What do most people think of when they hear the word "social service"? I can imagine that a high percentage of people have an image of a Department of Human Services child welfare caseworker coming to their home or taking a child away from their family. That's exactly what I thought too. I always heard the horror stories of children being taken from their homes and placed in foster care. I also had to witness firsthand a similar incident at a young age, which painted a picture that social workers were nothing but the “bad guys”. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Growing up I played games and spent the night at a family friend's house. There were two girls and a boy, a few years older than me. One day it was discovered that the father had committed some alarming acts with the two girls. This led to a series of traumas involving social workers, foster families, lawyers and police. After years of chaos, my parents made the courageous decision to adopt the two girls. Since that moment my life has changed significantly. Today Social Service has a broader meaning. Now social service symbolizes all the people who come together in an effort to help a child or family have a better future. It takes a special kind of person to be a social worker. Someone who is compassionate and has a desire to do “the right thing” is highly needed. Having compassion helps the child or person you work with feel more at ease in a time that could be extremely stressful or traumatic. A person doing “the right thing” is the backbone of this field. Social workers stand up and speak on behalf of those who struggle or cannot speak for themselves. They rise up when no one else tries to change the situation for the better. There are numerous career paths and jobs in the social work field. One of the most common careers in the field of social work is that of a children's social worker, as I mentioned above. Child welfare caseworkers are there to do the hard things and make tough decisions that will ultimately improve a person or family's future. These case workers use these skills to assist in any investigation opened due to negative actions committed or negative environment a child or person finds themselves in. The ultimate goal is to improve the situation they are asked to observe. Another common career in the field of social work is a medical and public health social worker. These workers are often found in hospitals or clinics or any other facility where patient care can be provided. These social workers are there to ensure that patients receive proper care and treatment. They often help facilitate communication between healthcare providers and patients. Additionally, there is a third career in social work that is equally popular, which is that of a mental health social worker. These mental health social workers are also called clinical social workers. They can provide counseling, therapy, and a variety of other mental health services. There are many paths to this career path, which is why there are many different branching names. These clinical social workers can work with a variety of settings and patients with many different mental health problems. With so many options for career choices, it's difficult to consider one path. Many days I ask myself the question “What do you want to be? What do you want to do?" Since these questions are”.