A call to public service in the 21st century.

When President John F. Kennedy urged Americans to "Ask not what your country can do for you; ask what you can do for your country," millions of young people answered the call by joining Peace Corps, VISTA and government service. The influx of the college-educated, energetic, idealistic baby boomers of the 1960s and 1970s changed the face of social services for the last half of the 20th century. Today, those same boomers are beginning to leave government service for retirement and their impact will, once again, dramatically alter public human services.

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Some estimates put retirements at 50 percent of the social service workforce over the next five years. It is a sobering thought for those in leadership positions who must find ways to continue to deliver mandated government services within the landscape of diminishing human and financial resources. Social service is a very human business; it is people helping people. Most of what we do is one person at a time, one family, one child at a time; face to face, one on one, hand to hand, heart to heart. Today's technology can help create efficiencies around the margins but, at the end of the day, the core business still requires people to do the work of caring, connecting and communicating directly with citizens in need.

At the threshold of the 21st century, young Americans have far more career opportunities available to them, opportunities that pay better, better working conditions and with more prestige than social work. Besides high-paying jobs in computers, engineering and bioscience, government social service agencies now compete with "green" environment efforts, global humanitarian service and an explosion of nonprofit service agencies and advocacy organizations for young idealists seeking to make a difference in the world.

Despite the competition for today's workers, the compassion that motivates someone to go into social services seems to be as strong today as it was 40 years ago. The challenge, then, becomes threefold: (1) how to promote the public sector as a valued and rewarding career choice, (2) how to design the changing workplace to meet the demands of the 21st century workforce, and (3) how to ensure that colleges and universities educate young people to meet the needs of a rapidly changing public-service sector.

A number of efforts are under way across the country to address these challenges, including the American Public Human Services Association's Leadership Development Program and the Child Welfare Strategic Repositioning Initiative supported by the Casey Family Programs under the auspices of the National Association of Public Child Welfare Administrators, an affiliate of APHSA. As the national movement on Systems of Care changes the service delivery model in all aspects of public human services--from children and families, people with disabilities, the elderly and all aspects of health care--and as the demand for measurable performance, data analysis, new workforce strategies and sound business practices increases, the face of public human services in this country will once again be dramatically altered. The new 21st century public human service industry holds even greater promise and opportunity for America's idealistic youth.

The transition period between the boomer retirements and the next generation of idealists is an exciting opportunity for government agencies, universities, community providers, military families and America's youth to fashion the workplace of tomorrow. The planning efforts around the country are encouraging, particularly the curriculum development conversations between universities and government agencies.

A curriculum that meets the contemporary and future needs of public human services requires close collaboration to ensure that graduating students meet the needs of the organizations that will hire them. New hires must know and be able to work, not only in the emerging approach to service delivery called Systems of Care, but also in the operational side of social services that, today, requires business skills usually not taught in schools of social work but that are essential, nevertheless, to meeting the public demands for performance in government.

Government agencies' role in attracting and retaining the high performing workers of tomorrow involves ensuring that the workplace meets the needs of employees. The 21st century workers are looking for a high-tech workplace, flexible benefits, good pay, educational assistance, flexible leave time, health and safety assurances, incentives and a host of expectations the boomers never dreamed of demanding, including prestige in a valued profession. Government agencies must begin considering different ways to deliver the required services and to meet internal demands for operational efficiency. Outsourcing, privatization, new technology, strategic partnerships and redefining the work--these and more must be considered as possible ways to fill the void left by the retiring workforce.

The first step, though, is to find the right moment and the right words to galvanize the next generation as Kennedy's visionary call to action moved so many to public service. When and who that will be is anybody's guess. Let's hope it happens soon, though, because we are running out of time.

Cari DeSantis is the secretary of the Delaware Department of Services for Children, Youth & Their Families, and president of the American Public Human Services Association Board of Directors.