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

“The U.S. health disadvantage threatens the country’s global competitiveness and national security, as well as the hopes and prospects of future generations,” according to a 2021 paper from the Department of Health and Human Services, the agency that Kennedy now leads.

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The Health and Human Services Department and Food and Drug Administration unveiled measures to eliminate petroleum-based synthetic dyes in food, including Red 40, Yellow 5 and 6, Green 3, and Blue 1 and 2.

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In a Thursday cabinet meeting at the White House, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said some studies showed that children who were circumcised early had double the rate of autism—likely because they were given Tylenol.

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By making epidurals more accessible, the Tokyo subsidy should encourage more women to opt for pain relief in childbirth, but it probably won’t have a big effect on the overall number of births, said Keiko Tanabe, an associate professor at Kanagawa University of Human Services and co-founder of the Tobu Mutsuu Café, which provides information about pain relief in childbirth to mothers and midwives.

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According to the Office of Management and Budget, “substantial” layoffs are underway across at least seven federal departments, including Treasury, Health and Human Services, Education, Housing and Urban Development, and the Environmental Protection Agency.

Read more on Salon