Jennifer is the director of the Capacity Building Center for Courts. She has been at the ABA CCL since 2000, and has provided training and technical assistance in almost every state on a wide variety of issues including improving permanency outcomes, achieving permanency for older youth, and collaboration between court systems and the child welfare agency. Her current focus is working with federal and private partners to build capacity among courts, Court Improvement Projects, child welfare agencies and Tribes to achieve sustainable systems’ change.
Her publications include books titled Making it Permanent: Efforts to Finalize Permanency Plans for Foster Children, Legal Ethics in Child Welfare Cases, and Child Safety: A Guide for Judges and Lawyers. Jennifer has represented children in dependency cases, and has been an adjunct professor at Georgetown University Law Center, teaching legal ethics to students interested in pursuing public interest law careers. She received her J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center and her B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania.