Oregon Department of Human Services

The Oregon Department of Human Services (or ODHS) is the primary health and human services agency of the government of the U.S. state of Oregon. The ODHS was established in 1971 as the Oregon Department of Human Resources but renamed in 1999. Primary functions of the agency include providing public assistance programs, administering the Oregon Health Plan, providing addiction and vocational rehabilitation services, and managing services for seniors and people with disabilities. It contracts with county governments and other providers for some mental health and public health services. In addition, it operates the Oregon State Hospital, a psychiatric facility in Salem and the Oregon State Public Health Laboratory in Hillsboro.

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Oregon

Oregon (ⁱ/ˈɔːrᵻɡən/ AWR-ə-gən) is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. Oregon is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean, on the north by Washington, on the south by California, on the east by Idaho, and on the southeast by Nevada. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary, and the Snake River delineates much of the eastern boundary. The parallel 42° north delineates the southern boundary with California and Nevada. It is one of only three states of the contiguous United States to have a coastline on the Pacific Ocean, and the proximity to the ocean heavily influences the state's mild winter climate, despite the latitude.

Oregon was inhabited by many indigenous tribes before Western traders, explorers, and settlers arrived. An autonomous government was formed in the Oregon Country in 1843, the Oregon Territory was created in 1848, and Oregon became the 33rd state on February 14, 1859. Today, at 98,000 square miles, Oregon is the ninth largest and, with a population of 4 million, 26th most populous U.S. state. The capital of Oregon is Salem, the second most populous of its cities, with 160,614 residents (2013 estimate). With 609,456 residents (2013 estimate), Portland is the largest city in Oregon and ranks 29th in the U.S. Its metro population of 2,314,554 (2013 estimate) is 24th. The Willamette Valley in western Oregon is the state's most densely populated area, home to eight of the ten most populous cities.

Human services

Human services is an interdisciplinary discipline with the objective of meeting human needs through an applied knowledge base, focusing on prevention as well as remediation of problems, and maintaining a commitment to improving the overall quality of life of service populations. The process involves the study of social technologies (practice methods, models, and theories), service technologies (programs, organizations, and systems), and scientific innovations that are designed to ameliorate problems and enhance the quality of life of individuals, families and communities to improve the delivery of service with better coordination, accessibility and accountability. The mission of human services is to promote a practice that involves simultaneously working at all levels of society (whole-person approach) in the process of promoting the autonomy of individuals or groups,making informal or formal human services systems more efficient and effective, and advocating for positive social change within society.

Department of Human Services

A Department of Human Services (DHS) or Ministry of Human Services (MHS) is a national or subnational umbrella agency which is responsible for providing public assistance programs to the population they serve. Various aspects or alternate names include social security, social affairs, human resources and welfare.

A social affairs department is often combined with the portfolio of health or labor.

Examples

Some examples include:

Albania — Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities

Australia — Australia Department of Human Services

Canada — Human Resources and Skills Development Canada

• Ontario — Ministry of Community and Social Services

Ontario — Ministry of Community and Social Services

Colombia — Ministry of Social Protection (Colombia)

Croatia — Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and Ministry of the Family, Veterans' Affairs and Intergenerational Solidarity

Denmark — Ministry of Social Affairs

Guyana — Ministry of Labour Human Services and Social Security