FORENSIC SERVICES

Forensic psychologists work at the crossroads of psychology and the legal system. They understand criminal and civil law and frequently serve as expert witnesses in court proceedings. Forensic psychologists may provide child-custody evaluations, testify in civil and criminal cases, gauge a defendant’s competency for trial or complete assessments of offenders and their risks to the community.

Dr. Napolitano has 20 years of experience as an evaluator of Offenders with Mental Disorders in California’s prison system. In that time, she has completed close to 2000 evaluations for the California Department of Mental Health Forensic Services, Offender With Mental Disorder Unit.

The OMD population consists of inmates who are receiving mental health care following the commission of a violent crime. The evaluations are designed to determine whether or not the inmate represents a substantial danger of physical harm to others because of a severe mental disorder. The OMD law is intended to increase public safety.

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Dr. Napolitano is a Sexually Violent Predator Evaluator (SVPE) employed by the Department of State Hospitals to conduct Sexually Violent Predator evaluations and provide expert witness testimony in civil commitment trials. Under state law, a "sexually violent predator" is someone who has been convicted of a sexually violent offense against one or more victims and who has been diagnosed with a mental disorder that makes them a danger to others. Those determined to be Sexually Violent Predators may be subject to civil commitment at a State Hospital.

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Dr. Napolitano is an expert at evaluating the risk of violence in juvenile offenders. In addition to providing such assessments, Dr. Napolitano is qualified to testify in court about her findings.

Dr. Napolitano has 25 years’ experience in child-custody evaluations. Through the evaluation process, Dr. Napolitano assesses the psychological status of the child and parents to help determine the best family structure in the face of parental disagreement, child special needs, alienation, substance abuse, mental illness issues, relocation requests and abuse or domestic violence allegations.

Dr. Napolitano has a strong background and specialized training in child forensic interviewing. She was trained as a Child Forensic Interview Specialist by the Child Abuse Training and Technical Assistance Centers (CATTA), and served four years in that role with the Madera County Child Forensic Interview Team. Dr. Napolitano is an expert in the proper questioning techniques of children who allege sexual abuse.

Dr. Napolitano is an experienced witness whose diverse clinical background forms a strong and distinct foundation for her expert testimony. As a practicing clinician, Dr. Napolitano has decades of experience treating children and adults who struggle with mental illness, trauma, and divorce-related conflict. She draws on that vast clinical background as an expert witness in a wide range of criminal and civil proceedings. Dr. Napolitano has given depositions and testified in numerous trials related to Offenders with Mental Disorders (OMD), Sexually Violent Predators (SVP) , child custody evaluations, juvenile risk assessments, malpractice cases, psychological damages and dependency issues.

For more than 25 years, Dr. Napolitano has traveled across California as an expert witness in cases involving allegations of child sexual abuse. She has testified in dozens of legal proceedings and on behalf of both the prosecution and defense in criminal cases. Dr. Napolitano is an expert in child sexual abuse accommodation syndrome and proper questioning techniques.

Dr. Napolitano can be retained by lawyers to assist with understanding the complex psychological elements of a legal case. Specialty areas include risk of violence, risk of sex offending, juvenile risk, child forensic evaluations, child custody evaluations, and trial preparation.

Dr. Napolitano can assist psychologists in gaining expertise in the areas violence and sexual violence risk assessment, expert testimony, child forensic interviews, child sex abuse allegations, civil court actions and understanding the legal/court process.