THE FIRST 2 DISCUSSIONS ARE DUE IN 24 HOURS.. THE REST ARE DUE IN 48 HOURS..

HHS497

Challenges of Health   and Human Services Delivery [WLOs: 1, 2] [CLO: 1]

Prior to beginning work on this discussion forum, read or view the following resources:

· Metropolitan Health and Human Services (MHHS) Case Study

· Overview and Challenges of Clinical Decision Making in Mental Health Practice

· Social Justice and Public Policy Advocacy

· A Visual Overview of Health Care Delivery in the United States

· Can Reflective Multicriteria Be the New Paradigm for Healthcare Decision-Making? The EVIDEM Journey

· Between the Patient and Politics—A Ready-To-Use Simulation for Human Service Practitioners

· Shared Decision Making (Links to an external site.)

· HHS A to Z Index (Links to an external site.)

Throughout your program you have explored a variety of methods through which health and human services have been delivered in communities. Either use the MHHS Case Study or a community organization of your choice and describe challenges that a health and human services professional would face. Explore how these challenges might impact decision making in the organization. Ensure you include a variety of perspectives (e.g., social, economic, psychological, political, etc.) Your initial post should contain a minimum of 400 words.

Self-Reflection [WLOs:   1, 2] [CLO: 1]

Prior to beginning work on this discussion forum, read the MHHS Case Study and review the web page HHS A to Z Index (Links to an external site.).

Use this forum to reflect on what you have learned so far in the Health and Human Services or the Human Services Leadership program. How will what you have learned enhance your ability to provide health and human services during your career? Describe what stands out for you the most. How will what you have learned impact how you make decisions as a health and human services provider? What remaining questions do you have as you enter your field of choice? Your initial post should contain a minimum of 300 words.

Ethical Dilemmas [WLO:   1] [ CLO: 2]

Prior to beginning work on this discussion forum, review the MHHS Case Study and the two required chapters from the Knapp, VandeCreek, and Fingerhut book, Practical Ethics for Psychologists: A Positive Approach: Foundations of Ethical Behavior and Ethical Decision Making.

Identify a minimum of one ethical dilemma that you have identified in the MHHS case study. Discuss the challenges you would face as a human services provider when dealing with this issue. How would you overcome these challenges? As you respond to this question consider how you would deal with this issue based on your future role in a human services organization. If you plan a direct service route vs. a leadership route how does this impact how you would approach the issue? Your post should contain a minimum of 400 words.

Folio [WLO: 1] [CLO:   2]

Prior to beginning work on this discussion forum, review the Folio materials listed below. Throughout this course you will build a personal electronic portfolio or “ePortfolio.” The ePortfolio tool will help you track your professional and academic progress. Once you graduate, it can also be used to demonstrate your skills and competencies to potential employers and the professional community.

Your ePortfolio will be developed and hosted using Folio, the ePortfolio tool this university uses. As an Ashford student, not only will you have access to Folio during your time at Ashford, but you will retain lifetime unlimited access after leaving the university, without fees or capacity limit.

For this activity, you begin developing your ePortfolio by creating an account using Folio.

If you already have a Folio account, skip to Step 2.

Step 1: Getting Started in Folio

· Learn more about Folio, Ashford’s ePortfolio tool, by viewing the Folio Quick Start Guide (Links to an external site.).

Profile Settings

Complete the following:

· Avatar (may be a picture or other avatar to represent you)

· Cover image

· Tagline

· Introduction: Write a brief introduction. As an option, you may use what you composed for your Post Your Introduction discussion forum. This should be a representation of you that is appropriate to share with colleagues and other professionals.

Step 2: Initial Discussion Post

· Share the link to your Folio in your initial post.

· Discuss how you might use Folio to showcase your best work, help you obtain a job, and /or to highlight career achievements.

· Discuss how your Folio can demonstrate your ability to deliver social and community services in health and human services or human services leadership. How could you demonstrate your ability to ensure ethical practices?

· Your post should contain a minimum of 200 words.

Culturally   Sensitive Practice and Leadership [WLO: 1] [ CLO: 3]

Prior to beginning work on this discussion forum, review the resources listed below:

· Recognizing the Complexity of Cultural Identifications

· Health Workforce Cultural Competency Interventions: A Systematic Scoping Review

· Cultural Competence (Links to an external site.)

· Cultural Competence (Links to an external site.)

Discuss what it means to provide culturally sensitive services to clients, or culturally sensitive leadership practices to people within an organization. Using the MHHS Case Study identify an issue in the case that lacks a culturally sensitive approach. As either a health and human services provider or leader, how would you address this issue? Clearly identify the practices you would put in place. Your initial post should contain a minimum of 400 words.

Choose a Topic [WLOs:   1, 2] [CLOs: 1, 2, 3]

Prior to beginning work on this discussion forum please review the required chapters in the book Implementation of Mental Health Programs in Schools: A Change Agent’s Guide: Leadership for Implementation and Change and Selecting Interventions: Intervention Characteristics and Implementation. Please also read the article Relieving Human Suffering: Compassion in Social Policy (Links to an external site.).

This week you will have a choice between two topics. The initial reply must be a minimum of 300 words. Please choose only one topic below to address for your initial post.

Option 1: Administrator Challenges

Imagine that you are an administrator leading a human services organization that is experiencing several challenges, such as high turnover among staff, poor lines of communication between employees, a lack of diversity amongst your staff, and overall low level of employee satisfaction with the current organizational culture. Describe this fictional organization (e.g., what it aims to do, and the clients you work with, etc.) and evaluate the impact that these issues may have on the delivery of services that are rendered. How would you address the challenge? As you reflect on how you would address the challenge, what are the decision-making approaches that guided your choice of approach?

Option 2: Professional Challenges

Imagine that you are a human services professional working with a client facing a challenge or situation. Choose the challenge or situation that this client might face (e.g., alcoholism, domestic violence, homelessness, poverty, terminal illness, etc.) and summarize the presenting challenge(s) and needs. Considering the challenge or situation faced by your client, explain an approach you would take. Analyze cultural competence elements as identified in the National Organization for Human Services’ Ethical Standards for Human Services Professionals (Links to an external site.) that direct practice professionals should integrate in the successful delivery of this technique (e.g., awareness of one’s own cultural background, recognition of multiculturalism, respecting cultural diversity, etc.). As you reflect on how you would address the challenge, what are the decision-making approaches that guided your choice of approach?

Resume Review   [WLO: 2] [CLO: 1]

Prior to beginning work on this discussion forum, watch Resume Basics (Links to an external site.) and How to Write a Resume that Beats the Automated Tracking System (Links to an external site.) videos. Preparing a resume that will get you an interview requires careful analysis of a specific job description. After identifying a specific job description in the health and human services field, you will need to optimize your resume for applying to that position.

To complete this discussion question, follow these steps:

· Search for and find a job description for a position that interests you. Utilize the Ashford University Job Boards & Niche Job Boards (Links to an external site.) resources to find reputable and niche-focused job boards. Try searching by industry, position title, or specific skills/qualifications. Review Best Keywords to Use in Your Job Search (Links to an external site.) for hints on search practices.

· Compare your resume to the job description. Make note of specific skills and qualifications listed in the job description. Which skills/qualifications are required? Which are preferred?

· Revise your resume to better align with the job description. This could include improving bullet points to better reflect the job requirements, or rephrasing skills and qualifications to better reflect those listed in the job description (For instance: You might change the word “supervised” to “managed” to better address that requested qualification). Be honest as you optimize your resume, but be certain to use the language in the job description wherever possible.

o If you don’t have a current resume, you may use the BAHS Sample Resume (Links to an external site.) template to get you started.

o For help listing transferable skills, review this article: The Ultimate Transferrable Skills List: 50+ Transferable Skills for Your Resume (Links to an external site.).

· Post your optimized resume and a link to your chosen job description in the discussion. For privacy, remove any contact information from your resume before posting.

· Post your resume to your ePortfolio in Folio Upload your Folio link to this discussion forum.

· Write a brief paragraph reflecting on the changes you made to your resume after analyzing the job description. Address the following questions:

o Did you need to alter keywords to align your resume with the job description?

o What changes did you make and why?

o Describe or list your skills and/or experience that match the requested qualifications. Describe any skills and/or experience you don’t possess based on the job description.

o Do you feel you qualify for this position? If so, why? If not, what qualifications are you missing?

Video Presentation   [WLO: 1] [ CLOs: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

Prior to beginning work on this discussion forum, access the following resources:

· Developing Oral Case Presentation Skills: Peer and Self-Evaluations as Instructional Tools

· Feed-Forward: Students Gaining More From Assessment Via Deeper Engagement in Video-Recorded Presentations

· Canvas Video Submission Instructions document.

· Ashford Writing Center’s resource on Presentations (Links to an external site.)

You will prepare a 5-minute video during which you present your final project. In the presentation, you should summarize your project and discuss key findings/learnings. You will need to be prepared to answer any questions your classmates have. This presentation should be uploaded to Folio. Please remember prospective employers will be accessing your work here. Make sure your presentation is a professional presentation. Consider how you are dressed and where you record your video.

Your video presentation should

· Recorded in the classroom video tool.

· Stay within the 4- to 5-minute time limit.

· Include you verbally citing your outside scholarly sources (at least one for every main point in your presentation).

· Be reviewed before submission to be sure that the recording is audible.

Note: If you have a disability that impacts your ability to successfully participate in this or any other course activity, please provide your instructor with your Authorized Accommodation form from the Office of Student Access and Wellness so that he/she can discuss and arrange an alternative plan with you.

Books

· Dangremond, C. K. (2015). A visual overview of health care delivery in the United States. In J. R. Knickman & A. R. Kovner (Eds.), Jonas & Kovner’s health care delivery in the United States (11th ed., pp. 13–28). https://doi.org/10.1891/9780826125293.0002

· Forman, S. G. (2015). Leadership for implementation and change. In Implementation of mental health programs in schools: A change agent’s guide (pp. 55–69). https://doi.org/10.1037/14597-005

· Forman, S. G. (2015). Selecting interventions: Intervention characteristics and implementation. In Implementation of mental health programs in schools: A change agent’s guide (pp. 73–86). https://doi.org/10.1037/14597-006

· Knapp, S. J., VandeCreek, L. D., & Fingerhut, R. (2017). Ethical decision making. In Practical ethics for psychologists: A positive approach (3rd ed., pp. 39–50). https://doi.org/10.1037/0000036-003

· Knapp, S. J., VandeCreek, L. D., & Fingerhut, R. (2017). Foundations of ethical behavior. In Practical ethics for psychologists: A positive approach (3rd ed., pp. 17–38). https://doi.org/10.1037/0000036-002

· Magnavita, J. J. (2016). Overview and challenges of clinical decision making in mental health practice. In J. J. Magnavita (Ed.), Clinical decision making in mental health practice (pp. 3–21). https://doi.org/10.1037/14711-000

· Romano, J. L. (2015). Social justice and public policy advocacy. In Prevention psychology: Enhancing personal and social well-being (pp. 65–82). https://doi.org/10.1037/14442-005

· Tummala-Narra, P. (2016). Recognizing the complexity of cultural identifications. In Psychoanalytic theory and cultural competence in psychotherapy (pp. 171–197). https://doi.org/10.1037/14800-008

Articles

· Collins, M. E., Garlington, S., & Cooney, K. (2015). Relieving human suffering: Compassion in social policy (Links to an external site.). Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare, 42(1), 95–120. Retrieved from http://www.wmich.edu/socialworkjournal

· Goetghebeur, M. M., & Cellier, M. S. (2018). Can reflective multicriteria be the new paradigm for healthcare decision-making? The EVIDEM journey. Cost Effectiveness and Resource Allocation, 16, 7–17. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12962-018-0116-9

· Jongen, C., McCalman, J., & Bainbridge, R. (2018). Health workforce cultural competency interventions: A systematic scoping review. BMC Health Services Research, 18(1), 232. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-018-3001-5

· Mallinson, D. J., & O’Hanlon, E. (2017). Between the patient and politics—A ready-to-use simulation for human service practitioners. Simulation & Gaming, 48(6), 855–870. https://doi.org/10.1177/1046878117734260

· Murphy, K., & Barry, S. (2016). Feed-forward: Students gaining more from assessment via deeper engagement in video-recorded presentations. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 41(2), 213–227. https://doi.org/10.1080/02602938.2014.996206

· Williams, D. E., & Surakanti, S. (2016). Developing oral case presentation skills: Peer and self-evaluations as instructional tools. The Ochsner Journal, 16(1), 65–69. Retrieved from http://www.ochsnerjournal.org/

Multimedia

· ClickView/VEA (Producer). (2015). Presentation basics [Series episode]. In The great orator [Streaming video]. Retrieved from Films On Demand database.

· Gregg Learning. (2018, October 23). Cultural competence (Links to an external site.) [Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/jlaCa8y-LiM

· Osmosis. (2018, November 13). Shared decision making (Links to an external site.) [Video file]. Retrieved from https://youtu.be/4ueDJEFytMI

Web Pages

· National Organization for Human Services. (n.d.). Ethical standards for human services professionals (Links to an external site.). Retrieved from https://www.nationalhumanservices.org/ethical-standards

· U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. (2014, July 16). HHS A to Z index (Links to an external site.). Retrieved from http://www.hhs.gov/az

· U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Office of Population Affairs. (2018, August 28). Cultural competence (Links to an external site.). Retrieved from https://www.hhs.gov/ash/oah/resources-and-training/tpp-and-paf-resources/cultural-competence/index.html