Elizabeth B. Pearce

This chapter provides foundational concepts related to the work of human services professionals, including social welfare and how social problems affect clients and communities.Social problems, those issues that affect all of society, affect social groups differentially. The relationship of social problems to poverty and intersectionality is essential for human services professionals to understand because understanding that problems are caused by social structures and not individuals helps us to be more compassionate. This chapter provides an overview of conditions and characteristics that contribute to the environments where human services professionals work, the social problems they address, and the individuals and families they serve.

4.1.2 References

National Organization for Human Services. (2015). Ethical standards for human services professionals. https://www.nationalhumanservices.org/ethical-standards-for-hs-professionals