
Council for Standards in Human Service Education (2000)
directory included 614 human service programs.
As more human service graduates joined community efforts,
more highly trained professionals from sister fields began to

question the competency of the less-trained human service
workers. Likewise, competent human service workers confirmed
their own ability to effectively accomplish tasks traditionally
completed by their more highly educated counterparts. Tension
and controversy ensued and continues to exist today, with
education requirements, competency criteria, job titles, and
delineation of professional tasks and responsibilities still
unsettled.
The legitimacy of human services as a profession has been
debated. This discussion has provided some of the impetus
behind important aspects of the contemporary history of human
services: professional identity, organization, and representation.
PROFESSIONAL IDENTITY
Human services’ historical professional amalgam provides
wonderful strength to the profession, yet this interfusion has
also made it difficult to delineate a clear professional identity.
Revisiting client needs by analyzing the responses to strategic
research questions in the late 1960s, the Southern Regional
Education Board (SREB) identified thirteen roles for the human
service professional:
1. Administrator
2. Advocate
3. Assistant to specialist
4. Behavior changer
5. Broker
6. Caregiver
7. Community planner
8. Consultant
9. Data manager
10. Evaluator
11. Mobilizer
12. Outreach worker
13. Teacher/educator
Within these generalist roles, human service professionals must
adhere to an acceptable standard of practice guided by a set of

essential skills defined by competencies.
In addition to competencies, in the early 1980s, the two leading
organizations in human service education determined that a set
of ethical standards unique to human services needed to be
developed for guidance and accountability purposes. On the
basis of research followed by a committee process, ethical
standards for the human service professions were written,
revised, and adopted and are known today as the Ethical
Standards of Human Service Professionals.
With professional roles defined and a standard of conduct
tailored to the human service profession, a measure of
competence remained undetermined. Taylor, Bradley, and
Warren (1996) provided competencies extracted through job
analysis research efforts. They found that human service
professionals must be able to perform skills in the following
twelve broadly defined competency areas, listed alphabetically:
1. advocacy
2. assessment
3. communication
4. community and service networking
5. community living skills and supports
6. crisis intervention
7. documentation
8. education, training, and self-development
9. facilitation of services
10. organizational participation
11. participant empowerment
12. vocational educational and career support
Through much effort, human services has emerged as a
respected and unique profession. Human service professionals
have positioned themselves as generalists performing numerous
skills in frequently changing roles while serving a variety of
population groups with different problems and in diverse
settings. This generalist title encompasses many similarities and
some differences of opinion.
Three leaders in the human service field—two past presidents

and the then-current president of NOHSE—were interviewed in
October 1999 during the NOHSE and CSHSE conference held in
Baltimore, Maryland: David Maloney, Frank-lyn Rother, and
Lynn McKinney, respectively. Maloney differentiated the field
of human services from one of its sister professions by stating,
“It is separate and different from social work in....that our
(human service) students are generalists and can face the
demands and challenges of a much wider variety of human
service work.” Rother pointed out that human services has
maintained a strong integrity to the concept of empowerment as
one of its main components. McKinney added that human
service professionals are practitioners and that human service
education programs have a heavier emphasis on field internships
than many of their counterparts, especially at the associate’s
and bachelor’s degree levels (Diambra, 2000).
To further establish the professional identity of human service
workers, a collaborative national effort between two- and four-
year educational programs is needed to provide a smooth
continuum of educating and training students and practitioners
desiring to further develop their skills (Diambra, 2000).
Building a strong aggregate of human service professionals
through existing national organizations ensures that the issue of
professional identity will be successfully resolved.
PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
As credentialing standards and accountability become
paramount in newly established programs and professions, a
national body that would identify these standards soon became
necessary. In the mid-1970s, the National Organization for
Human Service Education (NOHSE) was formed shortly after
degree programs were offered. Soon afterward, the Council for
Standards in Human Service Education (CSHSE) was
established. While the mission of NOHSE was to provide
students and human service workers with a national
organization for continued education through the unity of
regional groups, CSHSE acted primarily as a standard-setting,
program-credentialing, and competency-establishing body

(Clubok, 1990). However, it is important to note that regional
human service organizations were being established separate
from one another around the same time that the national
organization effort was initiated.
Since their early formation and initial growing pains, CSHSE
and NOHSE have blossomed into full-fledged sister
organizations working side-by-side, providing continued
education, standards for practice, program-development
guidelines, workshops and annual conferences across the
country, together with a code of ethics to which all human
service workers and educators can refer (Neukrug, 2000).
NOHSE
The National Organization for Human Service Education was
founded at the Fifth Annual Faculty Development Conference of
the Southern Regional Education Board in St. Louis, Missouri,
in August 1975. Its mission was to draw together all interested
parties and establish an ongoing dialogue to promote best
practices for preparing human service workers.
NOHSE has identified for itself four main purposes:
1. Ensure a medium is available for collaboration and
cooperation among students, practitioners and their agencies,
and faculty.
2. Improve the education of human service students and
professionals by cultivating exemplary teaching and research
practices and by curriculum development.
3. Abet and provide assistance to other human service
organizations at local, state, and national levels.
4. Champion creative means to improve human service
education and delivery through conferences, institutes,
publications, and symposia (National Organization for Human
Service Education, 2000).
NOHSE is made up of six regional organizations: New England
(founded just prior to NOHSE in the spring of 1975), Mid-
Atlantic, Southern, Midwest, Northwest, and West. Each
regional organization defines its own mission and agenda. The
interdisciplinary makeup of NOHSE and regional membership

reflects the multidimensional needs found within the human
condition. Members are direct-care professionals, students,
educators, administrators, agencies and institutions, and
supervisors.
CSHSE
The Council for Standards in Human Service Education was
established in 1979 via impetus from the National Institute for
Mental Health grant. Three years earlier, the Southern Regional
Education Board did a national survey of 300-plus training
programs in human services. The purpose was to identify
baseline data on program content and characteristics from which
informed decisions and planning would occur in order to
determine program standards (Council for Standards in Human
Service Education, 2000). It was discovered that training
programs had a number of overlapping variables: training aimed
at generic skills for working in human services, faculty from a
variety of disciplines within one program, common program
policies, and student field (i.e., internship or practicum)
experience requirements. A task force used these commonalities
to create format and content area recommendations for
accrediting human service education programs. Human service
faculty, graduates, and providers were surveyed to ensure
acceptability and appropriateness of each standard.
CSHSE lists five functions:
1. Applying national standards for training programs at the
associate’s and baccalaureate degree levels.
2. Reviewing and recognizing programs that meet established
standards.
3. Sponsoring faculty development workshops in curriculum
design, program policymaking, resource development, program
evaluation, and other areas.
4. Offering vital technical and informational assistance to
programs seeking to improve the quality and relevance of their
training.
5. Publishing a quarterly bulletin to keep programs informed of
Council activities, training information and resources, and

issues and trends in human service education (Council for
Standards in Human Service Education, 2000).
CONCLUSION
Today, the profession of human services continues its historical
tradition of integrating knowledge, skills, and values from
varied sources. This integration provides human services with a
rich and diverse legacy upon which to build. The profession’s
development has been influenced by contributions from many
disciplines, enactment of federal legislation, and the growth and
activity of current professional organizations. As stated at the
beginning of the chapter, today’s human services contribute to
tomorrow’s profession. The sections that follow discuss
present-day human services and indicate what we can anticipate
for the future.
REFERENCES
Burger, W. R., and M. Youkeles (2000). Human Services in
Contemporary America, 5th ed. Pacific Grove, CA:
Brooks/Cole.
Capuzzi, D., and D. R. Gross (1997). Introduction to the
Counseling Profession, 2nd ed. Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon.
Clubok, M. (1990). “Development of Professional Organization
for Human Service Educators and Workers.” In S. Fullerton and
D. Osher, eds., History of the Human Services Movement (pp.
71–83). Council for Standards in Human Service Education,
Monograph Series, No. 7.
Council for Standards in Human Service Education. (2000).
Council for Standards for Human Service Educators. [On-line].
Available:
http://www.cshse.com/
Council on Social Work Education. (2000). The Social Work
History Station. [On-line]. Available:
http://www.boisestate.edu/socwork/dhuff/xx.htm
Diambra, J. F. (2000). “Human Services: A Bona Fide
Profession in the Twenty-First Century.” Human Service
Education, 20, 3–8.
Harris, H. S., and D. C. Maloney (1996). Human Services:

Contemporary Issues and Trends. Boston, MA: Allyn and
Bacon.
National Organization for Human Service Education. (2000).
Purposes of the National Organization for Human Service
Education. [On-line]. Available:
http://www.nohse.com/index.html
Neukrug, E. (2000). Theory, Practice, and Trends in Human
Services: An Introduction to an Emerging Profession, 2nd ed.
Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole.
Picchioni, A. P., and E. C. Bonk (1983). A Comprehensive
History of Guidance in the United States. Austin: Texas
Personnel and Guidance Association.
Taylor, M., V. Bradley, and R. Warren (1996). The Community
Support Skill Standards. Washington, DC: Human Service
Research Institute.
Woodside, M., and T. McClam (1998). An Introduction to
Human Services, 3rd ed. Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole.
JOEL F. DIAMBRA
Haley, author of the epic novel and made
-
for
-
television mini
-
series, Roots, it seems only appropriate to begin this book by
reviewing our professional
roots. Indeed, it is prudent and necessary to re
view the recent history of human service work prior to
propelling ourselves into prophetic speculation and
prognostications of times to come. History and
future are juxtaposed with the forever

-
fleeting present, sharing an ever
-
present boundary that quickly
vanishes into the past. This makes the past and future unusual
relatives: two stepsisters, both twins to a
third sister, the present. Confounding and more dynamic than
sisters, one becomes the other as cyclical
time passes: future becomes present, present
becomes past, and the past predicts the future. This
chapter will review the twentieth
-
century historical roots of human services. The focus is a macro
rather
than micro review, enabling the reader to place into historical
perspective the contents of the
upcoming
chapters.
“big
-
bang” origin. Its inception is subject to
more than one interpretation. However, human service history is
clearly developmental in nature, with
evolutionary roots. From i
nauspicious beginnings to its professionally tailored and
internationally
collaborating present, recent developments in human services
will be briefly reviewed in this chapter.
Issues and Trends, whi
ch is clearly focused

on present and future events in human services, include a
chapter dedicated to a recent historical
review? Students often complain and express their dislike of
history. The traditional excuse that it has
no relevance on the events of
today may be heard echoing through the cinderblock halls of
public and
private institutions of higher learning. In these same halls, the
vernacular may be more commonly
stated as “Let’s get on with it.” You, too, may be internally
voicing like sentiments.
many of the upcoming projections for
the field of human services will someday be historical events.
They will not simply be bygone events to
be quickly dismissed and discounted, but events that
have shaped tomorrow’s future of human service
delivery
—
so read with renewed interest and appreciation. Accurate
predictions will become the future,
the future will become today, and today will become a past full
of rich stories and events that once
predi
cted and defined human services for tomorrow.
services, an operational definition is
required. Harris and Maloney (1996) broadly defined human
services as “a process of negotiating social
syst
ems to respond in the best interest of people in need” (p. 13).
Burger and Youkeles (2000) identified

people’s needs. Specific to the human
service worker, Woodside and McClam (1998) defined the profe
ssional as a generalist able to work side
-
by
-
side with a variety of other professionals. Neukrug (2000)
points out that human service
professionals must be skillful at wearing many professional hats
as they play a number of roles to
encourage client growth
and change. Simply put, human services is about facilitating
clients’ efforts to
grow and change while also effectively negotiating the service
system in order to meet their needs.
JOEL F. DIAMBRA
Haley, author of the epic novel and made-for-
television mini-series, Roots, it seems only appropriate to begin
this book by reviewing our professional
roots. Indeed, it is prudent and necessary to review the recent
history of human service work prior to
propelling ourselves into prophetic speculation and
prognostications of times to come. History and
future are juxtaposed with the forever-fleeting present, sharing
an ever-present boundary that quickly
vanishes into the past. This makes the past and future unusual
relatives: two stepsisters, both twins to a
third sister, the present. Confounding and more dynamic than
sisters, one becomes the other as cyclical
time passes: future becomes present, present becomes past, and

the past predicts the future. This
chapter will review the twentieth-century historical roots of
human services. The focus is a macro rather
than micro review, enabling the reader to place into historical
perspective the contents of the upcoming
chapters.
“big-bang” origin. Its inception is subject to
more than one interpretation. However, human service history is
clearly developmental in nature, with
evolutionary roots. From inauspicious beginnings to its
professionally tailored and internationally
collaborating present, recent developments in human services
will be briefly reviewed in this chapter.
Issues and Trends, which is clearly focused
on present and future events in human services, include a
chapter dedicated to a recent historical
review? Students often complain and express their dislike of
history. The traditional excuse that it has
no relevance on the events of today may be heard echoing
through the cinderblock halls of public and
private institutions of higher learning. In these same halls, the
vernacular may be more commonly
stated as “Let’s get on with it.” You, too, may be internally
voicing like sentiments.
many of the upcoming projections for
the field of human services will someday be historical events.
They will not simply be bygone events to
be quickly dismissed and discounted, but events that have
shaped tomorrow’s future of human service
delivery—so read with renewed interest and appreciation.
Accurate predictions will become the future,
the future will become today, and today will become a past full
of rich stories and events that once

predicted and defined human services for tomorrow.
services, an operational definition is
required. Harris and Maloney (1996) broadly defined human
services as “a process of negotiating social
systems to respond in the best interest of people in need” (p.
13). Burger and Youkeles (2000) identified
people’s needs. Specific to the human
service worker, Woodside and McClam (1998) defined the
professional as a generalist able to work side-
by-side with a variety of other professionals. Neukrug (2000)
points out that human service
professionals must be skillful at wearing many professional hats
as they play a number of roles to
encourage client growth and change. Simply put, human
services is about facilitating clients’ efforts to
grow and change while also effectively negotiating the service
system in order to meet their needs.

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