Copyright Goodheart-Willcox Co., Inc. 12 Unit 1 Learning About Human Services Figure 1.5 Human services careers may be found in many different settings. What other examples would you add to this chart? Examples of Where Human Services Careers May Be Found Adoption agencies Child abuse centers Children’s homes Civic groups Consumer credit agencies Cooperative extension agencies Correctional facilities Crisis centers Day care centers Early childhood programs Economic opportunity corps Elder services Elementary schools Family advocacy services Family and children’s services agencies Federal/state governments Food assistance programs Foster care agencies Halfway houses Hospitals Intervention programs Neighborhood youth corps Nursery schools/preschools Nursing homes Peace Corp Places of worship Planned Parenthood Public or private schools Publishers, educational materials Residential homes School boards Shelters Social Security offices Trade organizations Because of this diversity, workers’ job titles and daily tasks may be very different from one place to the next. These differences make tracking statistics about specific career opportunities in human services rather difficult. Depending on your education and career goals, there are a range of human services careers from which you can choose. Most human services careers fall under one or more of the following broad employment categories: • consumer services • counseling and mental health services • early childhood development and services • family and community services • personal care services • entrepreneurial careers • related services in food, clothing, and housing Consumer Services In consumer services, workers help people budget, solve fi nancial problems, and make good consumer decisions. Examples of careers in consumer services include consumer credit counselors, consumer advocates, fi nancial advisors, customer service representatives, and sales consultants. Consumer services workers are often employed in places such as fi nancial institutions, investment fi rms, credit bureaus, hospitals, and insurance companies (Figure 1.6). Consumer services workers educate their clients on how to invest, save, spend wisely, plan fi nancially, and overall make sound fi nancial decisions.