Eric possesses a Bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice with a minor in Psychology and a concentration in Political Science from the State University of New York at Albany. Eric’s child welfare experience and skills started back in 1989 when he landed employment with the State of New York’s Division For Youth (DFY) serving as a Youth Division Aide (YDA), trainer and counselor. Eric continued in DFY working in an inner city group home for boys maintaining their custody, care and control in an aftercare service program working with some of New York’s most troubled juvenile delinquents and persons in need of supervision (PINS). Eric went on to service the private sector for a non-for-profit youth agency working directly with and managing a group home for emotionally challenged boys. His work extended to training and supervision of new employees, pre-placement intake assessments, counseling and youth life skills training to ultimately transitioning these young adults to supervised independent living environments (SILP). Eric’s many years of experience also spans the interesting realm of State Child Protective Services with a vested tenure at the Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) serving as a State Child Abuse Specialist and respectively an Institutional Abuse Investigator in downstate New York and Long Island for the State Juvenile Correctional system. Eric has also enjoyed a term serving as a traveling technical field/classroom computer trainer and curriculum designer with the State University of New York’s (SUNY) Research Foundation-Training Strategies Group (TSG).

Eric’s skills span working with emotionally and developmentally disturbed/challenged male and female youth, criminal fraud investigation, child abuse investigation, child welfare protection and advocacy, gang violence and partnership, youth independent living skills and transition, information technology, foster care/adoption, juvenile court systems, youth intake and placement, youth developmental dysfunction and clinical care/treatment as well as supervision and management within these service fields. Eric is certified in Therapeutic Crisis Intervention (TCI), Non-Violent Crisis Intervention (NVCI), Handle With Care crisis training, State Crisis Management-Personal Restraint Training (CMPR), First Aid/CPR training and cleared through New York State’s Child Abuse Register. In his child transport tenure, Eric designed and implemented a policies and procedures manual and training curriculum directly related to the safe passage of youth and family intervention practices as well as the oversight and management of transport agents within the industry. Eric’s commitment to families in need is substantial.