A National Imperative: Joining Forces to Strengthen Human Services in America (Jan 2018)

OVERVIEWOF THE HUMAN SERVICES ECOSYSTEM

Government agencies, human services community-based organizations (CBOs), and philanthropists all play a critical part in building the capacity of communities and delivering critical services to individuals in families within them. They are aided in their efforts by various other stakeholders, including regulators crafting policies and protocols, universities providing intellectual and human capital, associations facilitating collaboration and exchange of information and for-profit companies. People served by human services have a wide range of needs, as shown in Exhibit 1. We refer to the intersecting efforts of CBOs, government agencies, philanthropists, and other stakeholders to meet these needs and to deliver critical services in response as the “human services ecosystem.” In the 19th and early 20th century, governments at the local, state, and federal levels provided many of these services directly. Beginning in the 1960s, an increasing number of government agencies began outsourcing provision of these services to human services CBOs, after concluding that this approach was both more efficient and more effective. Use of contractual agreements between government and CBOs expanded dramatically in the 1980s, resulting in the current ecosystem in which both CBOs and government agencies play crucial and complementary roles in the delivery of human services.

Government policy recognizes the public good generated by providing important services and supports for lower income people, supporting the health and wellbeing of children,

Exhibit 1: Examples of services provided by the human services ecosystem

ECONOMIC AND EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY

HEALTH AND WELL BEING

SAFETY AND SECURITY

Child welfare

Employment services

Foster care and adoption services

Food and nutritional support

Job training

Criminal justice

Mental and behavioral health services

Family and community development

Legal services

Healthcare and medical services

Transition-to-Adulthood services

Housing and homelessness services

Transportation services

Substance abuse prevention and treatment

Public safety and disaster preparedness

Early childhood education

Violence and abuse prevention and support

Environmental programs

Special education programs

Early childhood and youth development

Disabilty services

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