Having known and worked with David Arredondo on innumerable projects over more than 10 years, I am in a unique position to appreciate what gifts he brings to the table. He has a great mind, impeccable credentials and is articulate in word and speech. Intensely passionate about the projects he takes on, he is nonetheless able to pay great attention to detail while still seeing the big picture. He has been a tireless advocate for the disenfranchised and a great teacher and public speaker. He has a gift for translating the complex into the simple so that difficult concepts are much easier to grasp.
His achievements are legion. He is creator of Juvenile Mental Health Courts, having started the first in Santa Clara County over five years ago. Thereafter, he has helped scores of court systems start similar courts based on the model he developed. He has developed the most sophisticated and successful wraparound services model in the country. It was implemented under his direction focusing on the most difficult to place children in one county’s juvenile child abuse and neglect system. Successful, long-term placements were achieved at a rate over 90%. He has provide technical assistance to judges throughout California and across the country on such issues as child development, the uses of psychotropic medications, brain development, the impact of domestic violence on children and other topics critical to judges and professionals working in the court system. He was the key witness in a major federal lawsuit on the issue of what damage (if any) is caused by incarcerating children with their parents while the parents await clearance from immigration authorities. His testimony was adopted by the court.
Dr Arredondo has dedicated his professional life to improving outcomes for children and their families caught in the juvenile court system. His involvement in these systems has brought great benefit to professionals, but most of all to the clients.
Judge Leonard Edwards (ret)
Judge-in-Residence
Administrative Office of the Courts
San Francisco, California
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