Profile Essay

Blake McDuffie
English 1001





Many people may take for granted the services the Social Services provide to the Baton Rouge and the greater Louisiana communities. We do not take the time to think about the deeds done by the Civil Services. They provide food stamps and prevent people from taking advantage of the system. Sarah Jones has been working for the Louisiana State welfare department since 1974 and can give a glimpse of Louisiana’s Civil service system.
Sarah Jones is responsible for tracking down people who have made fraudulent claims to gain welfare checks and illegal food stamps. Although she never intended to be working in a Civil service field, she does like the basic idea of her job, making sure people are not stealing from the government. Her job was made especially difficult during the "hectic" aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
The U.S. government had set it up so that people who had lost everything and were destitute. However, those who were already on welfare were not eligible to have both benefits and many tried to get them both. Many people, including state employees, took advantage of the fact that at the time, the computer system was not able to look into and check the people’s status and gave themselves, family and friends the benefits.
Mrs. Jones explained, "The people who made false claims and took benefits have since been tracked down and are now being made to pay back the money they took." Although the government cannot always catch people in the act, eventually they will find them. Besides, giving people welfare, when needed, during Katrina many state employees helped set up shelters and homes for refugees.
Mrs. Jones got into the Civil services almost by accident. She studied history while in college and then studied to be a librarian. But she ended up flunking out of her librarian studies and took the Civil Service test. She passed and was offered a job.
"Career aptitude tests I took when I was younger said I would be good at it," referring to the Civil Services. This just goes to show that you never know what career you may end up doing.