Social work has taken me in so many directions. I love working with children and families. When I first started at Orchards, my mind was set on being a foster care worker. After during my internship in foster care, I realized it's hard for me to cope with a judge sending a child home to their abusive parents, when I know the child should not return home. I have now decided that I would like to be a school social worker or a geriatric social worker. A school social worker main job duties is to make sure a child is adjusting well in a school setting. School social workers address behavior problems and assess areas in which children may need assistance or counseling. They work as a team to create Individual Education Plans (IEP) for children who are not performing well academically.
A geriatric social worker serves as an advocate for older adults. They assist the elderly in getting services they may need and they make sure they are not being taking advantage of or mistreated. Geriatric social workers provides support to older adults families and offer counseling services to help cope with life ending transitions.