Services

Domestic Violence

Firesetting
Many children who learn "by doing", or who are very active, "experiment" physically rather than intellectually. Other children may have been exposed to lack of supervision, early childhood trauma, or may be experiencing the effects of ADD/ADHD, and act impulsively. Working with fire setting youth is not as scary or unrewarding as many may think. My experience with fire setting youth is that they feel starved for the opportunity to talk about their world and their experiences.
The Idea Bank's Speakers' Directory (fire setting)

Forensic Social Work
"Forensic" means "before the court." Forensic social work basically is anything a social worker is doing in the field of criminal or civil law. It can be client, child protection or defendant-based. Forensic social work also includes child-custody issues involving separation, divorce, neglect, termination of parental rights, implications of child and spouse abuse, juvenile and adult services, corrections and mandated treatment.

Courts are realizing they cannot prevent family violence and child abuse without collaborating with professionals including social workers.
(NASW News, November 2003.)

In my forensic capacity, I often testify as to my opinions, and the facts and bases for my opinions, regarding social work, social services, duties, responsibilities and standards of care. My opinions are often sought regarding parenting, adoption, foster care, foster parenting, foster children, and the effects of early childhood trauma on the developmental stages of childhood, adolescence and adulthood. I testify about ways of supporting and working with adults, children and teens.

I have provided attachment, parenting, and custody-related testimony in well over three hundred cases in the Spokane County, Juvenile and Superior Courts. In addition, I have provided child and family evaluations and expert witness testimony in other parts of Washington state as well as in Idaho and Montana.

Goal Setting

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Jim Mahoney
1220 S. Division
Spokane, WA 99202
509.838.2256

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