Social work professional with more than 25 years of experience in public child welfare systems and serves as a social work expert witness in matters involving child welfare system oversight and child maltreatment. Their work addresses how system involvement influences parenting decisions, how maltreatment is defined and evaluated, and how service delivery practices affect child safety, permanency, and well-being outcomes. Drawing on academic research and prior human services practice, the expert analyzes policies, casework standards, and structural factors shaping child protective services intervention.

The expert holds a Ph.D. and Master of Social Work in Social Welfare and a Bachelor’s degree in psychology and sociology. They serve as Associate Editor of Children and Youth Services Review and have participated on the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children (APSAC) Prevention Committee. Consultation services have included a comprehensive evaluation of caseworker practices at a child maltreatment prevention agency operating under contract with a municipal child welfare authority, including review of supervisory standards aligned with National Association of Social Workers guidance and assessment of case planning competencies. The expert has also been retained to provide expert witness analysis in litigation concerning child welfare system oversight.

The expert’s research program concentrates on child maltreatment prevention, parental fears associated with oversight, distinctions among types of neglect and abuse, and the impact of neighborhood and socioeconomic conditions on maltreatment risk. As Principal Investigator on multiple funded studies, they have examined parenting concerns among families receiving preventive services, child and parent perspectives on caseworker engagement, and the relationship between neglect, trauma, and behavioral outcomes. Dissertation research evaluated foster children’s perceptions of permanency and placement stability using national longitudinal data, directly engaging with federal child welfare mandates concerning safety, permanency, and well-being. These areas of expertise are relevant in disputes involving allegations of abuse or neglect, adequacy of agency oversight, foster care placement decision-making, and compliance with established child welfare standards. Prior to entering academia, the expert accumulated more than 10 years of direct practice experience in public and private social service settings, including intake assessment for foster placements, permanency planning coordination, supervision of services for foster youth with developmental disabilities, and work within public family and children’s services agencies. This practice background informs evaluations of intake procedures, service planning, case documentation, supervision structures, and adherence to agency policy frameworks.