Dependency Court

Dependency Court is concerned with the care and protection of children who have been abused or neglected, or who are seen as high risk to be abused or neglected.  I may be retained by the attorney representing the child, the attorney for one or both parents, by an agency, or I may be appointed by the court.  As a forensic psychologist I may be asked to offer opinions concerning a parent’s capacity to parent and any treatment or other habilitation / rehabilitation services the parent may require.  I may be asked to offer diagnostic impressions and to articulate the treatment needs of the parent(s) or child.  Sometimes I may be asked to offer an opinion concerning the credibility of an allegation of abuse.  I may be asked to offer an opinion concerning the appropriateness of current treatment or why an individual is not responding to treatment.  Finally, I may be asked to offer an opinion concerning the potential risks to a child within the home, and whether it may be necessary to remove the child.  During a proceeding concerning the termination of parental rights, I may be retained to offer an opinion on some issue relevant to the proceeding, but I do not offer opinions concerning whether parental rights should be terminated.