Application: Least Intrusive Treatment and Least Restrictive Environment

 

Providing human services requires a deft touch. While it is important to provide clients with ample support, they should not have to overhaul their lives completely in order to receive it. Historically, people have been more reluctant to seek human services help when they think that it will cause a disruption in their lives. To encourage people in need to seek help, human services professionals must be able to serve each client’s needs in a way that respects the client’s individuality. The key is to determine how to provide services in a way that is minimally disruptive yet most beneficial to the client’s life. For instance, a client who battles with drug addiction—depending on the severity of the problem—may be better served by participating in a structured outpatient system, rather than a more intensive residential rehabilitation center. This allows the client to get the help he or she needs while still maintaining as much independence as possible. In this case, the client can get the full benefit of treatment—a less intrusive treatment—in a less restrictive environment.

 

To prepare for this assignment:

 

• Review Chapter 5 in your course text, An Introduction to Human Services, paying particular attention to clients’ needs and perspectives, as well as the various ways in which human services clients receive help.

• Review the article, “How ‘Deserving’ are the Most Vulnerable Homeless?” Consider the effectiveness of the homeless shelter program described in the article, and whether it provides the least intrusive treatment and least restrictive environment.

• Review the article, “Transforming Mental Health Care for Children and Their Families,” paying particular attention to the minimally intrusive and minimally restrictive approaches that the Subcommittee on Children and Families recommends in providing mental health care for children.

• Review the article, “Examining How Professionals Describe the Strengths Perspective in Their Practice.” Focus on the features, principles, and purposes of the strengths perspective as discussed by the human services workers in the study, and how in turn this perspective is beneficial for client treatment.

• Read the Case Study of Dina, provided in the Learning Resources, and focus on how to determine the least intrusive treatment and least restrictive environment for a human services client such as Dina.

• Find a case based on a recent report in the local or national media, or from some other resource, that involves a person who could be helped by human services.

• Research the relevant elements of the person’s situation so that you have the information you need to consider what treatment he or she might benefit from, particularly one that is least intrusive and in the least restrictive environment. Think about how you might recommend that this person be treated and helped, given the information that you have collected from your research.

 

The assignment: (2–3 pages)

 

• Describe in sufficient detail the human services case that you have researched based on a story from the local or national media or a subsequent resource. Explain who is involved, what problem(s) he or she faces, and any other pertinent details.

• For your chosen case, provide suggestions for the least intrusive treatment and the least restrictive environment for the client. (Note: You may use the provided case study as a guide to assist you in formulating your response.)

 

Support your Application Assignment with specific references to all resources used in its preparation. You are asked to provide a reference list only for those resources not included in the Learning Resources for this course.