Have worked on a variety of criminal, civil, and administrative cases. These have included (but were not limited to): federal capital habeas cases, fitness for duty evaluations, psychiatric injury and disability, child witness reliability, violence risk assessments,
and others. See children, adolescents, and adults for medication management and psychotherapy.
Provided leadership, oversight, and direction for all LACDMH programs designed to address the needs of justice-involved populations across the lifespan. Coordinated diversion and re-entry efforts with multiple partners including the L.A. County Departments
of Correctional Health, Health Services, Public Health (Substance Abuse Prevention and Control), Office of Diversion and Reentry, Sheriff’s, Probation, and Children & Family Services, in addition to the Courts. Oversaw LACDMH programs including: Adult Probation (AB 109), Juvenile Justice Mental Health, Juvenile Court Mental Health Services, LACDMH-UCLA Forensic Fellowship Training,
and Mental Health Court Linkage. Develop and implement innovative care pathways for individuals who were diverted from jails,
juvenile halls, and juvenile camps into alternative treatment settings. Helped with foundational overhaul of juvenile justice system of
L.A. County. Managed a diverse team responsible for collaborating closely with other agencies, organizations, academic institutions, groups, and individuals. Worked to eliminate unnecessary incarceration of those with serious mental illnesses.
Supervise psychiatrists providing evaluation and treatment to children and adolescents in the custody of the Los Angeles County Probation Department; interface with other county agencies in the delivery of health services to youth in this system; help with redesign of LA County Department of Probation camp system, where juveniles serve their sentences, in order to help improve delivery of psychiatric, educational and other services and reduce recidivism rates; advise the juvenile court on appropriateness of particular psychotropic medications for youth under delinquency or dependency court jurisdiction; work with juvenile court judges/commissioners, public defenders, district attorneys, child advocates on developing a new standardized assessment protocol for juveniles’ adjudicative competence; also developing a competence “restoration” program/paradigm.
Provide psychiatric evaluation and treatment to children and adolescents in the custody of the Los Angeles County Probation Department.
Have worked on variety of criminal, civil, and administrative cases. These include: federal capital habeas cases, fitness for duty evaluations, psychiatric injury and disability, child witness reliability, violence risk assessments, and others. See children, adolescents and adults for medication management and psychotherapy.
Provided forensic consultation to staff psychiatrists at Napa State Hospital in difficult cases. Issues included: fitness for release of NGRI acquittees (including violence risk assessments), competence to stand trial, competence to refuse medical and psychiatric treatment, diagnostic clarification, and optimization of psychiatric treatment.
Conducted psychiatric evaluations of defendants in order to determine their competence to stand trial.
Provided forensic consultation services to the Federal Public Defender. Issues included: substance abuse/intoxication and witness reliability, competence to undergo probation revocation hearings, and likelihood of defendant(s) being medication compliant if released.
Provided forensic consultation services to the District Attorneys’ Office by evaluating individuals currently on mental health conservatorships to render opinions regarding their need for continued conservatorship. Also testified in mental health court when necessary.
Worked as an attending psychiatrist on both the inpatient unit and outpatient clinics at Sacramento County Jail. Supervised UC Davis medical students and psychiatry residents during their inpatient and outpatient rotations.
Worked independently providing psychiatric evaluations and treatment to mentally ill inmates recently released from state penitentiaries and Twin Towers Correctional Facility in Los Angeles as part of an intensive case management strategy designed to reduce recidivism rates.