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Lee High School

A social worker changes children's lives.

Anzhane Johnson
Senior Capstone
Mrs. Jensen
March 28, 2016
Anzhane Johnson
Jody Jensen
Senior Capstone

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27 March 2016
The greatest good you can do for another is not just share your riches, but reveal to them
their own (Disraeli). Every social workers goal is to not just share their knowledge with others,
but to simply help children reach their full potential. Many people think social workers just take
children out of difficult homes and place them into new ones. Being a social worker is much
more complicated than just finding a new home for kids. Social workers play a major role in
helping children through difficult life situations, such as emotional, mental or physical
situations by providing needed services.
Social workers try to impact people's life so that they can strive to be the best even
though they are going through difficulties. Social workers should get to know their patients to
find out how they can best help them. They stand by a patients side through emotional, mental
and physical situations. In all, about 16% of the country's half a million social workers work in
child services while 12% work in family services (Children and families). Social workers talk to
their patients daily, sometimes multiple times a day. Social workers work in many different
environments. They travel to homes, schools, doctor's offices, and even court. In schools they
address problems such as truancy, bad behavior, teenage pregnancy, drug use, and poor
grades(Fanning).
Social workers use a certain approach when helping children through emotional abuse. A
social worker may witness a parent insulting or punishing their child, but they have to determine
if the parent is just having a bad day or if the problem is bigger. The social worker observes a
childs environment and determine if they are being emotionally abused. Social workers not only
observe emotional abuse but they support the child emotionally. It's important that social
workers make young people feel valued because belief is key for a young person's confidence

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(Brennan). A social worker is like another friend when it comes to being their for their patient
emotionally; they provide a shoulder to cry on when needed. The patient should be able to be
truthful with their social worker with any and everything.
Having their trust is very important when it comes to helping children, especially in a
school setting. One way to gain their trust is by being open with them, talking about their
problems and lives and not just asking questions. Social workers that take children out to the
movies or just for a fun day away from problems have the biggest impact on helping them
through difficult situations. Face-to-face conversations let the child know they have support and
guidance. If a social worker can't visit regularly they should be willing to talk on the phone and
reply to messages quickly (Brennan).
Playing a major role in a child life involves providing assistance and guidance to help
children through physical abuse. Social workers assist parents, foster homes, arrange adoptions,
and help with abuse. If a child is being abused by anyone, a social worker steps in to eliminate
the abuse. Social workers remove the child away from the abuse and help determine if the child
need medical attention. A social worker helps the child recover from the abuse by checking on
them regularly. A social worker's role is to make sure a child that was getting physically abused
does not get abused anymore.
Social workers provide a wide range of services including the foster-care system. In this
area, social workers help families at risk to determine if a child needs to be removed from the
home. Social workers look for temporary foster homes to place the child in while figuring out
where the child is the safest. They also help the family to determine when and if the child can
return to the family home. In this case, the social worker's role is to make sure the child has a
safe place to sleep at night. Social workers may have to appear in court to show legal documents

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of what they witness in the childs home or their school. They may be required to testify about
dangerous or unsafe conditions that would allow for the removal of children... or that a parent
who has lost his or her children due to abuse or neglect has now made sufficient progress to be
reunified with a child (What does a)
Social workers play various roles when it comes to helping children through difficult life
situations. They provide children with guidance and safety when dealing with emotional, mental
or physical problems. Social workers impact childrens lives by helping them out in difficult
situations and guiding them to safety. Social workers play a major role in helping children grown
after dealing with difficult situations at a young age.

Work Cited
"Benjamin Disraeli." BrainyQuote.com. Xplore Inc, 2016. 28 March 2016.
http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/b/benjamindi105660.html

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Brennan, Sally. "Five Ways Children's Social Workers Can Change Lives."The Guardian.
Guardian News and Media, 18 Mar. 2014. Web. 28 Mar. 2016.
http://www.theguardian.com/social-care-network/2014/mar/18/five-ways-children-socialworkers-change-lives
"Children and Families." Children and Families. National Association of Social Workers, n.d.
Web. 27 Mar. 2016. https://www.socialworkers.org/pressroom/features/issue/children.asp
Fanning, Julie. "Understanding the Role of a Social Worker." MSWOnlineProgramsorg. N.p.,
n.d. Web. 27 Mar. 2016.
http://mswonlineprograms.org/job-duties-and-responsibilities-of-social-workers/
"Social Worker vs Child Welfare Worker: What Are the Differences?" Social Work versus Child
Welfare Work. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Mar. 2016.
http://www.socialworklicensure.org/articles/social-worker-vs-child-welfare-worker.html
"Start a Child Welfare Social Work Career." Child Welfare Social Work Careers. N.p., n.d. Web.
29 Mar. 2016. http://careersinpsychology.org/become-a-child-welfare-social-worker/
Vevers, Simon. "Alerting Professionals to Signs of Emotional Abuse - Community Care."
Community Care. N.p., 30 Jan. 2008. Web. 28 Mar. 2016.
http://www.communitycare.co.uk/2008/01/30/alerting-professionals-to-signs-ofemotional-abuse/
"What Does a Social Worker Do?" WiseGEEK. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Mar. 2016.
http://www.wisegeek.org/what-does-a-social-worker-do.htm