Mediation and Human Services Lobbyist

Throughout the past five weeks we as a learning team have gathered and learned a huge amount about the use of Mediation within an agency scene. Our team has collected and gathered a number of Internet websites to use as resources together with assorted interviews with social agencies. Our findings have concluded summaries about the future of the mediation and advocacy in this country and the role of human services workers in these processes. The future of mediation and advocacy in this country may very well depend on funding, policies, and initiatives. The future of advocacy, mediation and the role of the human services worker depend on education, experience, and once again funding. Many Human Services agencies depend on Government Grants, donations and someone who can assist these agencies in gaining access to such funding and that would be a Human Services Lobbyist. A Human Services Lobbyist advises agencies, by monitoring regulatory policies and initiatives and also assists client agencies with funding. Team C interviewed a Human Services Lobbyist in week four of this class. Through this interview, Team V was able to ask this Lobbyist a multitude of questions to find out exactly what is the expected outcome. David (the interviewee) articulated to his interviewer (Bob) what his expectations of his position was in comparison to what he does and it matched well, according to David. According to David, issues with funding may become more complex in the future, due to societal changes and the need to expand “the safety net” to more people. David states that the future will hold new challenges that need to be addressed and funding is a large part of addressing those challenges. As Human Service Workers, it is our responsibility that our communities get the services they need. In order for everyone to be able to take advantage of services, it is up to our lobbyists to assist agencies to gain funding, at that time it is up to the agencies to

References: Barsky, A. E. (2007). Conflict Resolution for the helping professions (2nd ed.). CH 6 p 233. Belmont, CA: Thomas Learning. Commercial and Medical Dispute Solutions (2009). Retrieved on September 24, 2009, from http://www.cmds.org.uk/