...Integration of Advocacy and Mediation In human services one works to facilitate change. Whether it is at an administrative, policy, or individual level, human service professionals believe that change is possible and work to achieve it through advocacy and mediation. An agency who integrates advocacy and works on a national level is The Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities. Also known as the CCD the agency is based in Washington D.C. and describes their organization as follow: “The Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities is a coalition of approximately 100 national disability organizations working together to advocate for national public policy that ensures the self determination, independence, empowerment, integration and inclusion of children and adults with disabilities in all aspects of society.” The CCD has advocated for people with physical and mental disabilities of all ages. The CCD has achieved federal regulations and legislation that assures the integration of 54 million children and adults with disabilities into mainstream society. They are able to do this through researching public policy issues, developing testimony and making recommendations to policy as well as encouraging innovative solutions to public policy concerns. The CCD also educates members of Congress in the effort of improving public policy and programs that will as their website states, “foster independence, productivity, integration and inclusion of people with disabilities.” Finally...
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...approximately 3.5 million people without a home, forced to live in shelters and on the streets. Of the millions that are homeless, 1.7 million are children (PBS, 2009). Though there are many agencies and organizations available to provide what assistance they can, it is not always enough. Advocacy groups, in particular, strive to help people meet their basic human needs, such as food and shelter. For these people, advocacy can change their lives. These advocacy programs would not be possible without the support of federal funding from state and local organizations. These programs include the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Grants, Runaway and Homeless Youth Act, joint U.S. Departments of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and Veterans Affairs (VA) Supportive Housing (HUD-VASH), to name only a few. (Alliance to End Homelessness, 2011). The National Alliance to End Homelessness encourages a policy of advocacy in Congress and local government. They believe that members of Congress will be more likely to promote change if they are given to opportunity to understand how many people in their district are suffering and what can be done to stop it. The Alliance explains how advocacy can make a difference, just by calling and writing to policy makers or building relationships with them by meeting with them or inviting them to attend a program explaining the problems homeless people face every day. The Alliance works with Congress directly through meetings and organized campaigns...
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...Mediation or Conflict Resolution Processes The interviewee position as Center Coordinator/Supervisor requires her to play the role of the internal and external mediator. She plays mediator when staff members have issues that arise between them. Mediation is used with the interviewee because it allows the individuals involved to give their perspectives on the matter. During mediation the interviewee demonstrates fairness, respect, equal attention and confidentiality. This helps when a neutral party to the matter, can assist the individual in making a decision that is satisfying for all parties as a resolution to the matter at hand. Some of the issues that the interviewee serve as mediator for are child abuse or neglect, low income families that are not able to meet the needs of their children and families, language barriers, challenging behaviors of the students and encouragement of parental involvement. Each case is handled with the appropriate actions warranted for each issue respectfully, and cautiously not to overlook anything and to ensure immediate attention. The interviewee has been an advocate for over 40 years. Advocacy is important to her because children need someone to be their voice and truly loves children. Also she feels strongly about being the voice of individuals who do not understand the process of acquiring resources for needed services. The interviewee goals are to provide a smooth transition for the children from Head Start to Elementary School and...
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...Mediation and Advocacy Literature Review Alex Vasquez BSHS 442 September 21, 2011 Instructor- Barker The field of human services combines counseling, social work and psychology in one. Meditation is a step by step process in which agreements and disagreements are explored with individuals who have a conflict and try to reach an understanding of one another. A mediator is not there to create a solution but rather promote it and keep their parties engaged in problem solving. An advocate also works with clients but they side with the better half. They work with clients in order to help them negotiate on their own and also represent them during their conflicts. Linking mediation and advocacy to human services requires all three parties to be fully engaged in helping individuals. An advocate and mediator are instructed to help individuals during a conflict; this links them to human services because they are required to use their thinking skills as well as people skills to help them during their disagreements. Human service professionals are determined to find the equality in other individuals by helping them realize what the other half is expecting from the other person as well as carrying out many roles. Human services professionals negotiate just like mediators and advocates with their clients the purpose, goals, and nature of a helping relationship, all professionals are entitled to protect the client's rights by providing confidentially and maintaining a decent privacy...
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...Mediation and Advocacy Literature Review An internet search for websites that link mediation and advocacy to human services was done and multiple sites populated on the topic of mediation and advocacy. However, I decided to research three of the websites listed on the University of Phoenix Material; National ADR Organizations. The three sites I reviewed are: • Mediators: www.mediators.org • Arizona Mediation Institute: http://www.arizonamediation.com/process.php • CDR Associates: http://www.mediate.org/ Following is a summary of what I reviewed in each website and the resources linking mediation and advocacy to human services. • Mediators: This site did not provide an about us or mission statement. It is not a website that provides a service. It provides information and various articles about different categories like: child custody, child support, mediators, family law and divorce. I found the information on this site very helpful for individuals dealing with divorce. My son is going through a divorce and I was able to get some helpful information regarding child custody. The different articles provided addressed various topics relating to human services and the process to mediation. • Arizona Mediation Institute: The Arizona Mediation Institute site offers a service and an about us tab that stated they offer “an unparalleled mediation experience. By creating a mediation environment that is both approachable and professional, Arizona Mediation Institute provides...
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...advocate and mediator. Plus, I will discuss my personal philosophy and approach to advocating and mediating. When it comes to an advocate or a mediator, there may be circumstances that both advocacy and mediation may face challenges of ethical, moral and legal. Dual relationships do occur when a professional takes on the two roles and/or sequentially with someone looking for assistance. (Guthmann, Heimes, & Kolvity, n.d.). Dual relationships includes seeing an client for personal reasons and /or providing services to family or friends. Being an advocate or a mediator must always keep the relationship on a professional level. For an advocate or even a mediator to off friendship or any other things such as services or goods, is crossing the professional boundaries. (Mediation Council of Illinois, 1999). To have a duel relationship is a conflict of interest and it does cross the ethical line. Also, there is never any good that comes out of dual relationships. This is according to the Advocacy and Mediation Code of Ethics. There should also be respect when it comes to advocates and mediators and their clients. They are there to provide a service to their clients and it should always be on a professional level. There should never be dual relationships in advocacy or mediation except for a professional relationship. Mediators are there as a third party to try and help in coming up with an agreement between two parties. If the parties with a conflict agree to see a...
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...Literature Review of Medication and Advocacy Jasmina McCullers BSHA 441 June 4, 2012 Literature Review of Medication and Advocacy Abramson, H. (2005). Problem-Solving Advocacy in Mediations: A Model of Client Representation. Harvard Negotiation Law Review, 10103-134. The book provided above was constructed by Abramson Harold; this book was presented on behalf of client representation. Abramson captured a way to address problem-solving with client representation through Advocacy in Mediation. The purpose of the book is to provide a different way to solve issues among clients with whom he or she is representing. Abramson described a problem-solving mediation process which consists of a mediator and his or her position with his or her client and his or her attorneys. He also described the mediator a person who knows how to structure both side of a discussion with can help to gathered information, as well as identify issues that the client has presented as a problem. Masucci, D. (2003). The Keys to Effective Mediation Advocacy. Journal of Investment Compliance (Euromoney), 3(4), 36. Masucci article was written to address the most effective ways to mediation and advocacy stragie that may or may not work depending on the person who is presenting the stragies and wheather he or she is doing it right. Masucci also addresses how a client is pearpared for mediation and who will be the mediator of the case. Not all mediator have the same styles but the author stated that...
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...along their way. This population has to have mediation because there are many who cannot speak for themselves. They need the help from a neutral person so that they can discuss complications that they may be dealing with without judgment. Advocacy is a necessity too because that individual needs a person to stand by their side and help them fight for what is right. In todays society people only care about themselves. This hinders those that have special needs because they also need people to think about how a person with special needs can do the same task. Just because an individual has a special does not mean that they cannot do what everyone else can. Advocacy would come in at this point because they are there to be on that individuals’ side and help them. The Special Education Advocacy is located in New England. They state on their web page "I implore you to see with a child's eyes, to hear with a child's ears, and to listen with a child's heart" (Special Education Advocacy, 2009). This is a very powerful statement and draws individuals in because they want that personal experience that they are offering. For the mediation services that they offer it is stated that they have “unbiased mediation for families experiencing conflict due to family special needs responsibilities, resolution of guardianship agreements, mediate differences regarding trusts ,and wills for special needs beneficiaries” (Special Education Advocacy, 2009). Additionally they “settle custody...
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...simultaneously or sequentially with an individual seeking assistance (Guthmann, Heines, & Kolvitz, n.d.). Dual relationships include sexual intimacy with a client and (or) providing the service to a friend or relative. Within this paper an exploration of the ethical, moral, and legal challenges advocates and mediators may face regarding dual relationships will occur. A personal opinion concerning the integration of advocacy and mediation within the human services field will also be presented as well as a personal philosophy and approach to advocating and mediating within a child welfare agency setting. Challenges of Dual Relationships An advocate or mediator offering friendship or love to a client outside the purview of his or her duties, or if the exchanges goods or services with a client has occurred, indicates professional boundaries have been violated and a dual relationship has been formed (Mediation Council of Illinois, 1999). A Dual relationship is considered a conflict of interest and crosses the ethical boundaries issues set forth in most advocacy and mediation code of ethics. Advocates and mediators should respect clients’ integrity and protect the well-being of clients with whom they provide a service. When acting in accordance with their potentially influential position advocates and mediators both have the responsibility to monitor their own needs and values to avoid exploiting (to their own ends and gratification) the trust and dependency...
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...simultaneously or sequentially with an individual seeking assistance (Guthmann, Heines, & Kolvitz, n.d.). Dual relationships include sexual intimacy with a client and (or) providing the service to a friend or relative. Within this paper an exploration of the ethical, moral, and legal challenges advocates and mediators may face regarding dual relationships will occur. A personal opinion concerning the integration of advocacy and mediation within the human services field will also be presented as well as a personal philosophy and approach to advocating and mediating within a child welfare agency setting. Challenges of Dual Relationships An advocate or mediator offering friendship or love to a client outside the purview of his or her duties, or if the exchanges goods or services with a client has occurred, indicates professional boundaries have been violated and a dual relationship has been formed (Mediation Council of Illinois, 1999). A Dual relationship is considered a conflict of interest and crosses the ethical boundaries issues set forth in most advocacy and mediation code of ethics. Advocates and mediators should respect clients’ integrity and protect the well-being of clients with whom they provide a service. When acting in accordance with their potentially influential position advocates and mediators both have the responsibility to monitor their own needs and values to avoid exploiting (to their own ends and gratification) the trust and...
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...Challenges of Being an Advocate and Mediator Elizabeth Tirado BSHS/442 April 8, 2013 Linda Latson, MBA/HCM, MPA Challenges of Being an Advocate and Mediator Advocacy and mediation tend to go hand-in-hand in the human service field; but what happens when advocacy and mediation challenge one another? There are specific methods that a person can use which can relieve the stress of the ethical, moral, and legal challenges of the dual relationship between advocacy and mediation. By definition, a mediator is a third party who works with opposing sides to bring about an agreement (Merriam-Webster Dictionary, 2004). The goal of the mediator is to resolve misunderstandings between two or more parties. The mediator helps the parties involved resolve conflict, but the mediator is not the decision maker. The conflict ultimately will be resolved by the parties that are feuding. A mediator must remain neutral when in the process of mediation. Remaining neutral for a mediator can present a challenge because of his or her personal beliefs and values that do not relate with either of the feuding parties argument. When a mediator remains neutral, the mediation process is preserved. For a mediator to face the legal, moral, and ethical issues on a regular basis, the mediator must maintain a neutral ground to prevent problems from rising up in the future. The incorporation of mediators and advocates into any human service agency should be mandatory because most clients do not know...
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...BSHS 441 Week 2 Individual Assignment Literature Review of Mediation and Advocacy (UOP Course) BSHS 441 Week 2 Team Assignment Interview of a Social Service Agency Using Advocates (UOP Course) BSHS 441 Week 2 DQ 1 (UOP Course) BSHS 441 Week 2 DQ 2 (UOP Course) BSHS 441 Week 3 Individual Assignment Paper on the Challenges of Being an Advocate and Neutral Facilitator (Mediator) (UOP Course) BSHS 441 Week 3 Team Assignment Interview of a Social Service Agency on Their Use of Mediation (UOP Course) BSHS 441 Week 3 DQ 1 (UOP Course) BSHS 441 Week 3 DQ 2 (UOP Course) BSHS 441 Week 4 Individual Assignment Paper Based on Literature Review (UOP Course) BSHS 441 Week 4 Team Assignment Interview With a Social Services Lobbyist (UOP Course) BSHS 441 Week 4 DQ 1 (UOP Course) BSHS 441 Week 4 DQ 2 (UOP Course) BSHS 441 Week 5 Individual Quiz (UOP Course) BSHS 441 Week 5 Team Assignment Presentation on the Use of Mediation within an Agency Setting (UOP Course) BSHS 441 Week 5 DQ 1 (UOP Course) BSHS 441 Week 5 DQ 2 (UOP Course) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ BSHS 441 Week 1 DQ 1 For more course tutorials visit www.tutorialrank.com Define the following terms and describe the role of the human services worker in regard to each function; provide an example of how each might be used: o Advocacy o Mediation o Arbitration o Mediation-arbitration ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ ...
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...Services) Laronda Thomas-Smith, BSHS/441 August 2, 2014 Marie Peoples, Ph.D University of Phoenix A Social Service Agency is responsible for planning, implementing, and operating social service programs in the community. The Social Service Agency provides human welfare and social work. Our team researched The Department of Human Services role of social services and used of mediation. The Department of Human Services is a large agency that helps millions of individuals daily. The mission of the Department of Human Services is to assist low-income individuals and families to maximize their potential for economic security and self-sufficiency (Department of Human Services, 2012). Under the Department of Human Services, is Family Services? This department has numerous agencies that provide protection, intervention, and social services to meet individual needs (Department of Human Services, 2012). As a team, we will compare and contrast the roles of mediator and advocate by describing the power limitations of each role, discuss under what circumstances an advocate is used during mediation, and which role is most critical to problem solving. The team will discuss the mediator bias, limitations of the mediator, scope of power, conflict of interest, confidentiality, mediator neutrality and impartially. ~”The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others.”~(Mahatma Ghandi, 1869-1948). Power Limitations of Each Role There are limits to everything...
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...the human services field. Advocacy and Mediation require a person to remain neutral in order to help individuals resolve their issues. The roles of advocates and mediators also come with limitations which if not followed, could lead them to have serious legal problems. In this essay the writer will present the ethical, moral and legal issues that an advocate faces as well as their own opinion of advocacy and meditation integration. In addition the writer will also present their personal philosophy and individual approach to advocating for adult probation. Being an advocate can present ethical, moral and legal issues, ethical issues are presented everywhere within advocacy. Those advocates have the ethical responsibility to act with integrity and honesty. Advocates have the moral obligation to help clients and social causes. The most difficult task in their assignments is the legal and ethical limitations they face when taking on their cases. Some of the most stringent limitations include laws regarding defamation or even hate crimes. These hate crimes are not only present in relation to racisms. A rise in hate crimes has been seen towards and in relation with same-sex marriages. These advocates are faced with the difficult task of protecting these people from hate crimes and must at the same time uphold their ethical and moral obligation to their clients regardless of their own personal beliefs (Barsky, 2007). The integration of advocacy and mediation plays a crucial role within...
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...441 Week 2 DQ 2-1.doc BSHS 441 Week 2 Individual Assignment Literature Review of Mediation and Advocacy-1.doc BSHS 441 Week 2 Team Assignment Interview of a Social Service Agency Using Advocates-2.doc BSHS 441 Week 3 DQ 1-1.doc BSHS 441 Week 3 DQ 2-1.doc BSHS 441 Week 3 Individual Assignment Paper on the Challenges.doc BSHS 441 Week 3 Team Assignment Interview of a Social Service Agency on Their Use of Mediation-1.doc BSHS 441 Week 4 DQ 1-1.doc BSHS 441 Week 4 DQ 2-1.doc BSHS 441 Week 4 Individual Assignment Paper Based on Literature Review-1.doc BSHS 441 Week 4 Team Assignment Interview With a Social Services Lobbyist 1-1.doc BSHS 441 Week 5 DQ 1-1.doc BSHS 441 Week 5 DQ 2-1.doc BSHS 441 Week 5 Team Assignment Presentation on the Use of Mediation within an Agency Setting-1.pptx General Questions - General General Questions BSHS 441 Week 1 Individual Assignment Paper on a Specific Population and the Advocate Role BSHS 441 Week 2 Individual Assignment Literature Review of Mediation and Advocacy BSHS 441 Week 2 Learning Team Assignment Interview of a Social Service Agency Using Advocates BSHS 441 Week 3 Individual Assignment Paper on the Challenges of Being an Advocate and Neutral Facilitator (Mediator) BSHS 441 Week 3 Learning Team Assignment Interview of a Social Service Agency on Their Use of Mediation BSHS 441 Week 4 Individual Assignment Quiz on Concepts and Terms BSHS...
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