ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces information technology (IT) by presenting non-technical scenarios from different levels of the human service delivery system. Community Home Health provides a diverse mix of low-income human service programs in many locations throughout a low-income neighborhood of a large city. United Way agencies play a vital role in the human services through fund-raising and service planning. The board of the Human Service Consortium included the executive director and a board member from each participating agency. The chapter describes IT from the perspective of a client, paraprofessional, professional practitioner, midlevel information manager, executive director, and community volunteer. The Mental Health Association (MHA) lagged behind most agencies in using IT an accounting firm computerized the MHA's bookkeeping. Because of IT, Countywide Mental Health Center experienced a series of small changes that combined to produce a major change in the way services were delivered.
