Best Interests of the Child - Biography 1 | Page 15
Rachel BIRNBAUM
Dr. Birnbaum teaches in the area of children and families and on the
intersection between law and social work. She’s cross appointed with
Childhood & Social Institutions (Interdisciplinary programs) and Social
Work. She has presented and published both nationally and internationally on child custody and access assessments, child legal representation,
children’s participation in family disputes, and access to justice.
She is the AFCC recipient of the 2014 Stanley Cohen Distinguished
Research
Award
(an
award
given
by
an
international
group
of
interdisciplinary and international family justice professionals). Her research
is interdisciplinary and collaborative with colleagues in law, medicine,
psychology and social work. Dr. Birnbaum has co-authored several books
regarding separation and/or divorce, on research methodologies and
authored several Department of Justice papers on children’s participation
during parental breakdown.
Natia PARTSKHALADZE
Natia Partskhaladze, MD, MSW. Earned degrees from the leading schools
in the United States, Europe and Georgia. She is presently working
on PhD research on the Quality of Life of Deinstitutionalized Children
in Alternative out of home Care in Georgia. Natia Partskhaladze has
15 years of experience in the field of child care and social protection
system strengthening work, both at the policy and programming level.
Dr Partskhaladze is a founder and current Chairperson of the Georgian
Association of Social Workers professional organization supporting the
development of the social work profession and social services in differrent fields and uniting over 500 social workers and other social service
professionals. Dr Partskhaladze has worked in UNICEF Child Protection
for over 7 years. As a senior national child protection specialist in
Georgia, she has contributed towards developing child protection system
and successful implementation of child care system reform, resulting in
development
of
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