The area of Human and Social Services is about helping people help themselves. The profession serves as a link between individuals, their environments, and the various services available to them for reaching their social, emotional, economic, and educational potential.

Human and social service (HSS) workers assess clients' needs and provide direct and indirect client services such as case management and coping with personal, family, and community difficulties; and implementing service plans that coordinate agencies and community resources to best meet the needs of individuals and families.

A graduate of MTC’s Human and Social Services program will be awarded the Associate of Applied Science degree. These graduates are well prepared to gain entry-level positions within the social services field.

Courses in MTC’s Human and Social Services Program will provide you with a foundation of knowledge and skills in social work, psychology, cultural diversity, psychopathology, interviewing techniques and active listening, counseling skills, social service law, group process, case management, and substance abuse treatment and prevention. Human service electives include courses in chemical dependency, aging, crises intervention, juvenile delinquency, correctional rehabilitation programming, orientation to deafness, dealing with loss, and CPR.

All students participate in practicum field experiences, 280 hours of supervised experience in a variety of social service agencies. Practicum field experiences allow you to:

Graduates of MTC's Human and Social Services curriculum are primed to enter one of the fastest growing employment areas, according to the U.S. Department of Labor.

Recent labor market projections show a national increase in job opportunities for human and social service assistants of more than 36 percent through the year 2010. Ohio projects an increase of 48 percent through 2010, making this field one of the state’s fastest growing.

In 2000, nearly 271,000 individuals were employed in the U.S. as Human and Social Services Assistants, a key entry position in the broader social services career field. Half of these people worked for private human services agencies while another 25 percent were employed by state and/or local government agencies.

To support this type of occupational diversity, the HSS Program at MTC offers two crosstraining tracks: Corrections and Chemical Dependency. Each track consists of specific courses that better prepare individuals to pursue jobs in prisons, the courts systems, half-way houses, juvenile treatment and/or detention centers, chemical dependency treatment programs, or other arenas.

Additionally, MTC’s HSS Program is specially structured as a ‘‘stepping stone’’ to further education and professional development. Several courses serve as refresher and ‘‘new skills’’ training for human service professionals already in the field. The College also works closely with select colleges and universities to provide transfer options into Social Work bachelor's degree programs where MTC graduates begin advanced training with full junior status.

To be admitted into the Human and Social Services associate degree program at MTC, you must complete the following admission criteria: