Kiran Malpe is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who has been practicing since 2003 after graduating from Columbia University School of Social Work.  Ms. Malpe has a Bachelor’s in Psychology from New York University and Early Childhood Education Certification from San Francisco State University.  Ms. Malpe has a wide array of experience in the Social Work field, in particular involving her passion for Child Welfare Reform and prevention of maltreatment to children, including working in Foster Care, Child Protection, and Preventive Services. She was the Director of a Supportive Housing Project for Medically Fragile Families and also helped plan for, design and implement one of the first Community Based Social Services Programs within a Primary Care Setting in a rural area of Ireland.  Ms. Malpe has extensive experience in Early Childhood Education and Early Development as she was a Pre-School teacher who went on to become a Director in a Head Start Program as well as Assistant Director in an Early Head Start Program in East Harlem.  Ms. Malpe has specialized training in Infant Mental Health and Child-Parent Psychotherapy (CPP) and was a Child Development Specialist/Clinician at the Early Childhood Center at Albert Einstein’s College of Medicine prior to taking on her current role as Clinical Director of the Strong Starts Court Initiative (SSCI).   Strong Starts Court Initiative is a specialized Family Court approach developed to meet the needs of very young children during the foundational stage of development.  It does this by focusing on the infant’s need for protection and secure attachment, and by considering all child welfare practices through the lens of promoting healthy development and a solid foundation for infant mental health. SSCI has been operating in the Bronx Family Court since May 2015 and has since expanded to all 5 boroughs and Westchester County.