Reunification Expert Witnesses

Orange, California

Social Work, Child Abuse - Child protective services, public child welfare, foster care, child abuse & neglect, nonminor dependents, emergency removals, dependency court, CPS standards of care, CPS policies & practices, civil rights, CPS investigations, mandated reporting, reasonable services, reunification, .26 hearings

Licensed Clinical Social Worker with 25+ years of diverse work experience including in the public sector, private sector, non-profit, academia, and military. A former Child Protective Services (CPS) social worker & supervisor of 15 years with insider knowledge about child welfare. Hands-on experience with hundreds of child welfare-involved families and children in all phases of a child dependency case. Supervised, trained, and taught CPS social workers, interns, and Master of Social Work students. Specialized areas of knowledge include: Certificates of Merits Emergency Child Removals, warrants Warrantless removals, exigent circumstances, imminent risk Child Protective Services policies, practices, and procedures Child abuse and neglect Foster care, out of home care, congregate care Case Plans: Reunification, family maintenance and transitional living plans Standards of care § 1983 Civil rights, Monell Liability AB12/Non-Minor dependents Structured Decision-Making (SDM) Risk asses...

Denver, Colorado

Child Abuse, Social Work - child custody, child development, child abuse, child neglect, Family separation, Trauma, Best interest, Mental health, Tpr, family separation, Removal, Foster care, Reunification, Adoption, Attachment, PTSD, Kinship care, behavioral and social sciences, child protective services, child dependency

Jessica Handelman is a Board Certified Licensed Clinical Social Worker in Colorado, Utah, Texas, and Florida with nearly 20 years of experience. Holding certifications in Forensic Social Work and Multicultural and International Social Work Practice, other specialized expertise includes Adoption Trauma, Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health, Complex Trauma, the Harm of Removal, TPR, and Forensic Evaluations. Jessica's primary focus of work is centered around dependent and neglected children and domestic relations matters. She has also worked on juvenile delinquency and guardianship cases. Jessica's scope of work routinely involves legal advocacy, conducting mental health evaluations, child-focused trauma assessments, Parent-Child Interactional Evaluations, facilitating therapeutic out-of-home placement transitions, and serving as an expert witness throughout the country. Jessica is a certified Child & Family Investigator and Parental Responsibilities Evaluator. Jessica’s e...

Texas

Child Abuse, Social Work - child custody, child development, child abuse, child neglect, Family separation, Trauma, Best interest, Mental health, Tpr, family separation, Removal, Foster care, Reunification, Adoption, Attachment, PTSD, Kinship care, behavioral and social sciences, child protective services, child dependency

Jessica Handelman is a Board Certified Licensed Clinical Social Worker in Colorado, Utah, Texas, and Florida with nearly 20 years of experience. Holding certifications in Forensic Social Work and Multicultural and International Social Work Practice, other specialized expertise includes Adoption Trauma, Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health, Complex Trauma, the Harm of Removal, TPR, and Forensic Evaluations. Jessica's primary focus of work is centered around dependent and neglected children and domestic relations matters. She has also worked on juvenile delinquency and guardianship cases. Jessica's scope of work routinely involves legal advocacy, conducting mental health evaluations, child-focused trauma assessments, Parent-Child Interactional Evaluations, facilitating therapeutic out-of-home placement transitions, and serving as an expert witness throughout the country. Jessica is a certified Child & Family Investigator and Parental Responsibilities Evaluator. Jessica’s e...