Ms. Stephen received her MSW from San Diego State University in 1998 and went on to receive her LCSW in December of 2002. She began working at Charter Hospital in 1998, where she performed intake assessments of individuals presenting for mental health and/or substance abuse concerns. Early in 1999, she also worked part-time as a domestic violence counselor, running treatment groups for both male and female perpetrators of domestic violence.

Amy began her career as a Protective Services Worker in May of 1999 and has been there ever since. Her experience in Child Welfare began in the Continuing Services unit and evolved into her current work facilitating Family Unity and Team Decision-Making Meetings. Amy has found her experience in facilitating family meetings to be very rewarding and enjoys the process of assisting families in working together to create solutions as a family unit.

For several years, Amy also took on a private practice for approximately 10 hours each week through Psycare San Diego, where she provided therapy to individuals, couples, and families. She began teaching classes through the Academy of Excellence in 2005, and is happy to have the opportunity to pass on the knowledge she has gained and continues to gain in the Child Welfare field.

Amy teaches several of the classes in the Core Curriculum for new Protective Service Workers including: Safety, Risk, and Protective Capacity, Family Engagement in Case Planning and Case Management, Placement and Permanency, and Sexual Abuse and Exploitation. She has also provided trainings and presentations on Family Group Conferencing and Team Decision-Making Meetings.