Social Work: An Empowering Profession

The most important social workers in society are those who enter the child welfare system. Since many children don’t always grow up in monogamous households those in the welfare system need assistance the most. According to Williams- Mbengue (2012) “Nearly three million American children are put into welfare systems and cared for by social workers.” Imagine being a social worker in the welfare system, taking care of children who come from impoverished biological homes, and a large majority of them experiencing some form of abuse or neglect (Meloy & Phillips, 2012). As a social worker, it can be very emotional and stressful handling a child in the system, especially if a child was just taken from their biological home.
If it wasn’t for the social worker who helped my best friend, Alyssa would be one of the three million children in the welfare system. It is said that, “Children who enter child welfare systems at such a young age are at risk for a countless number of developmental, physical and mental health problems” (Meloy & Phillips, 2012). Alyssa could have also been at risk for developmental, physical and mental health problems. Helping a child through a traumatizing experience can cause a social worker to be emotionally attached. Social workers who are emotionally attached often go home and ponder questions in their head after leaving their work environment. Dwyer (2007) completed a study based on how social work can cause anxiety and stress. One of the many questions the employee’s worried about in the study was “will my employers support me if something goes wrong when working with a child (Dwyer, 2007)?” Many of these questions social workers ponder about have to deal with both foster care and adopted children.
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