PRACTICE AREAS

Johanna can help you in the review and implementation of Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), and make sure your children are getting all the appropriate services they need to reach their best potential, including out of district placements.

Johanna has worked with the following New Jersey school districts:

• Bayonne
• Belleville
• Berlin Township
• Brick Township
• Bridgewater-Raritan Regional
• Cliffside Park
• Cresskill
• Denville
• Dumont
• Edison
• Egg Harbor Township
• Elizabeth
• Fairlawn
• Fort Lee
• Glenrock
• Hackensack
• Hampton 
• Hawthorne
• Jersey City
• Lebanon Township
• Lenape Valley-Sparta
• Linwood
• Manahawkin
• Manchester Regional
• Maywood
• Millington
• Millville
• Monroe
• Monroe Township
• Montclair
• Mount Laurel
• Mount Olive Township
• North Haledon
• North Plainfield
• Northvale
• Nutley
• Paramus
• Parsippany
• Piscataway
• Ramapo Indian Hills
• Rochelle Park
• Saddle Brook
• South Plainfield
• Summit
• Sussex Wantage
• The Lewis School of Princeton
• Upper Saddle River
• Waldwick
• Wayne
• West Deptford
• West Milford
• Westfield
• Westwood
• Winslow

Johanna has participated in mediation and due process hearings, including litigation against school districts and handling bullying cases within school districts.

Johanna can help you in placing your child with special needs under or over the age of 21 into an appropriate residential placement, ensuring your child’s needs are being met to provide you with peace of mind. Johanna has worked extensively and developed collaborative relationships with the Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD), the Division of Children and Family Services (DCF), the Department of Human Services (DHS), Perform Care, Care Management Organizations (CMOs), Children’s System of Care (CSOC), top Legislator’s and the Governor’s Office to achieve these placements. She has worked with the following agencies in the State of New Jersey and outside the state to find residential placements including:

• Bancroft
• YCS
• Oaks Integrated Care
• Allies
• The Woods Facility in Pennsylvania
• The Plowshare Facility in New Hampshire
• The Brookhaven Facility in Oklahoma
• Legacy
• Heart to Heart
• Friends of Cyrus
• Serv Behavioral Health
• Community Options
• Neighbours
• Elwyn

Additionally, Johanna has worked with Greystone Psychiatric Hospital to successfully get one of her clients moved into an appropriate facility to address his severe needs in an out of state facility. She will also handle abuse and/or neglect cases. Johanna has seen many group homes in the State of New Jersey and will go with you to make sure they are appropriate for your child just as she has done for her own son.

Johanna has extensive knowledge and experience in navigating how to get services in the many twists and turns in New Jersey’s system of care for children under and over 21. This is because she has navigated these systems personally with her own son, getting him the services he is entitled to in the state. She has successfully advocated with school districts to provide after school services, and has gotten Perform Care to provide additional in-house services for children, including after school and weekend behavioral services and life skills services, as well as in-house respite care services throughout the week for many families. Additionally, Johanna has extensive knowledge of the complicated process for helping your child who is approaching 21 obtain Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD) services. Johanna can also help you with Social Security Disability issues as well as Medicaid issues.

Johanna has experience in the Guardianship process and can help your family decide what is best for your child before he or she turns 18 years old. She is familiar with this process as she has gone through it herself with her own son Aidan.