Characteristics and Environments of a Human Services Organization Human services organizations are agencies that are created for the sole purpose of helping people, whether they be for profit or non-profit.
There are many different types of human services organizations as well as various types of populations being helped also these agencies have a variety of services being offered. The success or failure of organizations or even particular programs is dependent upon many different factors, including the characteristics of the organization and the environment.This paper will review a specific organization, discussing various aspects of it that are a culmination of exactly what defines this organization. Mission and Vision The organization that is being reviewed for this document is The Department of Children and Family Services located in the state of Illinois.
This organization is focused on helping families, with children being their primary clients. The services that they offer vary from adoption cases to child abuse cases to community services, and so much more in between.The principal goal of this agency is to make certain that children have a safe and nurturing environment to live in and they take various steps to ensure this. While their interest may center on the protection of children they also desire to prevent maltreatment of minor’s altogether, as well as securing the family structure ("Department Of Children And Family Services", 2009).
Organization Structure An agency with such a large stance on family structure would need to be governed by a well versed staff.This organization houses some 18 different departments, from legal services to employees’ services and communication to regulation and monitoring. In addition to the various departments, this organization also has an assortment of advisory councils to help with clientele. There are also a plethora of outside resources that the organization utilizes to assist in supporting their clients and their families ("Department Of Children And Family Services", 2009).
Stakeholders Supporting families is one of the goals of this organization as well as the goal of the ones who have pledged to work with this agency.Individuals or corporations that are interested in the well-being or success of the agency are known as stakeholders (Lewis, J. A. , Packard, T. R. , & Lewis, M.
D. 2007). The stakeholders for the Department of Children and Family Services consist of many different groups and corporations. Many of these groups share a mutual interest with the agency in terms of the type of population that they service.
Examples of the stakeholders are as follows: Adoption Information Center of Illinois, Illinois Childcare Association, The Statewide Youth Advisory Board, and Family Services Domestic Violence Shelter.The groups or organizations listed are but a small portion of the many diverse groups that have taken as interest in this organization. The interest of the stakeholders can be seen in the way that they influence the agency. The influencing power of the stakeholders varies; some may influence policy while some of the stakeholders are a part of the agency’s advisory boards ("State Of Illinois Department Of Children And Family Services", 2003).
Community Relations There are others who are just as interested in the advancement of this agency and of course that is in reference to the community.Due to the fact that this organizations focus is the family it would serve them well to have an abundance of community relations. Acknowledging their presence in the community is important as it makes the community more aware of the tools available to them. The Department of Children and Family Services reaches out to the community in different ways, for example they provide newsletters as well as brochures of a variety of topics. This agency has also recently started a child abuse hotline and they also offer an assortment of training classes for families, including Foster Parent classes and Car Seat Safety classes.
This agency, along with its stakeholders, offers such services to community because it believes that prevention is the best solution for child abuse ("Department Of Children And Family Services", 2009). Organizational Diversity Understanding that child abuse and child endangerment knows no ethnicity this agency is sure to include all racial backgrounds in the services they provide. The diversity of the agency can be seen in different ways such as the fact that some of the stakeholders include the Latino Consortium and the African American Family Commission ("State Of Illinois Department Of Children And Family Services", 2003).Another area that allows one to see that this organization is concerned about the well being of people in general is in its governing departments. One department of this agency focuses strictly on Racial Equity, while a different department has its focus placed on Affirmative Action. Also in the advisory groups one would be able to find that the Asian American Advisory Council is a participant of this agency ("Department Of Children And Family Services", 2009).
Being open to diversity has the benefit of allowing this agency to better service various communities and residents and hopefully making a large impact on abuse.Environmental Trends Making an impact on abuse may be difficult when there are so many other issues that must be addressed. In a field that is focused on helping people one of the major obstructions would probably be political agendas. As it pertains to the subject of politics this agency is prepared to handle the lawmakers as they possess within their faculty a legal department to address such issues. Although the agencies website does not address such things as technology for its employees, one can assume that in order to continue to service clients on such a large scale technological advances are being utilized in this agency.
Also while the website does not refer to technology classes it does reveal that certain agency members are participating in other work related classes in order to enhance their ability to service their particular client group ("Department Of Children And Family Services", 2009). Conclusion The Department of Children and Family Services is a human services organization whose main focus is the well being of children. They appear to be a well structured organization that is well aware of what is considered necessary to succeed.They not only have a stable structure but they also have supportive stakeholders, community support, they include racial diversity, and have continually averted various obstacles such as political agendas and technological advances. Protection and prevention of child abuse can be a hard area to conquer and it seems as if violence is becoming more and more prevalent in today’s society. However this agency has found a way to navigate successfully through the harsh tides of this topic and they are continuing to make their mark on society in a most positive way.
