Ericka D. Burney-Hawkins , MSW, LSW

A social worker is a person who is qualified by a Social Work degree, and licensed, certified or registered by the state as a social worker to practice within the scope of that license. A social worker provides assistance and counseling to clients and their families who are dealing with social, emotional and environmental problems. Social work services may be rendered to individuals, families, groups, and the public.

A person who provides case management services and assists an individual in gaining access to needed medical, social, educational, and/or other services. The person has the ability to provide an assessment and review of completed plan of care on a periodic basis. This person is also able to take collaborative action to coordinate the services with other providers and monitor the enrollee's progress toward the cost-effective achievement of objectives specified in the plan of care. Credentials may vary from an experience in the fields of psychology, social work, rehabilitation, nursing or a closely related human service field, to a related Assoc of Arts Degree or to nursing credentials. Some states may require certification in case management.

Community health workers (CHW) are lay members of communities who work either for pay or as volunteers in association with the local health care system in both urban and rural environments and usually share ethnicity, language, socioeconomic status and life experiences with the community members they serve. They have been identified by many titles such as community health advisors, lay health advocates, "promotores(as), outreach educators, community health representatives, peer health promoters, and peer health educators. CHWs offer interpretation and translation services, provide culturally appropriate health education and information, assist people in receiving the care they need, give informal counseling and guidance on health behaviors, advocate for individual and community health needs, and provide some direct services such as first aid and blood pressure screening. Some examples of these practitioners are Community Health Aides or Practitioners established under 25 USC 1616 (l) under HHS, Indian Health Service, Public Health Service.

A person employed to operate a motor vehicle as a carrier of persons or property.

Health educators work in a variety of settings providing education to individuals or groups of individuals on healthy behaviors, wellness, and health-related topics with the goal of preventing diseases and health problems. Health educators generally require a bachelor's degree and may receive additional training, such as through mentoring, internships, or volunteer work.

Definition to come...

(1) An individual who uses art to achieve the therapeutic goals of symptom relief, emotional integration, and recovery from or adjustment to illness or disability. (2) An art therapist uses a form of treatment that enables patients with mental or physical disabilities to use art as a way of expressing and dealing with feelings and inner conflicts. (3) An individual who uses arts modalities and creative processes during intentional intervention in therapeutic, rehabilitative, community, or educational settings to foster health, communication, and expression; promote the integration of physical, emotional, cognitive, and social functioning; enhance self-awareness; and facilitate change.

An organization that is responsible for providing case management services. The agency provides services which assist an individual in gaining access to needed medical, social, educational, and/or other services. Case management services may be used to locate, coordinate, and monitor necessary appropriate services. It may be used to encourage the use of cost-effective medical care by referrals to appropriate providers and to discourage over utilization of costly services. Case management may also serve to provide necessary coordination of non-medical services such as vocational rehabilitation, education, employment, when the services provided enable the individual to function at the highest level.

A private or public agency usually under local government jurisdiction, responsible for assuring the delivery of community based mental health, intellectual disabilities, substance abuse and/or behavioral health services to individuals with those disabilities. Services may range from companion care, respite, transportation, community integration, crisis intervention and stabilization, supported employment, day support, prevocational services, residential support, therapeutic and supportive consultation, environmental modifications, intensive in-home therapy and day treatment, in addition to traditional mental health and behavioral treatment.

Prevention Professionals work in programs aimed to address specific patient needs, such as suicide prevention, violence prevention, alcohol avoidance, drug avoidance, and tobacco prevention. The goal of the program is to reduce the risk of relapse, injury, or re-injury of the patient. Prevention Professionals work in a variety of settings and provide appropriate case management, mediation, referral, and mentorship services. Individuals complete prevention professionals training for the population of patients with whom they work.

A provider who is trained and educated in the performance of behavior health services through interpersonal communications and analysis. Training and education at the specialty level usually requires a master's degree and clinical experience and supervision for licensure or certification.