Dr. Shawnté Alexander is a child welfare, investigations, and standard of care expert with a doctorate in Counseling Psychology. Dr. Alexander’s career and expertise span over 20 years working in sexual abuse prevention and response, child protection investigations, forensic interviewing, case management, and foster care.

Dr. Alexander’s expertise was developed through her oversight of more than 5,000 child sexual abuse investigations and 3,000 forensic interviews. She has testified in court on more than 200 occasions in cases regarding child welfare, suspected child abuse/neglect, foster care placements, and civil litigation. In addition, Dr. Alexander has substantial expertise in the management and supervision of child welfare systems, standards of care for case management, and the standards for supervision of sexual offenders. Dr. Alexander is a highly trained, certified clinician, who pairs this background with her practical knowledge and personal experience with organizations that serve children and vulnerable adults.

Dr. Alexander provides consultation and evaluation services to child protection agencies, religious organizations, and others and maintains an active clinical practice with adults, adolescents, children, and families. She has served as an Adjunct Professor of Psychology at Chicago City Colleges since 2007. She has presented at local and national conferences for social workers, clinicians, and child welfare professionals and has provided training and consultation for law enforcement, managed care organizations, nonprofit agencies, and religious institutions.

Dr. Alexander earned a Doctorate in Counseling Psychology, Post Graduate Certificate in Human Services Counseling, a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, and a Master of Arts in Psychology. She is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor, Licensed Child Protection Investigator, Licensed Child Welfare Specialist, and a trained Forensic Interviewer.