HHS

Need help with hw questions

Week 5 Final

Final Project

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

Prior to beginning work on the Final Project, you are encouraged to review the required reading materials. You will have two choices for your final project: a research paper or a mock service learning project. Regardless of your choice you will be uploading your project to Folio. You are also required to prepare a 5-minute video that summarizes and explains your project and will be shared to the Week 5 discussion board. Both the video and the paper are to be uploaded to your ePortfolio in Folio, that you previously set up.

Choose only one of the following projects:

Option 1: Research Paper

For this option, you will select a health and human services topic of interest and prepare a research paper based on this topic. You will identify a theory or theoretical perspective that offers insight or explanation regarding your chosen topic and present the results of your literature-based research, offering conclusions and/or recommendations. For example, you may want to research current trends in health and human services leadership, and offer recommendations for leadership approaches that would be effective in health and human services organizations today. Or you may want to explore the major challenges health and human services professionals face in delivering services to a chosen population offering recommendation on how they should be addressed.

In your Research Paper you will

· Identify the selected health a human services topic.

· Identify a theory or theoretical perspective that explains your topic.

· Present the results of your literature review.

· Draw conclusions and/or make recommendations that address problems in your topic.

View the Writing Center’s resource on

 

Writing a Research Paper (Links to an external site.)

 for additional support.

Option 2: Mock Service-Learning Project

You will work with the 

MHHS Case Study

  Download MHHS Case Study

to identify a service project and will prepare a paper that addresses one of the issues you have identified in the case. Please note there are several ideas at the end of the case that you can use or you can suggest one of your own. The end result of your project might be a series of documents. For example, you may decide to create a fundraising plan for the organization. Your plan might include a paper describing each of the fundraising endeavors as well as a fundraising budget.

In your Mock Service-Learning Project you will

· Identify a service project from the MHHS Case Study to explore.

· Explain the service project in detail and how it supports the MHHS Case Study.

· Identify a theory or theoretical perspective that explains your service project.

· Prepare the necessary documents containing conclusions/recommendations that will support your service project.

A word of caution: You may not repurpose any work you have previously submitted. All of your work must be original.

 

 Folio Recommendation: Papers/Reports

Considering that your ePortfolio is intended for future employers to evaluate your knowledge, skills, abilities, and professionalism, it is recommended that you edit your artifact in the following way.  

· Remove the cover page that connects the paper to the academic institution.  

· Add language to the Introduction section that appeals to your professional target audience.  

· Edit language in the Introduction and key sections to demonstrate a professional voice.  

Your final project

· Must be 10 to 12 double-spaced pages in length (not including title and references pages) and formatted according to 

APA Style (Links to an external site.)

 as outlined in the 

Writing Center (Links to an external site.)

.

· Must include a separate title page with the following:

· Title of project

· Student’s name

· Course name and number

· Instructor’s name

· Date submitted

· For further assistance with the formatting and the title page, refer to 

APA Formatting for Word 2013 (Links to an external site.)

.

· Must utilize academic voice. See the 

Academic Voice (Links to an external site.)

 resource for additional guidance.

· For assistance on writing 

Introductions & Conclusions (Links to an external site.)

 as well as 

Writing a Thesis Statement (Links to an external site.)

, refer to the Writing Center resources.

· Must use at least six credible sources.

· The 

Scholarly, Peer-Reviewed, and Other Credible Sources (Links to an external site.)

 table offers additional guidance on appropriate source types. If you have questions about whether a specific source is appropriate for this assignment, please contact your instructor. Your instructor has the final say about the appropriateness of a specific source for a particular assignment.

· To assist you in completing the research required for this assignment, view this 

University of Arizona Global Campus Library Quick ‘n’ Dirty (Links to an external site.)

 tutorial, which introduces the University of Arizona Global Campus Library and the research process, and provides some library search tips.

· Must document all sources in APA Style as outlined in the Writing Center’s 

APA: Citing Within Your Paper (Links to an external site.)

 guide.

· Must include a separate references page that is formatted according to APA Style as outlined in the Writing Center. See the 

APA: Formatting Your References List (Links to an external site.)

 resource in the Writing Center for specifications.

Carefully review the 

Grading Rubric (Links to an external site.)

 for the criteria that will be used to evaluate your assignment.

Case Study

Metropolitan Health and Human Services

History

Metropolitan Health and Human Services (MHHS) is a mid-sized community-based health and human services organization operating in two suburbs of a large city. MHHS has been in business as at non-profit 501 (C) 3 for the past 25 years. The organization was founded by a group of three retired physicians who wanted to address some of the issues in their community. In the early years of the organization they focused on providing financial assistance to clients unable to pay for medical bills. At that time, the organization was managed and staffed by the three retired physicians who quickly realized that they were unable to fulfill their dreams for the organization without help. Within five years of its inception, the organization was incorporated with its own board of Directors and the first CEO was hired. This CEO ran the organization for the next 10 years, and grew the organization from one program to a multi-service organization.

The Mission of MHHS is provide services needed to strengthen families and communities.

The vision is to known as a major catalyst and resource for promoting family and community strengths.

Current Programs of MHHS include:

Financial Assistance: Provides financial assistance to individuals and families that have suffered a financial crisis and need assistance with paying bills. This program employs one director and one case manager and represents 5% of the budget expenses. The program is funded through federal and state grants. The program has been operating at a loss for the past five years.

Medical/Dental Clinic: Provides free preventative medical/dental services to individuals and families that are either at poverty level or experiencing a financial crisis. The clinic is staffed by volunteer physicians and dentists. This program employs one director and one case manager and represents 10% of the budget expenses. There are six active volunteers. The program is funded largely through grants and community support. The program has been breaking even for the past five years.

Transitional Housing: Provides transitional housing to formerly homeless individuals and families in community-based apartments and homes. This program employs one director and five case managers, and represents 10% of the budget expenses. The program is funded largely through federal grants. The program has been operating at a loss for the past five years.

Counseling: Provides counseling services to any individual or family needing assistance. This program employs one director and five counselors, and represents 5% of the budget expenses. The program is funded through client and insurance payments as well as payments from other programs within the organization. The program provides services to all the programs within the organization and has been operating at surplus for the past five years.

Educational Services: Provides an alternative education to adolescents unable to attend their own school due to behavioral or emotional issues. This program employs one principal, two teachers and two teacher aides and represents 5% of the budget expenses. The program is funded by tuition payments. The program was previously operating with a surplus but in the last five years it has declined and is operating at a significant loss.

Foster Care: Contracts with the State to license and provide foster care services to wards of the State. This program employs one director, 10 supervisors, 80 case managers, and 10 case aides, and represents 55% of the budget expenses. The program is funded by the State. The program is considered the “cash cow” of the organization and is operating at a surplus.

Violence Prevention Programs: The programs provided prevention education services that target the prevention of child abuse, domestic violence and sexual assault. The program employs one director and three prevention educators. They also use volunteers and interns. The program represents 10% of the budget expenses. The program is funded through State and Federal grants and some community-based fundraising. The program is operating at a surplus.

Administrative Expenses are 10% of the organizations budget expenses.

About the community:

MHHS operates in two communities and has offices in both locations. Their main headquarters is in a large middle to upper middle-class suburban community about 30 miles from the large City.

Demographics:

· White – 76%

· Asian – 15%

· Hispanic or Latino – 4%

· Black -5%

· Median Age: 35

· Median Family Income: $127,000

· Median Household Income: $109,000

· Housing Value: $378,000

· Average Contract Rent: $1,300

· Persons in Poverty: 4%

The second location for MHHS is in a neighboring, lower middle-class community about 40 miles from the City.

Demographics:

· White – 27%

· Asian – 3%

· Hispanic or Latino -40%

· Black -20%

· Median Age: 33

· Median Family Income: $50,000

· Median Household Income: $42,000

· Housing Value: $150,000

· Average Contract Rent: $900.00

· Persons in Poverty: 22%

Demographics of Clients Served:

· 30% White

· 40% Hispanic of Latino

· 28% Black

· 2% Asian

The current organizational chart for MHHS is attached.

Current Size of Organization

The organization has an operating budget of eight million dollars. The main office is located in the upper to middle-class community and houses all of the administrative staff. Some of the services provided out of this office include financial assistance and counseling.

The remaining services are provided out of the office in the second location.

A new CEO has been recently hired and has identified some of the major issues the organization is facing.

Current Issues

1. In the past 10-years the organization has changed leadership 4 times. Only one CEO has stayed longer than three years. The other three have left within one year of hire. The new CEO is the first female the organization has ever had in a leadership role.

2. The board of directors is unclear of what their role is and often gets involved in day to day issues within the organization

3. There has been a decline in funding for financial assistance the organization.

4. The Medical/Dental clinic director has difficulty getting volunteers for the program and is unable to meet the needs of the clients being referred to the program. He has stated he just does not know how to recruit physicians and dentists to work in the program.

5. A client in the transitional housing program burglarized several apartments in his building and this has created a crisis for the CEO who must now respond to the community.

6. The Educational Services Director has just been informed that the schools referring to his program will not be using their program next year as they plan to offer these services within their setting. They have asked the organization leadership to assist them in getting started.

7. The State leadership has told MHHS leadership that they can no longer use foster care surpluses to fund other programs within the organization.

8. Case load sizes for foster care workers exceed 25 clients and case workers are starting to complain that it is impossible to do an effective job even with the assistance of the case aides.

9. The Director of the Violence Prevention Programs has been very successful at raising funds for her programs due to coordinating two major special events a year. She is frustrated that the surplus money she raises is being used elsewhere in the organization.

10. The CEO believes the organization should be restructured allowing for fewer direct reports to her.

11. The organization operates in Silos with very little interaction between programs (other than the counseling program)

12. The organization relies heavily on government funding.

13. The organization is facing a budget shortfall for the second year in a row.

14. There is no training program in the organization and as a result staff in programs all do things their way rather than in a consistent manner.

15. Record keeping of client services within programs is inconsistent. There are no policies and procedures on how records should be kept nor are there forms available to staff to use when providing services to their clients.

16. The staff lacks diversity with 90% of the staff being white, 5% African American and 5% Hispanic. 75% of the staff are females yet 90% of the directors (other than the CEO) are males. There is no training on cultural diversity.

17. About 10% of the clients serve speak only Spanish and the organization does not have any Spanish speaking staff. They rely on the client’s children or other relatives to translate for them.

18. A parent of a child being served In the educational program has complained to the Principal that her child is being bullied because he is gay. The school staff are dismissing the complaint stating the child is just overly sensitive.

The organization has been provided an anonymous gift of 300,000 to address the challenges they face.

You will be selecting a project to do during the duration of this class. You can propose your own project or use one of the suggested ideas below.

Possible Project ideas:

· Reorganize/restructure the organization with a clear designation of roles and responsibilities from the top down. Include an organizational chart using a program like Pingboard. Suggest what programs might be eliminated and/or merged. Re-create vision and mission statements and suggest and justify training for each role within the organization.

· Develop a comprehensive fund development plan/program. Include how this program will be managed and led

· Develop of comprehensive training program including orientation to the organization and program specific training.

· Choose a program and develop a program specific record keeping plan with forms and explanations of how to use the forms.

· From a human services provider perspective analyze the challenges you would face in working in one of the programs in this organization. Include the program you would work in and the challenge you would face at all levels on both a professional and personal level. Develop a plan to address these challenges.

· Develop a comprehensive plan to implement culturally sensitive practices within the organization. Include in the plan a recruitment and retention strategy for a more diverse workforce.

· Suggest a project of your own based on the case study.

SERVICE LEARNING PROJECT OUTLINE AND REFERENCES 4

Service Learning Project Outline and References

University of Arizona Global Campus

Introduction

Organizations are established to serve a diverse population and this also calls for a diverse workforce in order to understand the needs and wants of the target population. It is sad and challenging when an organization is unable to maintain leaders since the same effect might be extended to employees. The more reason is that it is the environment that an organization creates that determines how effective and well employees in all levels of operation would work and the kind of attitude they would develop towards the organization. The organization management requires doing everything possible to improve the quality of working environment for the purpose of making sure that the employees who get the chance to get recruited are able to remain in the same company for longer and utilize learned skills and possessed talents. At the same time, the company management should focus on having a diverse team of workers as this is the only way diverse skills and talents can be pooled within the organization and through nurturing become better and profound.

Thesis: Having quality leaders is important as they help in making the right decision that will attain the right growth and development hence demanding need to have a comprehensive plan that will lead to effective recruitment of a diverse workforce and employee’s development.

a. Comprehensive recruitment plan

Under this section, the section shall cover some steps the company must undertake for the purpose of developing and implement a comprehensive recruitment plan that is culturally sensitive. By following these steps, the company would have the right employees that will serve the current and future needs of the company in a reliable and efficient manner. These steps are;

i. Identifying and setting goals for the recruitment process. Some of the goals to be covered are; improving diversity, empowering hiring managers to be more involved in the hiring process and improving employee retention among others.

ii. Forecasting future hiring needs

iii. Setting a budget that would support the entire recruitment process

iv. Identification of the kind of employees the company needs

v. Developing the sourcing strategy

vi. Developing the selection process

vii. Designing an onboarding process

b. Benefits of a comprehensive recruitment plan

Under this heading, the main issue under investigations is the benefits the organization is likely to experience from embracing a comprehensive recruitment plan that is culturally sensitive. Some of the points to be covered include;

· The company shall have diverse and quality employees leading to high levels of innovation and performance

· The company is able to hire employees who are in the same level and this means they are able to relate to support each other

· The company shall have improved working environment that would promote and maintain career and personal growth a situation that will lead to high employees retention

· The company shall enjoy effective management since all employees would be aware of their roles hence avoiding conflict of interest and duties

c. Maintaining a diverse workforce

This section shall analyse how to maintaining a diverse workforce after creating and maintaining culturally sensitive organizational practices. In the paper, the section shall show the specific things the company should do for the purpose of making sure that the workforce particularly is diverse and properly maintained. By so doing, the company would have a way of implementing the recommended action.

d. Promoting leadership

Under this section, the paper shall address the issue of promoting leadership among employees. This is important because it is evident leaders are leaving the organization after working for a short time from challenges in effective leadership development. Some major points include;

i. Motivating leaders through effective compensation

ii. Allowing leaders to take an active part in decision making

iii. Effective duties delegation as a way of boosting high levels of innovation and creativity

iv. Leadership training and development

v. Establishing and implementing an effective work environment.

e. Conclusion and recommendations

Wrapping up all the main points covered in the paper as well as an effective recommendation the company should embrace for the purpose of turning around the situation for the better.

References

Knapp, S. J., VandeCreek, L. D., & Fingerhut, R. (2017). 

Foundations of ethical behaviorLinks to an external site.

. In Practical ethics for psychologists: A positive approach (3rd ed., pp. 17–38).

https://doi.org/10.1037/0000036-002

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-standard

.

National Association of Social Workers. (n.d.). 

Read the code of ethicsLinks to an external site.

. Retrieved from:

https://www.socialworkers.org/About/Ethics/Code-of-Ethics/Code-of-Ethics-English

Stolt, M., Leino-Kilpi, H., Ruokonen, M., Repo, H., & Suhonen, R. (2018). 

Ethics interventions for healthcare professionals and students: A systematic reviewLinks to an external site.

. Nursing Ethics, 25(2), 133–152.

https://doi.org/10.1177/0969733017700237

SERVICE LEARNING PROJECT 2

Service Learning Project

HHS 497: Health and Human Service

In healthcare sector, it is always the desire of the management to have an effectively working organization. This is not always the case due to some challenges that comes with strategies and plans in place. The case is more challenging when the organization fails to create and maintain a capacity through which successfully recruited employees can be maintained so that they can make use of the skills the best for the benefit of the organization. Organizations offering services to a diverse population and hiring a diverse taskforce should hence have a culturally diverse culture for the purpose of embracing all people.

Service project identification

The Metropolitan Health and Human Services (MHHS) is a mid-sized community-based health and human services organizations. The nonprofit organization has been in business for the last 25 years and the facility addresses some of critical health issues affecting members of the two communities in which the organization operates. From the MHHS case study provided, it is evident there is a major challenge facing the organization in terms of leadership. One of the noted current issues by the newly hired CEO is that for the past 10 years, the organization has gone through leadership change approximately 4 times. It is challenging to note that the organization has had three leaders leaving the organization only one year after their recruitment and the one that lasted longer worked for three years.

The organization also has never had a female leader and this makes the new CEO an exception from the fact that she is female. It is evident there is a problem in retaining employees and it is important to resolve this challenge for the purpose of protecting the future of the company. There could be massive underlying factors behind high labor turnover more so on leadership positions (In J. R. Knickman & Kovner, Eds). This service project shall focus on developing a comprehensive plan to implement culturally sensitive practices within the organization. To attain quality and desirable outcomes, the comprehensive plan to include a recruitment plan as well as a retention strategy for a more diverse workforce.

Ways the project support MHHS Case Study

According to the case study, hired leaders do not last long at the organization and this means that the organization is faced with leadership changes every so often. The manner in which leaders are maintained determines the quality of working environment an organization has. MHHS is likely to have unfavorable working environment for leaders given the situation that organization directors do not seem to understand their roles and keeps on interfering with day to day employees operation which interferes with the manner in which leaders operate within the organization. Coming up with a comprehensive plan that implements culturally sensitive practices is one of the most applicable solutions (Osmosis, 2018). This is because the plan would incorporate a reliable recruitment plan that would lead to fetching eligible and reliable leaders and workforce for the organization as well as other retention strategies that will see to it that directors do not interfere with leadership roles, employees are motivated, and that rate of labor turnover is reduced.

Theoretical perspective

Leininger’s theory is an important theory more so in the healthcare sector as it claims there is no way nurses can separate worldview, cultural beliefs, and or social structure factors from health, wellness, care, and illness when working with people from different cultures because they are closely linked and integrated (McFarland, & Wehbe-Alamah, 2019). From the Leininger’s theory it is evident employees when working in a diverse taskforce are easily to resign only when they feel offended and probably their abilities underutilized. With coming up with a culturally sensitive practice means that the organization would have a general and acceptable way of working for all employees despite the cultural diversity the organization has and this would grant all employees to make use of their talents, skills, and abilities to improve on their performance something that boosts levels of innovation and satisfaction.

Conclusion and recommendation

An organization is considered as a potential employer from the manner in which it is able to maintain its employees. There are signs of danger more so when an organization recruits leaders and finds it hard to sustain them. The more reason is that such leaders’ moves to other organization with skills and competence gathered from their previous workplace. MHHS is a great organization dealing in critical health services. The fact that the organization is working in a diverse population only means and dealing with diverse workers means that the situation should be handled with care and attention (In J. R. Knickman & Kovner, Eds.). For this reason, it is highly recommendable for the organization to have cultural practices that embraces employees and clients from all cultures and the strategies to be strong enough to maintain a positive relationship. By so doing, the organization would be able to benefit from diverse competences, creativity, and support from the stakeholders a situation that would lead to growth and advancement.

References

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

McFarland, M. R., & Wehbe-Alamah, H. B. (2019). Leininger’s theory of culture care diversity and universality: An overview with a historical retrospective and a view toward the future. Journal of Transcultural Nursing, 30(6), 540-557.

Osmosis. (2018, November 13). 

Shared decision making (Links to an external site.)

 [Video file]. Retrieved from