Human Services Professionals: Case Study

Resource Management. In The Guidebook for Human Services Professionals, competent resource management requires effectiveness in maintaining operations of the many aspects of an organization—including human resources, finances, and information technology—ensuring “transparency, protection and accountability” (Hassan & Wimpfheimer, 2016, p. 2). While the specifics of this competency shifts based on the mission of the organization and needs of the service population, effective resource management helps to minimize the risk of breaking laws, breaching ethics, maintaining productivity and sustaining satisfaction of both clients and staff. The competency can also inform a more data-driven approach to social work management; using data to foster

Human service managers are encouraged to be informed through the use of data to improve social service delivery, create innovative solutions to social problems and to be fiscally accountable (Lewin, S., et al., 2015, Liebman, J. 2013, Padgett, D. K., 2016, Sheldon, T. A., 2005). According to Head (2015), the “variation in the capacity of public agencies to access and use expert evidence and research-based studies is wide.” It can be argued that the data is not always accessible or communicated clearly to human service providers or consumers. Furthermore, a majority of the community lacks the capacity to understand data or what impact the decisions made for them mean. Sheldon (2005) notes the complexity of management and the evidence-based process knowledge needed by policy makers, researchers and service consumers to be better

The competencies delineated under the domain of resource management list the intellectual skills that provide a clear perspective on the organization in its environment and are essential to possessing the capacity to think and act strategically (Hassan & Wimpfheimer, 2016). Dr. McGhee realized the multiple competing priorities of social work managers have to improve social service delivery, create innovative solutions to social problems and to be fiscally accountable all the while implementing programming with fidelity is challenging. Also, she was made aware of shifts in the importance of funding evaluation and the development of evidenced-based practices and the havoc it can cause when it came to human service managers having a clear perspective of the organization in its environment. Dr. McGhee posited during discussions with her mentor how at times too much or too little access to data without the proper framework or context reduces the social work manager’s ability to operate strategically. Dr. McGhee believes in the development of community capacity in understanding data and the human service manager’s role in using data to inform the area of resource