Interview 1

Running head: INTERVIEW WITH NICOLE SIVESIND

Interview with Nicole Sivesind

Márcio Padilha

Lewis-Clark State College

HUMS 101 – Ruhter

Fall/2010
 Interview 2

I would like to start this project off by thanking my friend

Nicole Sivesind for helping me out with this assignment. The
purpose of this interview, as I previously mentioned, is to
suffice the midterm requirements for one of my classes, i.e.
Human Services 101, at the College of Southern Idaho. So, with
that said, I would like to start off by asking…

• Nicole, what has led you into this line of business?

1. Though I had thought about going into social work several years
ago, I was not actively pursuing this. Quite by accident I happened
upon the company I work for now, a non-profit organization that
provides direct support for at risk youth. I started with an entry level
position 4 years ago, 2 years later I was promoted to the Director of
the program and have been in that position since....I really love my
job:)

• What in particular do you like about this field?

I feel like I am making a difference. I love the sense of community you

see and feel when working at community events or during outreach. I
also love all of the amazing people I have met. For the most part,
people in this field are real; they are like you or me. Many times people
in social work have been through their own trials and tribulations and
want to reach out and give back because someone did that for them
one time. You especially see this in programs that involve mentoring.
You don’t get into social work for the money; you do it because you are
passionate about helping other people. I didn’t know how passionate I
was until I started working for this organization. People are doing
everything they can to give a voice to people in their communities, and
advocate for those who may not otherwise have a voice or be able to
do so.

• How important of a social function do you believe that

Human Services play in current day society?

I think now more than ever the Human Services field is important. In
times of a trying economy, broken homes, issues involving substance
abuse, violence, etc, people are facing more adversity and set backs
than ever before. There are times our clients's families are going
hungry, do not have clothes or shoes, or are facing (or living with)
homelessness. People need to not only know there are agencies out
there to help them, but also how to access and benefit from the
resources available. On a personal level, I feel we have a moral
obligation to help our fellow man. Working in the human services field
gives you an opportunity to help others and make a difference. I think
 Interview 3

the organizations in this field are among the most important in current
society.

• What company do you work for?

Youth Advocate Programs, Inc. in Phoenix, Arizona.

• What exactly is you position title?

Program Director

• Do you need any certification or license to do what you do?

In all other instances with this company, Program Directors are

required to have a minimum of a BA, MA preferred. I was able to
bypass this requirement because I had been with the company 2 years
prior to my promotion, I knew the workings of the program inside and
out and the VP of Behavioral Health knew I was smart, motivated and
even without a degree could do the job. He really had to lobby for me
to his boss but in the end they said why not, give her a shot! Plus this
way they could get away with paying me a little less than a regular
degree holding Director...hence this is why I am in school finishing my
degree (be done late next year, yay!)

• What kind services does your company provide?

Our agency is a direct support provider. We have both behavioral

health programs and advocate programs that work strictly with
juvenile justice programs. My program is behavior health. We work
with kids ages 4-17 and we work with them in their homes, schools and
communities on behavior modification issues. It is like extreme
therapeutic mentoring.

In BH, all kids come referred with a diagnosis (in other states they do
the diagnosing, in AZ they come taken care, it varies from state to
state depending on that state's regs.

• How do people qualify for the services your company

provides?

We are a Medicaid funded program so all of our referrals must have

AHCCCS, state funded/provided insurance. We have taken clients
without state coverage in the past but because there is only a small
amount of funding allocated for this demographic (Non-Title IX) we
cannot keep them in services very long. So for now we are strictly
taking state coverage (Title IX). We are looking into getting licensed to
 Interview 4

be a fee for service provider but again, state regs dictate how/if we can
do this.. Other programs in other states can accept walk-ins and
different types of clients. My BH program is strictly referrals from an
authorized Provider Network Organization (PNO)...these are the
companies we hold contracts with. As a side note, Yap Inc., has
programs in 18 states across the country as well as programs in
Ireland, Guatemala, and Sierra Leone.

Wow! Thanks for your thorough comments! A few more things,

though:

• Do you think that the public in general has an accurate opinion as to

what a Human Services professional does?

• How different is a Human Services professional from a Social

Worker?

I am not entirely sure there is a huge difference between the two. In

the field, Social Work (at least on my end) is more thought of like Child
Protective Services (CPS) and agencies like that. Human Services
workers are more in the field to provide miscellaneous services that
people need to be successful, productive members of society.
However, I know people who have been in the field for 100 years and
they will say there isn’t a difference, that "Human Services" worker or
professional is a nicer, less threatening title for a Social Worker :)

• How do people qualify for the services your company

provides?

I think the biggest external factors we face is the state budget. AZ is

suffering one of the greatest budget crises the country has seen in
some time. We have seen HUGE cuts to contracts all over the state. I
have been very fortunate and blessed that during these hard economic
times my program has not only been able to manage and maintain
about 3/4 of a million dollars worth of contracts, but for the past 2
years we have been awarded additional funding at the end of the fiscal
year. The only area that personally my program has been impacted by
is our clients who were not receiving state funded benefits (the Non-
Title IX folks). There is no longer funding for them. I also know that
those who are providing adult services have seen many of their clients
lose their coverage so we are seeing a large amount of SMI (Seriously
Mentally Ill) clients be released into the community, which is causing
some issues.

• What could be done to make it better?

 Interview 5

I think the only way this can be improved is if those who make the
legislature and those who control the funding see the importance and
the need for behavioral health services. Sadly, BH and education are
historically the first areas cut and AZ's current political folks are no
different from those of the past.

• Do you think that the public in general has an accurate

opinion as to what a Human Services professional does?

No, I think that people think of Human Services workers and they
either think of CPS (Are you here to take my kids away??) or they think
of you as a "shrink" or therapist (Are you going to tell me how to raise
my kids??) I think people would be more understanding if they realized
Human Services workers are working to help them access and benefit
the resources that are available in their community but they may not
know about. Human Services encompasses many areas of assistance
and I think once people look past their initial reaction to the words
"Human Services" they will see HS workers can be helpful in many
areas, as well as empowering to help individuals help themselves :)

So far I have agreed with everything you've mentioned. ;-) I am

currently pursuing a BA in Education with a minor in Addiction
Studies, which is a combination not very common. I believe
that many of the world's social evils can be eradicated with
education which, in my view, is normally readily available yet
totally underused. As I believe you know, I am originally from
Brazil. Brazil yesterday elected its very first female president.

• So, with that in mind, how big of a change, if any, would you
say there would be in Human Services if more women were in
powerful decision-making positions?

I am not sure how to answer this one. Many of the people in positions
of power, and in positions to make decisions that I have encountered in
this field have been women. I don’t think this is a male dominated field
like so many we encounter, though I could be wrong. I can only speak
on what I have seen here in AZ, and with my organization as a whole.

• And taking this to the stratosphere, it is now 2012n and

Nicole Sivesind has just been sworn in as the first female
President of the United States... what would you like to see
happen in Human Services?

First of all, I DON'T want the job lol...However, if I must be the new
President, I would like to see more importance placed on the value of
 Interview 6

human lives than the value of stocks and bonds. I would make sure
that areas such as education, behavioral health, and human services
are the LAST groups to see budget cuts. I think more emphasis needs
to be placed on securing our future than padding our bank
accounts....My dad always says, "You can't take it with you" and you
know what, he's right :) Márcio Padilha November 1 at 9:18pm

Nicole, I believe that my assignment has reached its end. It has

been a great pleasure “talking” with you about Human
Services and getting to know your perspectives about this
field. I cannot thank you enough for all your time and
attention!!!!! Thanks a lot for everything!!!!

It was my pleasure, glad I could help :)