Human Services

This course provides an overview of social welfare in the United States from two perspectives — the development of major policies and practices from the colonial period to the present and the network of systems and services that constitute social welfare today. Students will explore the Human Service profession, the skills and values needed to succeed as a human services practitioner and gain an understanding of fundamental Human Service concepts including motivations for entering the field, roles of client and helper, serving the whole person, using an interdisciplinary approach, and empowering clients. Prerequisite: A passing score on the college's reading and writing placement tests or concurrent enrollment in ENG 092. Three lecture hours per week. Gen. Ed. Competencies Met: Global and Historical Awareness, Information Literacy, Multicultural and Social Perspectives.

This course facilitates a new Human Services major’s transition to college. Students become familiar with the college’s resources and make meaningful connections with faculty, staff, and support services. Students build a solid foundation of skills, tools, and competencies needed to be successful college students and in the Human Services Program (certificate and/or degree). As part of this course, students explore and utilize both technology and learning resources, identify and apply personalized study and critical thinking skills, develop academic career goals, and build financial literacy. 1 Credit

This course guides students through the process of searching for and evaluating source material for papers and other research assignments, and provide a framework for the reading and on-going professional education that students face in future internship/job and education settings. Finding, discussing, and critiquing a variety of research sources constitutes a major portion of the course. One lecture hour per week. Note: There are no prerequisites for this course and SER 120 is open to any student in any program.

This is an introductory course consisting of a specialized lecture series presented by Human Services practitioners. The course is designed to develop the technical competence and the philosophical perspective needed for successful employment in the mental health and retardation field. It examines the field through a sociological perspective focusing on the history of treatment models and the experience of individuals in society up through contemporary times. Emphasis is based on environmental arrangements and teaching strategies that enhance a person's skills and enable an individual to function to the fullest potential. Pre or co-requisite: PSY 101, SOC 101, SER 291, or permission of the program director. Three lecture hours per week.

Social Workers promote social justice and social change, are responsive to cultural diversity and address all forms of oppression and discrimination. This course introduces the student to the life-long learning process of (1) addressing issues of power and privilege and (2) developing culturally competent social work practices. We will explore issues related to working with diverse groups of people locally and globally with regard to gender, ethnicity, race, citizenship status, sexual orientation, gender identity, socioeconomic level, ability status, age, and faith. Emphasis will be placed on defining and developing skills for culturally competent social work generalist practice through students' self-reflection, experiential learning, and critical analysis of privilege and social inequalities. This course aims to ground students in a strengths-based/ empowerment model and to support students in their work towards a more socially just world. Prerequisite: SER 101. Three lecture hours per week. Gen Ed Competency met: Ethical Dimensions.

This course examines the dynamics of the helping relationship and focuses on developing and practicing essential clinical skills utilized by human service professionals when working with individuals, families and groups. Students will examine social and cultural influences, theories, and diversity issues related to the interview and assessment process and apply human service knowledge and values while developing and practicing interviewing and assessment techniques in micro, mezzo and macro settings. Prerequisite: SER 101 and PSY 101 or concurrent enrollment in PSY 101. Three lecture hours per week. Gen Ed Competency met: Oral Communication

This course is designed for current and potential supervisors, specifically in human services settings. Students gain a deeper understanding of self, strengthen time management and conflict management skills, assess different forms of leadership and supervision in human services settings, develop a strong knowledge base of how each human services supervisor fits into the organization, learn how to supervise within a team to better meet responsibilities to the agency, and understand the team process as an integral part of agency dynamics. Pre or co-requisite: SER 291 or permission of the program director. Three lecture hours per week.

This course is an introduction to the broad range of developmental disabilities, including mental retardation, autism, Down and Fetal Alcohol Syndromes, neurological and sensory impairments, and other emotional and behavioral disorders. Effective helping and intervention strategies for working with individuals with developmental disabilities is presented as well as the barriers to community integration and the impact on these individuals, their families, and support networks. Special attention is given to the exploration of societal attitudes toward people with developmental disabilities. Students examine their own biases and beliefs toward this population and the possible roles they may play as change agents in society. Pre or co-requisite: PSY 101 or permission of the program director. Three lecture hours per week.

In this interactive workshop, students research and select an appropriate agency site for their required Human Services Field Experience. Pre-internship planning will cover resume essentials, interviewing skills, writing cover letters, professional email and thank you emails. Considerable attention is paid to examining one's own values and motivations, time commitment, transportation, managing expectations, determining preferred work style and setting, and selecting desired client population(s). Pre or co-requisite: SER 251 or SER 261 or permission of the Department Chair. One lecture hour per week. Gen Ed Competency met: Written Communication

Fieldwork allows students to gain direct and supervised experience in the field of Human Services. Students will identify with the purposes, values and ethics of the human services profession and increase knowledge, develop skills by participating in real-life practice. Students will integrate academic coursework with experiential practice in an agency setting. To foster this integration of empirical and practice-based knowledge, students participate in a weekly professional practice seminar. Through structured assignments, the seminar provides students with the opportunity to discuss and reflect upon their experiences, as well as relate these experiences to the theories associated with the delivery of human services. Students will learn how to apply the National Organization for Human Services – Ethical Standards to all aspects of professional practice. All fieldwork placements are arranged with and approved by the Faculty Supervisor prior to the start of the semester. A minimum of 10 contact hours per week (totaling 150 supervised agency hours) in an approved agency and 2 hours of seminar is required each week. Prerequisite: SER 290 or permission of the Department Chair Instructional Support Fee applies. Gen Ed Competency met: Ethical Dimensions

This course is a continuation of SER 291 and continues the student's agency-based Human Services internship placement and the accompanying classroom-based and/or Web-based discussion seminar. Prerequisite: SER 291 or permission of the program director. A minimum of 12 and a maximum of 16 contact hours per week (total - 175 supervised agency hours) in an approved fieldwork agency and up to 2 hours of seminar/discussion each week. Instructional Support Fee applies. 6 credits Spring