What are common public perceptions of social workers?

Answer 1

Often times due to lack of knowledge, public perception of social workers is that we are "baby snatchers." Society believes that social workers only work in the child protective services sector and that we come in and tear apart homes/families. Of course this is not for all intents and purposes accurate, we are so much more. We are change agents, advocates, therapists, outreach workers, educators, and the list goes on. The news and media often times do not help with the perception of social workers as we are often portrayed in a negative light.