TU: New FSCJ program to fill community needs

Times-Union

http://jacksonville.com/jobs/job-seeker/2016-01-15/story/new-fscj-program-fill-community-needs

In May, Sharon Hoose will have a whole new world in front of her.

That’s how the Hilliard resident says she will feel upon receiving a Bachelor of Science degree in human services from Florida State College at Jacksonville.

Hoose will be among the first students to complete the new program, which school officials say was created to help fill an employment void in the community; some of her classmates graduated in December.

The human services program is for students who want to be social and community service managers or counselors.

They will work for agencies and organizations that serve people with developmental disabilities, mental illness or chemical dependency; victims of crime; individuals and families in crisis; and the elderly.

The program also prepares baccalaureate students for graduate-level human services degree curriculums.

“I’ve always wanted to be a part of helping people that are in need,” Hoose said.

An academic advisor at the college for 16 years, Hoose is interning as a child protection investigator with the Florida Department of Children and Families. Upon graduation, she hopes to continue to work with DCF.

“There are so many opportunities out there for people with this degree, but DCF has a program where they pay for a master’s degree,” she said.

FSCJ Associate Dean Dave Garner said the college began contemplating adding human services to its bachelor’s degree offerings in 2010 during its annual review of regional workforce needs.

The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity estimates that the program could help fill about 90 Duval County jobs each year.

Leaders of each of Jacksonville’s colleges and universities participated in the program’s development after determining the offering would not be duplicative.

Meanwhile, representatives of River Region Health and Human Services, Clara White Mission and Hubbard House also signed up as industry partners.

The program has expanded from about 25 students to more than 170 — and counting — since beginning in 2014.

“It comes down to filling a need in the community,” Garner said.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that health care and social assistance are expected to become the nation’s largest employment sector by 2024, overtaking the state and local government sector professional and business services sector.

“We are seeing more integration of services and what we call wraparound services, partially due to the Affordable Care Act’s implementation,” said FSCJ sociology professor Rebecca Ford.

In its marketing information about the human service degree program, FSCJ states that candidates for the degree need compassion, understanding, patience and a willingness to serve.

“You have to be very empathetic and you have to be able to entertain boundaries,” Ford said, but “it’s very easy to experience burnout.”

Human services graduates also are problem solvers who tend to become involved in ensuring that proper policies are in place, she said.

Hoose said some life changes — a recent divorce and her children growing up — fueled her choice to return to college to pursue her career dream.

“I just decided it was time to do what I wanted to do,” she said. “When (the human services program) became available, it seemed like a perfect fit for me.”

For most of the last two years, Hoose fit a full load — five classes at a time — around her work schedule. Now, she has one class and her internship left to complete.

Hoose points out that it wasn’t until she began working in the field as an intern that she fully appreciated the value of what she learned in the classroom.

“It all kind of fell into place,” she said. “As far as being prepared, I’m right up there with master’s degree students (participating in internships). That’s because the professors are amazing.”

Garner, meanwhile said FSCJ is seeking additional agencies and organizations to serve as industry partners by providing internships to candidates for graduation.

To learn more about the FSCJ human services degree program, visit www.fscj.edu; e-mail bs.humanservices@fscj.edu; or (904) 766-6705.