Communicating the changing human service landscape.

How loud does a human service communication cry need to be in order to be effective in delivering messages about the concerns of the needy and vulnerable citizens in our communities, especially today? It's a question that communication professionals wrestle with as they speak daily with lawmakers, administrators, peers, the media and the general public.

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Maybe the message doesn't need to be louder, or even spun. Maybe today's message needs to be a little clearer, more concisely stated, more accurately spoken and delivered more frequently.

Our "Good Human Service" messages are battling for time in a world where our public, according to communications research, tells us it doesn't like bad news; however, people cannot turn away from it when it's broadcast at noon, 5, 6 and 10 p.m. or printed above the fold in the daily news.

At a time when there is a need to get more meaningful human service messages out, the American media are reducing the size of news holes, print broadsheets aren't so broad anymore and broadcast news packages are shorter than ever. The media that we have come to rely on to deliver messages to our varying publics have been consumed by feeding on itself. The 24/7/365-day news cycle has print reporters showing up with video cameras and broadcast reporters with their Internet connections, all vying to see who can post the story to the web first.

The reporting professionals are younger, less experienced and need more time to understand the simplest of stories they are charged with communicating. But with more stories, there's less time for the newbies to research the in-depth backgrounds on the complexities of human service issues.

Practically every state has child deaths or adult exploitation cases, some more than others, based on population. Local and regional media can't wait to find out which person or persons working in a human service agency were responsible for the child's death or harm to the adult citizen. It's as though the person who actually committed the act and the person or persons sitting in the local county jail had nothing to do with the deaths or injuries at all.

Recent events show the communication winds are shifting. Like today's new kids on the block, more questions are coming to our doors focusing on the economics of health and social service issues and how they will be paid for during the tough times ahead.

The current economic challenges of the nation have many concerned about how to move forward. This is especially true in the nation's human services. Human services are counter-cyclical to strong economic times. That is, when the economy is strong, business is slower at our Human Services Centers. However, when the economy turns south, jobs dry up and businesses close their doors, more of our co-workers, neighbors, family and friends end up needing the temporary supports administered through the nation's human services centers.

Higher unemployment brings with it higher needs and greater vulnerabilities for our citizens. Communicating how we are meeting those needs and planning to meet them as they increase is vital to our own survival. When hard decisions have to be made, who will make them and who will carry them out become prevailing questions. More important, who will communicate these messages and to what audiences?

So what do we do as administrators and communication professionals?

As Stephen Covey said in "Seven Habits of Highly Effective People," we sharpen our axes. We get busy getting better at defining what is being done by human services, and we venture forward on communicating what needs to be done. Isn't it amazing that in the Chinese language, the ideogram used to represent crisis is composed of two elements representing danger and opportunity? The current economic crisis, while filled with many dangerous paths, provides even more opportunities to excel and move forward. It provides an open doorway through which we, in human services, can reach the various publics that have not been tuned into the messages at the forefront of the plight of those we serve.

When many of the wealthiest in our society are faltering, everyone is listening. Putting forth a new face on those we serve provides the open door for human service communicators to walk through briskly. It is time to put forth the messages being saved for bright shiny days. Child support is being paid and collections are up. Children are being adopted. Children are spending less time in foster care. Community diversion programs are helping children and families stay together, without court intervention. Caseloads are being reduced. Law enforcement and district attorneys are working more than ever to bring justice to those who are abusing and exploiting the elderly. Child care facilities are being inspected and those not following state standards are being closed. Meals are being served to children and adults and socialization is taking place in schools and community centers alike. Faithbased organizations are supporting the efforts of public projects to meet ever-increasing community needs. Many of these actions are taking place right in front of us and now is the time to get them before the public.

Legislative bodies will have many things on their plates this spring and fewer fiscal resources to distribute to get these jobs done. That means on the executive side of government, there will be fewer dollars to meet growing human service needs.

So now as administrators and communication professionals, we find out how really good we are. Like an old violin in the master's hand, it's time to make some beautiful human service music. The notes on the page are the facts and figures about what we do. The melodies are the stories threaded through the music that puts human faces front and center in the stories we tell. Many of us don't know all the words to the songs we sing, but we remember the melodies of the music. We remember the faces of the lives we touch. Being a good human service administrator or communicator means knowing how to make the melodies in our songs sing in the hearts of the internal and external publics we collectively serve. That's when we will know we are better communicating the changing human service landscape.

George Earl Johnson Jr. is the director of communications at the Oklahoma Department of Human Services.