The Illinois Department of Human Services is an agency that is keen on providing some services to the residents of Illinois with the aim of getting them out of poverty and other challenges that arise from economic instability of its beneficiaries. It aligns itself with some of the human rights that are common in most countries from around the world such as enjoying social security and co- operation and even work (Declaration of Human Rights). Some of the people the agency helps suffer from health challenges and disabilities that stand in their way in their quest to achieve economic stability.
Part 1
Core Values
Diversity
The Illinois Department of Human Services has embraced diversity as seen through the people the agency serves, those they work with and its employees. All of them are drawn from diverse ethnic groups, religious affiliations, and even ages.
Efficiency
The agency has employed over 13, 000 employees whose job is to serve all those who seek economic assistance. The agency also wishes that its customers get back to their feet as soon as possible so that they can enjoy economic independence.
Service to humanity
The agency understands the problems and challenges that average Americans face and it is for that reason that it works towards helping individuals, families, and communities achieve self- sufficiency and independence.
The agency prides itself on the core values as mentioned earlier which indeed are aligned with advocacy, leadership, and social change. That is especially true considering that the agency seeks to help alleviate poverty by helping Americans work towards achieving the American dream. Regarding leadership, it is evident the organization borrows from James Burn’s ideology on how people can be moved towards purposeful action through making them realize what they ought to do with their lives (Grabber, 2008). It is against this backdrop that the agency works towards helping people have a purpose in life and go forth and work towards making their lives better because it is their mandate to support any effort made towards achieving financial freedom. The core values embraced by the Illinois Department of Human Services contribute positively towards the well- being of individuals, groups, societies and even the international community for the simple reason that they focus on making life better for the poor, sick and homeless through the help of others. Consumers are expected to receive services that are timely and accurate, and this agency works towards doing exactly that. It is due to that fact that there are sufficient employees who work towards achieving the mission and vision of the organization.
Part 2
Mission
The mission of The Illinois Department of Human Services is to provide seamless and integrated services to its customers so as to have individuals, families, and communities achieve good health, economic independence as well as maximum self- sufficiency. More than anything, the organization respects the autonomy and independence of all American citizens, and it is due to that, that every customer is treated with utmost respect and is allowed room to reinvent themselves on their path to economic independence. All the partners involved in the provision of services are encouraged to be innovative and collaborative enough so as to offer services that suit the needs and expectations of individual customers. That is done in such a way that focus is put on serving people while upholding integrity and complying with the policies and regulations upon which the agency is founded (Hemmelgarn & Basso, 2016). Indeed, the mission statement of The Illinois Department of Human Services is focused on alleviating poverty and getting their customers out of overdependence on social services. It is no doubt that this is entirely aligned with its core values of diversity, efficiency, and service to humanity. There may never be a better way of serving humanity other than helping people achieve economic and financial freedom and get away from debts and poverty. The mission statement of this agency promotes advocacy, leadership, and social change through its aim of reducing poverty and helping people get on their feet, at least financially. In its mission statement, it is clear that the agency’s work is aimed at changing the lives of poor Americans for the better, at the same time, it works collaboratively with its employees, providers, and donors for efficiency and service delivery and through that it promotes efficiency and diversity. The mission statement does give evidence of how the agency contributes to the well- being of individuals, groups, communities and the wider society because it categorically states that it works towards helping families and individuals and poverty reduction.
Part 3
The agency looks forward to seeing the poor and marginalized in society earn a livelihood and become economically empowered and stand on their own and charter their future. It is in the spirit of achieving financial freedom and independence that the agency draws its vision and inspiration. Its vision is largely influenced by the core values of the agency. The state’s residents are given an opportunity to find footing and direction so that they can achieve economic stability. The agency aims at helping all people regardless of their religious, political, ethnic background. It aims at serving them with efficiency and ensuring that all humanity benefit. The vision of the agency promotes advocacy, leadership as well as social change. That is especially true considering that the poor, sick, disabled and the marginalized get specialized attention geared towards making their lives better. Emphasis is also put on the desire to have all Americans lead a good and decent life and that the agency provides the means to achieve that. The vision provides evidence that the agency contributes to the general well- being of an individual, groups of people, communities, and even the international community. The vision aligns itself with the millennium development goal of alleviating poverty and making the world a better place for humanity. The target of the agency is to have the poor and the marginalized get help as seen through its goals and purpose.
Part 4
The key stakeholders involved in the agency are the customers who are the recipients of the services offered, the providers who may wish to partner with the agency to provide the much to the customers, the government and the employees who all work together to ensure the agency meets its mission. All the stakeholders play a critical role that ensures smooth operations as well as helping people get out of welfare. The stakeholders are divided into two groups, internal and external ones. The internal stakeholders are the employees of the agency, government and donors or providers. The external stakeholders, on the other hand, are the recipients of the services of the agency and in this case, they are the poor, persons with disabilities, the sick and all the customers who seek the services of the agency. Each stakeholder plays a critical role in ensuring the agency meets its goals, mission, and vision. The employees who entail the leadership/ or management and other employees put their time and effort to ensure the smooth running of the agency, the government provides the funds, providers give donations and grants while the customers are the recipients of the services rendered. All the stakeholders are an essential element for collecting information to develop the strategic plan for the agency. From the inside, the leadership or management can sieve through the agency’s way of working to know what works and that which that does not so as to come up with better ways of implement the core values and mission. The employees can provide valuable information because they are the hands- on people who run the day to day activities of the agency. On the other hand, the government can audit the activities and expenditures of the agency so as to know what works better than the other. The providers on their part can interact with the customers and employees to get information on the viability of the everyday move the agency makes while the customers will serve as the litmus paper that will be used to gauge whether the activities of the agency are worth the effort, time and monetary value.
References
Blokdijk, G. (2008). Availability Management Best Practice Handbook: Building, Running, Running and Managing Effective Availability Management - Ready to Use Supporting Documents Bringing Itil Theory Into Practice. Melbourne: Emereo Publishing
Graber, D. R. (2008). Establishing Value- Based Leadership and Value systems in Healthcare Organizations. Jstor. Vol. 31, No. 2 (179- 197).
Hemmelgarn, A. & Basso, P. (2016). Joining Forces: A Crosswalk of the Human Services Value Curve with organizational Culture and Climate. Policy and Practice.24- 24.
Universal Declaration of Human Rights. PDF File
