human services

plural noun

1. programs or facilities for meeting basic health, welfare, and other needs of a society or group, as people who are poor, sick, or elderly.

Word History and Origins

Origin of human services¹

First recorded in 1700–10 in the sense “provided by humans,” and in 1935–40 for the current sense

Example Sentences

On Thursday, the Senate narrowly confirmed Xavier Becerra to be health and human services secretary, rejecting claims from the right that he is hostile toward Catholics and other Christians.

From Washington Post

Meanwhile, smaller charities have seen their revenue dip by nearly a fifth, with donations to human services organizations dropping by 10 percent last quarter in recent estimates.

From Ozy

Similarly, the Department of Health and Human Services could not provide investigators with that information.

From The Daily Beast

They pick up Ben from Human Services, but only after guessing which of two similar-looking babies he was.

From The Daily Beast

Not sure if it would be surgeon general or something else within HHS (Health and Human Services).

From The Daily Beast

There was only one problem: The numbers were bogus, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

From The Daily Beast

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recently that an unaccompanied minor from Central America has the H1N1 flu.

From The Daily Beast

If we had here to do with utility as connected with human services, I should not contest this principle.

From Project Gutenberg

It is a different thing, however, to consider human services as wealth of an ephemeral kind at the moment they are rendered.

From Project Gutenberg

But the results of most human services may be seen to rest, at least temporarily, in some material form.

From Project Gutenberg

The scarcity of human services, relative to wants, is the fundamental fact in the problem of wages.

From Project Gutenberg

The agents of production compose two great species, material goods and human services.

From Project Gutenberg