The DSHS or Department of Social and Health Services is a branch of the United States federal government tasked with providing essential health services and improving Americans' health. The DHSH headquarters are in Washington DC, and the agency is governed by the Secretary of Health and Human Services, who is currently Cheryl Strange (DSHS, 2020). The agency has more than fifty thousand employees and is allocated an annual budget of about 1 trillion dollars. The DSHS working with other agencies such as the FDA (Food and Drug Administration) and National Institutes of Health oversees various health programs aimed at improving the wellbeing of Americans through awareness creation.
Mission Values and Vision
According to the DSHS website, the agency's overall mission is to transform lives (DSHS, 2020). The DSHS also aims to provide support to the elderly and disabled. The DHSH also offers behavioral health support and economic service administration. According to the DSHS website, the agency's mission also encompasses the transformation of lives by promoting independence, safety, and choice through innovation. The agency also aims to transform lives by supporting Americans' sustainable recovery and wellness by empowering people and families to thrive. The DSHS has been specifically crucial in its efforts during the current Covid-19 pandemic.
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The values include upholding honesty and integrity, which are vital in delivering proper social and health services. The DSHS also values excellence in communication during awareness creation in various programs, which is crucial to ensure effective health support. The agency aims to achieve inclusion and diversity in its service delivery by implementing an unbiased approach during the coordination of various programs. The DSHS is also committed to delivering health services to communities and receiving adequate federal government funding to fulfill its mandate. The vision of the DSHS is aimed at prioritizing people's health, safety, and wellbeing.
Problems Addressed by The DHSH
Social problems are often relative to health issues. The main issues the DSHS addresses concern housing, food, safety, employment, drug, and substance abuse (Popay et al., 2007). The DSHS website provides an avenue for reporting abuse on children and adults. Abuse is a prevalent and significant problem in the US, especially among families with a history of drug and substance abuse. The DSHS ensures reported cases are mitigated through legal interventions where offenders are prosecuted and victims such as children are relocated. According to statistics, about 20 people are abused by an intimate partner in the United States every minute. Statistics also reveal that one out of four women in the United States is a victim of physical violence and domestic abuse.
Abuse mostly constitutes violent acts and mistreatment of children, older adults, and intimate partners. Family violence is a significant challenge in the US, and the DSHS plays a substantial role in ensuring families maintain safety principles following the law. Family violence affects more than ten million people in the US every year (Huecker, 2020). Abuse is a challenge because children from such families tend to repeat the cycle of abusive and violent behaviors in their adulthood ( Woollett, 2016 ). Therefore, the DSHS monitors and mitigates cases of abuse and violence by apprehending offenders and relocating children to better homes. Domestic abuse also comprises other forms of abuse, such as economic and sexual, which significantly impact children in their adulthood.
Abuse is a significant issue that the DSHS seeks to address, and it is a substantial issue in the US. Statistics also reveal that one out of five women has been raped in their lifetime, and women constitute the most vulnerable group affected by abuse (NCADV, 2020). Abuse takes both an emotional and physical toll on the victims leading to a significant economic impact on the government and individuals. The estimated national financial cost of domestic abuse in the US is about 12 billion each year, which points out the prevalence of abuse. The DSHS focuses on cases of abuse because it constitutes a large portion of social challenges today. The DSHS website recommends victims of abuse to report instances online. Cases reported undergo screening and ensure to maintain confidentiality and anonymity of the victims.
Funding and Social Work Programs
The DSHS is primarily funded by the US government and coordinates various programs to fulfill its mission of transforming lives. Some of the programs managed by the DSHS include family planning, housing, medical assistance, refugee assistance, child support, and assistance to people living with disabilities. The program for the aged and disables is funded by the states and aims to transform lives by providing financial aid and housing. The people eligible for this program include people above the age of 65 with a low-income status and the disabled (DSHS, 2020). The aged and disabled program offers up to 197 dollars to individuals and 248 to married couples. One must be above the age of 18 and have a long-term medical condition that meets federal criteria for disability to be granted support by the DSHS through the aged and disabled program.
The child support services program provides financial assistance to parents who have legal custody of minors. The criteria for eligibility excluded people receiving support from other states and also parents without custodial rights. The DSHS also oversees emergency programs in eviction, homelessness, medical emergencies and pregnancy. Emergency food assistance is offered to people with little financial ability to afford food, housing, and utility needs. Through the family planning services program, the DSHS supports birth control to women and men through the provision of contraception pills, condoms, vaginal rings, vasectomy services, and contraceptive implants.
The role of social workers in the DSHS is to fulfill the agency's mandate by advocating for the rights of Americans and providing essential social and medical services. Through the various programs offered by the DSHS, social workers ensure that Americans enjoy their rights and freedoms as stipulated by the law. Social workers also coordinate and organize community programs that contribute to economic development. Social workers are currently crucial during the Covid-19 pandemic, where they work together with other agencies such as the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) to create awareness about preventative measures. Social workers also follow up on communities to ensure the risk of new infections is minimized.
Social workers have also played a significant role in contact tracing efforts during the Covid-19 pandemic and providing information to the government on overall community health. Social workers aid the budgeting process of health programs and initiatives. Social workers also alert the public about various health updates and precautionary measures relating to Covid-19. The DSHS website offers a lot of information about Covid-19, including what people should do if they get infected, testing, symptoms, preventative measures, and how the disease spreads. According to the DSHS website, high-risk individuals include older adults with underlying medical conditions (Texas DSHS, 2020). The DSHS recommends that high-risk individuals seek immediate medical assistance if they develop a fever and other Covid-19 symptoms such as fatigue and headaches.
The DSHS identifies Covid-19 symptoms such as diarrhea, nausea and vomiting, muscle aches, runny nose, chills, and sore throat. The preventative recommendations provided by DSHS include regular hand washing, social distancing, wearing face masks, disinfection of surfaces, and refraining from touching one's eyes, mouth and nose before washing hands. According to DSHS, once a person has gone to the doctor after presenting symptoms, the doctor should help the patient decide on testing for possible Covid-19 infection. The DSHS also states that patients without medical insurance can also get testes after a health professional's recommendation. The DSHS points out that Covid-19 spreads through contact with infected persons or surfaces and states that the disease can also be spread by people not presenting symptoms.
Major Strengths of The DSHS
Social work is crucial to ensure families are safe and healthy, which significantly contributes to economic development. The DSHS works with other agencies to ensure lives are transformed positively through effective social and health services. Social work encompasses food, housing, and care, which are essential to improving Americans' wellbeing. The major strengths of the DSHS include the mitigation of abuse and the support of aged and disabled persons. The DSHS ensures inclusivity in their service delivery approaches and provides support through their website, available in multiple languages such as English, Chinese, Spanish, Russian, and Korean. The DSHS also offers mental health and addiction services by coordinating how patients are admitted and managed.
There are various factors that impact community health, and the role of the DSHS is to assess these factors and provide strategies to manage the community's health needs. The DSHS determines the appropriate resources needed to address different community health issues and uses a strategic approach to achieve it. The DSHS executes various social and health programs, depending on the community needs leveraging technology to conduct community research monitoring and analysis. The process of improvement focuses on rehabilitation, housing, financial support, and child support services. The process of community health improvement involves planning, financial support by the state, and execution by the DSHS. Therefore, the DSHS has an overall objective of ensuring quality care in the community.
References
DSHS. (2020). About Us. Retrieved from https://www.dshs.wa.gov/about-us?banner_hide=1
DSHS. (2020). Economic Services Administration: Services We Offer. Retrieved from https://www.dshs.wa.gov/esa/community-services-offices/services-we-offer
DSHS. (2020). Meet Our Leadership. Retrieved October 12, 2020, from https://www.dshs.wa.gov/office-of-the-secretary/meet-our-leadership
Huecker, M. (2020, June 26). Domestic Violence. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK499891/
NCADV. (2020). NCADV: National Coalition Against Domestic Violence. Retrieved from https://ncadv.org/STATISTICS
Popay, J., Kowarzik, U., Mallinson, S., Mackian, S., & Barker, J. (2007, November). Social problems, primary care and pathways to help and support: Addressing health inequalities at the individual level. Part I: The GP perspective. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2465599/
Texas DSHS. (2020). Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). Retrieved from https://www.dshs.state.tx.us/coronavirus/
Woollett, N., & Thomson, K. (2016). Understanding the intergenerational transmission of violence. SAMJ: South African Medical Journal , 106 (11), 1068-1070.
