Law enforcements officers and social workers are a professional duo that serve as a necessity for minors who find themselves involved in scenes/cases.

“It’s a thing in society today that social workers are a necessity,” Athens Police Chief Floyd Johnson said. “The big thing that we need to try to work toward is a working system that works for everybody.”

Johnson says that its not just the job of social workers and law enforcement officers to help minors put the pieces back together, but that it takes an entire community in the justice system.

“I’ve done this job a long time and anytime you’re dealing with a child in a situation where they’ve been abused or neglected or abandoned, there’s nothing good that can come out of that,” Johnson said. “We’re trying to take something that’s terribly broken and put it back together, and that’s not just simply a law enforcement or social worker’s job. It’s a group job, it involves judges and district attorneys.”

Many minors rely on social workers and the justice system to navigate through situations with them.

“It’s unfortunate that so many people have to rely on a system that is so overloaded,” Johnson said.

The TIE foundation recognized social workers by creating gift baskets. for them on Tuesday.