Barriers Faced by Human Service Workers Essay

â€Å"Only a life lived for others is a life worthwhile. † – Albert Einstein Human service workers act as a liaison between clients in need and the agencies clients seek to obtain help from, and while human service workers strive to provide services in an adequate and timely manner this is not always possible. Human service workers are human therefore there can be a large margin of error. All human service agencies are subject to barriers that prevent perfect service from being rendered. While certain barriers do exist in the human service field improvements can be made that can lead to greater service. In today’s society technology is dominating the workforce causing former work methods to become obsolete. While technology is constantly changing the changes made are often for the better, allowing companies to thrive and overcome existing barriers once faced. Technology not only benefits â€Å"business† companies, but also greatly improves the barriers faced by human service workers. One potential barrier that human service agencies can face is falsification on company records. Falsification of records can prove fatal, especially in Child or Elder Protection cases. While falsification of records may not be the human service workers intention it can indeed be committed when time restraints prevent case workers from visiting their clients in a given time frame. In August 2006 lack of time and falsification of records proved fatal for 14 year old Danieal Kelley of Philadelphia, Pa. Danieal Kelley a then 14 year old cerebral palsy victim died from neglect at the hands of her own mother. The nightmare of forced starvation and infection that killed Danieal while under the protection of the city’s human service agency is documented in a 258 page grand jury report that charges nine people, her parents, four social workers, and three family friends- in her ghastly death† (CBS3,2008). In the case of Danieal Kelley â€Å"the department of Human Services received at least five reports of Danieal being mistreated between 2003 and 2005†(CBS3, 2008), and while social workers were assigned to Daniela’s case, none appeared to follow through. According to CBS3 news it’s suspected that after Danieal’s death Mickal Kamuvaka the company director of the agency in charge of Daniela’s case held a â€Å"forgery fest† in her office where she had employees â€Å"concoct almost a year’s worth of false progress reports†(CBS3, 2008). The fact that no one took time to protect Danieal sheds light on the terrible fact that â€Å"some† social workers falsify documents to protect themselves. In order to prevent future case like Danieal’s its imperative that a system be in place to prevent social workers from simply doctoring records when it’s convenient for them. A method that could be used to track the whereabouts of said social workers could be a G. P. S. Agencies could provide social workers who are required to make home visits with cell phones implanted with G. P. S. systems. The tracking system could be used while the social workers are on the clock to ensure that home visits are indeed being made within the required time frame. This tracking system could prevent workers from falsifying documentation because their whereabouts would be known ahead of time. An online G. P. S. racking system called World Tracker Web GPS (webgpstrack), which allows devices to be tracked through internet access. According to Mobile GPs online, â€Å"Web GPS Track is a self contained hardware and software package that allows a user to track his assets from anywhere through an internet connected PC† (Mobile GPs, 2008). The Web GPS Tracker works by using the world tracker and a SIM card from a local GSM wireless network carrier. Once the SIM card is inserted into a cell phone, GPS tracking can begin. One’s location can then be accessed by using platforms such as Google maps. This small device can be a very helpful tool in the human service field when it’s necessary to obtain truthful information about a workers true whereabouts. Web GPS Track can become expensive depending on the number of units needed for a given agency. The cost includes a onetime purchase fee of the World Tracker unit which is $350 each. An additional on time subscription fee of 99. 89 per unit is needed to activate the account. Additional fees include a monthly service fee of 19. 98 per unit, a onetime SIM card fee ranging between $25 and $ 50, and any SMS service fee charged by a local service provider. While the cost of GPS tracking can be expensive, it can prove beneficial when proper records are needed, and it may save an agency from facing a large lawsuit because of false documentation, it could also prevent another case of Danieal Kelley. Another potential barrier faced by human service agencies is Intellectual Property Theft. â€Å"Intellectual property is anything from names, images, symbols, and designs used in commerce, intellectual property is considered a valuable asset and most organizations have protected their intellectual property from infringement by others† (Hefter,1995). Intellectual property theft becomes possible when secure information is left unattended and within reach of possible culprits. Some ways that intellectual property may get out is through emails sent to incorrect recipients, when confidential information is left in common areas, or left laying on printers or scanners. Information can also be lost when employees speak on their cell phones in public areas. Intellectual property theft in the human service field can wreak havoc on clients. Personal information can fall into the wrong hands whether it in a domestic violence shelter or and employment shelter. While intellectual property theft is very serious solutions exist that can help combat Intellectual Property Theft. Aside from agencies limiting access to non business related websites to help prevent being hacked, a program called Symantec Data Loss Prevention which is used by leading technological companies can also be used as a safety measure. â€Å"Symantec Data Loss Prevention protects companies from malicious employee behavior, pirating, or accidental leaks that expose confidential information† (Symantec Security, 2008). Symantec Data Loss Prevention works by â€Å"1. Discovery; the software finds confidential data where ever it’s stored, creates an inventory of sensitive, and automatically manages data clean up. 2. Monitor; SDLP helps a company understand how confidential information is being used whether the user is on or off the cooperate network, and gain enterprise visibility. 3. Protect; SDLP helps companies gain visibility into policy violations to proactively secure data and preventing confidential data from leaving an organization.   4.  Manage; SDLP helps companies define universal policies across an enterprise, remediate and report incidents, and detect content accurately within one unified platform† (Symantec Security, 2008). A program offered by Symantec is Norton Internet Security which performs the necessary features above. The cost of the Norton software is fairly inexpensive costing 69. 99. This cost allows a computer to be fully protected for a year before needing to renew the software subscription. Norton is inexpensive software which will help rotect company files and serves as a valuable investment, whether in a corperate office or a human service agency. Another potential barrier faced by human service agencies is the loss of data. As technology becomes more prevalent in the workforce more records are being transferred from paper to computers. As with any form of technology the possibility of records being lost is very real if computers crash or other technological difficulties arise. The best way to protect data is to always backup files. A number of technological software exist that can do this. For agencies using windows, â€Å"The windows server backup software can be used to automatically and continuously backup a number of devices like NAS,CD/DVD, hard drive and tapes† (Computer Customizing, 2008). One form of windows backup software is Acronis True Image which creates a replica of the disk image of the windows server. According to Computer Customizing this backup software helps aid in server disaster recovery by creating backups on a number of media, SAN volumes, and NAS. This software also restores huge databases and all the individual files with instant bare metal restore (Computer Customizing, 2008). This software will help protect all important files preventing valuable files from being lost. Human service workers and human service agencies are bound to face barriers on any given day and while this is an unavoidable truth there are solutions that can allow for a faster paced, safer, and more ethical workplace. While the vast majority of services rendered by human service agencies are completed by hard working human beings, technology is paving the road for a more effective work environment as long as agencies properly utilize the technological tools that are becoming available at a lightning fast rate. Technology is the way of the future and needs to be embraced in order to keep up with the times and not get lost in an overflow of paperwork which distracts from the true purpose of a human service worker which is to be an advocate for those in need.