Arkansas Department of Health and Human Services


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Glossary of Needs

Adoptions: Services related to taking a child into a family through legal means.

Adult Abuse Prevention/Reporting: Services related to prevention and reporting of abuse or neglect of adults.

Adult Day Services: Services related to providing daytime support, supervision and activities for adults.

Aging and Adult Services: A broad range of services focused on the needs of aging adults.

Alcohol/Drug Abuse Treatment/Prevention: Services related to treatment and prevention of alcohol and drug abuse.

Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA): A federal law passed in 1990 addressing equal opportunity and accommodations for Americans with disabilities.

Area Agency on Aging: An agency that provides a broad range of services to Arkansas's senior citizens.

Arkansas Kids First Program: A state administered program focused on providing medical services for children; eligibility based on family income and resources.

Battered Women's Services: Services related to women who are at risk of abuse or have been abused.

Case Management Services: Assistance related to guiding a person through the process of obtaining services or achieving objective-based goals.

Child Abuse Prevention/Reporting: Services related to the prevention and reporting of child abuse.

Child Care Services: Services related to the care and supervision of children, typically during daytime hours for working parents.

Child Support Enforcement: A state administered program primarily addressing the enforcement and collection of court ordered child support payments.

Childrens Medical Services: A state administered program which provides coordination, specialized medical care, and rehabilitation, for children with special health needs. Formerly know as Crippled Children's Services.

Clothing Services: Services related to providing clothing for needy persons.

Commodity Services: Surplus and supplemental government foods typically made available through school child feeding programs.

Day Care Services for Adults: Services related to the care and supervision of adults or elderly, typically during daytime hours.

Day Care Services for Children: Services related to the care and supervision of children, typically during daytime hours for working parents.

Developmental Disabilities Services: Services related to the needs of developmentally disabled children and adults.

Disability Services: Services related to the needs of disabled persons.

Drug Abuse Treatment/Prevention: Services related to treatment and prevention of drug abuse.

Education Services: Services related to the education of children and adults.

Elderly/Adult Services: A broad range of services focused on the needs of aging adults.

Emergency/Disaster Services: Services addressing the needs of persons who have experienced an emergency or the needs of persons in communities declared as disaster areas.

Employment/Job Placement: Services focused on finding jobs for persons seeking employment.

English as a Second Language: An education service directed towards teaching persons whose primary language is not English.

Family Planning: Services focused on pregnancy prevention, medical management, and related medical needs.

Financial Assistance: A range of services, both public and private, concentrated on providing financial assistance to needy persons.

Food Services: Services related to providing food for needy persons.

Food Stamp Program: A state administered program for providing food-related assistance; eligibility based on household income and resources.

Foster Care Services: Services related to the placement and support of children in family-like home environments.

GED Programs: Programs focused on assisting persons to obtain high school equivalency education.

Group Homes, Adults and Children: Residential alternatives, in group settings, for adults or children.

Headstart Programs: Pre-school educational and family support services for children.

Hearing Impaired Services: Services addressing the needs of deaf or hearing impaired persons.

Home Care -- Chore Assistance: Assistance focused on providing in-home chore services, such as cleaning, typically to prevent institutionalization of the aged or disabled, or to reduce the risk of child or spousal abuse.

Home Care -- Personal Care: Assistance focused on providing in-home personal care, such as bathing and dressing, typically to prevent institutionalization of the aged or disabled, or to reduce the risk of child or spousal abuse.

Home Delivered Meals: Food in the form of meals, for qualifying individuals or families, delivered to the person's home.

Home Health Care: Supplemental health services provided at home by medical para-professionals, typically to prevent institutionalization of the aged or disabled.

Homeless Services: A wide range of social services addressing the needs of homeless persons and families.

Hospice Services: Services related to end-of-life care and planning, and family respite.

Hot Lines: Toll free telephone numbers focused on providing immediate information for urgent social issues.

Housing Services: Services related to providing living quarters for individuals and families, typically subsidized on the basis of income.

Human Development Centers: Residential care facilities, operated by the State, designed to address the needs of developmentally disabled children and adults.

Independent Living Skills Programs: Programs designed to assist emotionally or physically challenged individuals acquire life skills that reduce or eliminate the need for supportive services.

Information and Referral: Instructions and directions on how to access services from providers and agencies that address human needs.

Juvenile Detention Centers: Secure facilities established for the purpose of detaining juveniles who have been ruled to be delinquent.

Legal Services: The provision of legal services is typically fee-based, but in some locales legal services are available for assisting persons on a needs-based or sliding-fee scale basis.

Literacy Programs: A variety of programs, often mentor based, designed to teach people how to read.

Medicaid Program: A state administered program designed to pay for health care services for individuals who meet income and resource eligibility criteria.

Medical Services: A range of health care programs and services.

Mental Health Services: A variety of programs and services focused on mental health care services.

Nursing Home Services: Services supporting the placement and maintenance of persons in residential nursing home facilities.

Nursing Homes: Residential facilities designed to provide a level of nursing and personal care greater than that offered in independent or assisted care facilities.

Parenting Counseling/Training: Services offered by a variety of agencies focused on teaching model child-rearing techniques and positive parenting roles.

Pregnancy Services: Services focused on pregnancy prevention, medical management, and related medical needs.

Rape Treatment/Counseling: Medical and counseling services offered in support of rape victims.

Referral Services: Instructions and directions on how to access services from providers and agencies that address human needs.

Rehabilitation Services: Services focused on restoration of independent living skills and employment opportunities for individuals, typically by providing education, training and therapeutic support.

Rental Assistance: The provision of subsidies or grants for the payment of housing rent, typically conditional upon emergency or financial need.

Residential Care Services: A wide range of services addressing the placement, maintenance, and provision of personal or nursing care for persons in residential facilities .

Residential Facilities: A broad range of facilities designed to accept persons for residence and usually offering varying levels of independent living or personal and nursing care options.

Residential Facilities -- Assisted Living: Facilities focused on providing basic personal and limited nursing care for residents.

Residential Facilities -- Board and Care Homes: Communal or home-like facilities designed to provide residents with both supervised structure and a degree of independence.

Residential Facilities -- Nursing Homes: Residential facilities designed to provide a level of nursing and personal care greater than that offered in independent or assisted care facilities.

Residential Facilities -- Retirement Communities: Facilities providing residents with a high degree of independence and a range of community, support and care options.

Senior Citizens Centers: Community facilities which provide a wide range of services for aging adults, typically including recreational activities for adults, socialization, educational programs, and other services.

Shelter Assistance: Services addressing the provision of housing (typically temporary) for persons and families in need.

Sheltered Workshops: Organizations that provide a range of services, usually rehabilitative or occupational, for developmentally disabled persons.

Shelters: Facilities offering a range of services to individuals and families in need; services typically focus on temporary housing for the homeless or for victims of violence.

Substance Abuse Treatment/Prevention: Services related to treatment and prevention of substance and drug abuse.

Suicide Prevention/Counseling: Services focused on the prevention of suicide.

Support Groups: A community of persons who gather together to focus on a wide variety of social issues and to provide each other with moral and emotional support.

TEA (Transitional Employment Assistance) Program: A state administered program for providing temporary financial and job placement assistance; eligibility based on state and federal rules.

Transportation: Services addressing transportation needs, typically associated with accessing medical care or obtaining employment.

Unemployment Insurance Benefits:

Utility Assistance: Services offered by a variety of community and government organizations providing grants and subsidies to needy families for residential utilities (typically gas, electricity, water).

Veterans Services: A wide range of services offered to former military servicemen.

Visually Impaired Services: Services addressing the needs of blind and visually impaired persons.

Volunteering: Donations of time and effort by persons and groups in the interest of a variety of social causes.

WIC Program: Women and Infants medical and nutritional program administered by Arkansas Health Department.

Women's Shelters: Facilities offering a range of services to women and families in need; services typically focus on female victims of violence.

Youth Services: A broad range of services focusing on the needs of juveniles, and their families, typically providing placement in secure facilities or services for the prevention of delinquency.