FALL 2006
WEDNESDAYS 4:
INTRODUCTION
This is a
graduate level course in applied management of human services
services. It is intended for students
planning careers in public service as human services program managers or in
policy positions at the federal, state or local level or in the private
non-profit sector.
Upon completion
of the course, students should be able to apply their understanding of human
services management and policy to diverse circumstances employing practical,
proven, and up to date methodologies.
With exposure to an array of approaches developed throughout the nation,
students will have an appreciation for common dilemmas as well as unique
differences based on service type, region, jurisdictional size and governmental
levels. Students will be equipped to co
constructively contribute to organizational improvement wherever they
work. The course will provide students
with practical understanding of the increasing role of the private sector in
human services delivery along with the essential roles of media, technology,
advocacy, ethics and other essential practical tools.
The instructor,
Chuck Short, has a lengthy background in human services delivery, management,
and policy development in the government and private sectors particularly at
the local and state levels. He served in a senior leadership role in local
government for 29 years managing large and complex direct service agencies.
Most recently he served as the Secretary for Justice and Service for the
Archdiocese of Washington where he is the senior advisor to the local Bishop on
social policy and oversees several private, non- profit faith-based service
agencies. He is a graduate of
·
Understand
the functions and roles of the various human services and the qualities of
successful models of service delivery;
·
Be
able to analyze management problems which arise in the social services
environment as well as engage in creative and collaborative problem solving;
·
Understand
how human service delivery is financed; the competition which exists among
programs for funding, and how government dollars can be leveraged;
·
Recognize
the importance of cultural and racial diversity in human service programming; be
able to identify constituencies and understand their roles in decision making;
·
Achieve
results as a change agent at the personal, organizational and systemic levels
and understand the impact of change on people and organizations;
·
Align
individual, organizational, and community goals with desired outcomes,
including measurement techniques.
·
Acquire
practical information regarding the roles of the media, lobbying, and
information technology as tools in human services policy and program
development.
·
Recognize
the role of personal, professional and organizational ethics in developing
social policy and managing social services
OFFICE
HOURS
Students are encouraged to engage in
consultations with Chuck Short by phone, email, or by appointment. He can be
reached directly at 301 651 4750 and email at cshort5@verizon.net
The background
text for this class is The Working Poor, by David Shipler. Students will be given supplemental reading
materials derived from actual source materials, recent reports, current
relevant news items and case studies. Background text and other readings will
be integrated into various elements of each class. No examinations will be
given, but the exam time is reserved for the last class (12/15) because there
is no class immediately prior to Thanksgiving. Failure to attend the class
during finals week will result in a downgrade.
Each student
will be expected to select a state and a local government from within that
state as the student’s research anchor. Students should convey their choices to
the professor during the second class session (9/11). Periodically, students will be asked to
investigate the status of human services management/delivery in those
jurisdictions to enhance classroom discussion.
Class sessions
will include time to discuss human services issues currently prominent in the
media or of special interest to the class.
Some sessions will also include a “leadership challenge” component. During these, students will develop practical
tools to address common challenges in human services management and
organizational development.
There are four
assignments requiring students to produce three formal memoranda (an
informational memo, a decision memo and a briefing memo) and one program
analysis/evaluation project to be undertaken in teams:
1)
An internet mini-assignment, which
requires students to research human service delivery structures in their chosen
jurisdictions and describe them in a brief informational memorandum to the
professor, due 9/14 (10% of grade);
2)
A
review of practices of a local United Way Board of Directors which resulted in
poor decisions, unlawful staff activity, and significant loss in public
trust. Students will review a case study
and related media accounts and prepare a decision memo to a newly constituted
Board of Directors to include recommendations on policies and practices which
will reduce the possibility of recurrence of ethical breakdowns, due 10/5
(20%).
3)
An
analytical exercise in which students help prepare the Mayor of New York for a
press conference by drafting a briefing memorandum analyzing "Bedlam in
the Streets," which has just appeared in the Sunday New York Times and has
generated lively discussions on the local morning news shows, due 11/10 (20%);
4)
A
team project in which students will design a community program review model for
the local
The
grading standard expects all work to be done as if it were prepared for “real
world” uses. Assignments turned in more
than one week late are subject to reduction in grade for lateness. Students are expected to spell, punctuate
and proofread. Carelessly presented
papers are subject to downgrading, regardless of the quality of the content.
Class participation will be judged on quality of insight displayed, as well as
level of interactivity with other students.
There
will be several presentations by experienced practitioners. Two field visits
during class time are required which may extend normal class time on that
day. While some adjustments in
scheduling may have to occur to accommodate guest speakers, every effort will
be made to adhere to the sequencing of topics presented below. Students should plan to use the final
examination period for class time.
Class attendance
and participation in discussions are very important and will constitute 20%
of the final grade for the course.
Students will be expected to complete the readings and come to class
prepared to discuss them. Since the
class does not follow a text consistently, students must keep up through class
attendance.
Students will be
expected to keep a running list of open questions for discussion with the
Practitioner Panel on December 14. Time has been reserved on December 7 to
organize an agenda based on questions developed during the semester. The agenda and selected questions will be
submitted to the panel in advance.
A Note on
Ethics from the Student Honor Council:
The
COURSE
CONTENT
1.
Welcome, Orientation
and Expectation; Syllabus Review; Materials Distribution; Overview (8/30).
The first forty-five minutes of class will be devoted to organizational matters including mutual expectations and syllabus clarification. During the remainder of class, we will define the human services, identify broad issues; discuss principles of human services management; identify leadership qualities; and identify special challenges associated with human services management.
Students
will select a state and local jurisdiction to be used as reference points
periodically throughout the course.
In
preparation for class, students should read the Introduction and Chapter One of
The Working Poor.
2. An Overview of Human Services at
the Federal, State, and Local Levels (9/6)
During this class, students will learn
the context of human services among the various levels of government and the
private sector.
To prepare for class, students are
expected to visit the web sites of the state and local governments they have
selected. In addition, they should link to human service agencies of the
federal government and private non-profit human services agencies in their
selected jurisdictions and come to class prepared to discuss these.
The federal government provides few human
services directly, but it is a major funding source and policy determiner for
key services provided at the state and local levels. Students will examine the
major federally funded programs and consider the roles of federal managers
responsible for policy formulation as well as the allocation of and accounting
for federal resources. States deliver
services directly and pass their own and federal funds through to localities
for programs. Students will consider how states augment federal resources and
how federal constraints promote or inhibit effective management of services at
the state and local level.
3. “All
Human Services Are Local”, Human Services Management from the Vantage of Local
Government and Its Non- Profit Partners (9/13)
Students should visit the web sites for their
designated jurisdictions to get a feel for the breadth and depth of services
provided by local governments and private non-profit agencies.
Local
governments and non-profit agencies have the most responsibility for the direct
delivery of services. Even in areas
where federal and state governments have responsibilities, citizens often
expect local officials assure responsive services.
Students will consider the
challenges facing service managers who work in local government or for
non-profit service providers collaborating with state or local government. Key issues facing local human services will
also be identified and
addressed. Students will discuss
the challenges of the working poor as described in Chapter Two of The Working
Poor and devise solutions to the problems which are fiscally
responsible, politically sensitive, professionally competent and ethically grounded.
ASSIGNMENT ONE IS
DUE!!! PLEASE DO NOT BE LATE!
4. Defining the Customer; Working
with Advocacy and Advisory Groups,
And Elected Officials (9/20).
The class will identify and discuss the challenges associated with serving diverse constituencies, often with conflicting needs and expectations and competing demands for resources. Student’s perspective should include information from their local reference jurisdictions regarding how they respond to these issues.
In managing most public services, but especially human services, there are multiple “customers” to satisfy. Identifying the customers, their interests and needs, and establishing constructive relationships with the stakeholders are critical steps in creating successful and sustained human services policies and programs.
The
second part of the class, a “leadership challenge” will include a discussion of
best practices effective communication with elected and appointed leaders. The
class discussion is intended to assist students to better understand the
critical role advocacy plays in transforming policy into practice. A visiting practitioner, Joan Planell, Senior Legislative Analyst for the Montgomery
County Council, will join us in our discussion.
.
5. Defining Outcomes in the Context of Human
Services Management (9/27)
The first part of this class will focus
on the difficult and controversial goal of measuring program/policy
effectiveness in human services. Students will learn to define human service
outcomes and related measurements and will discuss challenges and controversies
often inherent in this work. As an
in-class activity, students will be challenged to develop measurable outcomes
relating to family self-sufficiency.
In preparation for this class,
students should:
·
familiarize
themselves with
Go to “Department Reports” and scroll to Measuring Progress.
·
Research
their state and locality to see what kinds of measures are in use.
The second part of the class will be an
orientation to assist students in their team projects. Rachel Glass, Coordinator for the Montgomery
county Region of the
6.
Housing,
the Often Neglected, but Essential Partner of the Human Services. Issues, Opportunities, and Programs at the
Federal, State and Local Levels (10/4).
While this course is not a housing course
(there is a housing course offered in the SPP), the goal of this class is to
underscore the critical relationship between public and affordable housing
policies and human services programs. In
developing and managing human services programs, the principle of “Housing
First”, is often cited. Without stable
housing, people and families are far less likely to be economically secure,
safe, and healthy regardless of other human services they may be
receiving. The guest practitioners for
this class will be Corinne Stevens, a mid career graduate of our School
of Public Policy, serving currently as Chief of Special Needs Housing for
Montgomery County, MD. ; and, Jim Brown, President and CEO of Victory
Housing, Inc, one of the Washington region’s oldest, largest and most
successful private non profit developer of affordable housing.
7.
"Bedlam
on the Streets" / The Policy of Deinstitutionalizing People with Mental
Illness, Whatever Happened to the Promises? (10/11)
The class discussion will include a
review of the issues raised in the above cited highly publicized New York Times
article and explore the causes and implications of an enlightened public
policy poorly implemented. The class will identify policies, those which
promote and those which are barriers to vulnerable persons living successfully
in communities. Students should read the
Washington Post ‘s coverage of
The “leadership challenge” for this class
will be a discussion regarding the impact and management of change within
organizations. A short video will
precede the discussion.
Please read Chapters five and six of The
Working Poor.
ASSIGNMENT TWO IS DUE!
8. Field Trip to Crossways Community
(10/18)
Students
will visits a privately managed transitional housing program for women and
their children located in
http://www.crossway-community.org
and read Chapter 7 in Working Poor.
9. New Faces, New Places, New Responses: The
Impact of Ethnic and Cultural Diversity
on Human Services
Delivery (10/25)
During this session, the class will
examine complex policy and program issues associated with the rapid rise in the number
of immigrants in the
Students should read Chapters Three and
Four in The Working Poor in preparation for this class.
Don’t forget
your obligation to vote in the General Election!
10. Forging
Partnerships and Leveraging Resources to Promote Family Self Sufficiency and Stability (11/1)
Students will explore the complexity of welfare
reform and the critical role of integrated partnerships in assisting people
in moving from “dependence to interdependence”. They will read documents that
outline
The “leadership challenge” for this class will be a
discussion of social capital venture partnerships, increasing in popularity
throughout the
11. Working with the Media: Friend or Foe
(11/08)
Effective
communication is fundamental in a 24/7 news world. Informing, explaining, defending, and
promoting, and planning are critical to the successful implementation of
policies and programs. Working with the media requires both long-term
strategies and capacity for immediate responses to crises inherent in the
delivery of human services in the public and private sectors. Reaching our many stakeholders with accuracy,
timeliness, and clarity will lead to greater credibility and effectiveness.
In
preparation for this session students will be expected to identify actual human
services issues or events in the news media and be prepared to discuss these
with a panel of experienced practitioners: Mary Anderson, Public
Information Office,
ASSIGNMENT
THREE IS DUE!
12. The Challenges of Health Care for the Poor
and Uninsured (11/15)
The class will visit a health clinic for
low income and uninsured persons in Langley Park. The clinic serves only the
very poor and is part of a network of clinics serving the uninsured in
Peace and Blessings!
13.
The
Potential and Challenge of Faith-Based Partnerships; and Ethics in Human
Services (11/29)
Faith
based programs have been successful for years in assisting people in need. Because of these successes and the perceived
higher levels of compassion, less “red tape”, and lower costs, governments are
turning more to faith communities to deliver basic human services once
delivered by government or secular organizations. In recent years there has been a trend to
formalize” faith based programs in government laws and policies. The class will consider several examples of
faith based programs and discuss merits and liabilities.
The
“leadership challenge” during this class will be a discussion of ethics in the
delivery of human services and especially in the operation of private
non-profit human care providers.
In
preparation for this class students should peruse the web site of the White
House Office of Faith- Based and Community Initiatives: http://www.fbci.gov/
and
go to http://www.unitedwaynca.org/, click to accountability and to code of
conduct. Please read and be prepared to
discuss the code of conduct in class.
14. Managing Better: Assignment Four
Team Projects Report Out (12/6)
Student teams will present their recommendations for
community program review models and the results of the field tests of the
reviews to representatives of the Board and staff of the
Assignment One
This assignment is due September 14
This assignment
is designed to assist students in using the Internet to locate and use
government sites and to identify the constellation of programs in communities
which comprise the “human services” It is also designed to test student’s
ability to present critical fiscal information succinctly. For Assignment One, students will select
their home County or City and State.
They should
describe the structure of the human services delivery systems of the state and
locality and provide broad budget information. They should define which
services are delivered by the state, which are locally delivered and which are
shared. Ideally, identification of private non-profit agencies which partner
with the public sector should be included.
Papers should be in memo form and no more than three pages in length.
Organization charts may be included as appendices.
Assignment
Two
This assignment is due October 12
Read the article
in the Chronicle of Philanthropy, “What Went Wrong” in which, Brad Wolverton
describes conditions which led to a major scandal at the
Assignment Three
This assignment is due November 9
Assignment
Three addresses the controversial and emotional subject of
deinstitutionalization. Students are to read the
§
Extract
the political, economic and programmatic issues the article raises;
§
Lay
out the policy and program implications for the City;
§
Identify
key decision areas, which will have to be addressed in the short and long term;
and
§
Delineate
plausible next steps for the Mayor to take to address the immediate public
relations crisis.
Remember your recommendations must meet three
standards. They must be fiscally responsible, professionally competent,
politically sensitive and ethically grounded.
This assignment is due on December 7
Students
will organize themselves into teams.
Each team will select a leader. Each team will be assigned an actual
program of the Montgomery County Dept. of Health and Human Services for which
it will be responsible to conduct a program review. The teams will be assisted by Abigail
Hoffman, manager for program reviews for HHS.
The teams will utilize the methodology and materials used by HHS in its
reviews. The program reviews done by the teams will be actual program reviews and will be used by HHS in determining the
performance of the program. Each
team will present the findings of their review to the class, HHS staff and
others during the session on 12/8.