SOC 464 Working in the Helping Professions
This course provides a general overview of the human services profession. Students are introduced to the history of the human services profession, the types of careers in these professions, credentialing requirements, the characteristics needed to be an effective human services professional, and the various ethical standards that guide professionals in their decision-making.
Students will learn about theoretical perspectives used in human services professions and social welfare legislation and policies that affect people and communities. They will then analyze a major social problem impacting a specific population of their choice (for example, children in public schools, child welfare, elderly, faith-based, Native American Tribes) through the development of basic interview skills as a human service professional. By interviewing a human service professional of interest, students will examine and evaluate their interviewing skills, as well as their assumptions and personal attitudes toward the social problem.