Andrea Verbanic
Author + Social Worker
Andrea Verbanic began December 2, 2013, finger-painting and practicing yoga with three toddlers. By 9:00 p.m. that evening, she was the main target of a felony child abuse investigation that upended her life. The ordeal that unfolded over the next six years is equal parts social commentary, whodunnit mystery, and drama-filled soap opera that will challenge what you think you know about the systems we trust to protect us.
My essays.
Andrea was a Child Protective Services social worker for ten years and investigated over 1400 reports of child abuse and neglect. She holds a master’s degree in social work and is currently employed as a therapist in a children’s psychiatric hospital. Her employment and life experiences make her well positioned to observe how social systems—child welfare, mental health, criminal justice—are intertwined in the lives of our most vulnerable citizens.
“Often lost in the shuffle is the idea that we are public servants. Our mandate is to provide care for those who cannot care for themselves, and to do so with an attitude of humility. How often this concept gets lost, and how tragic the consequences when it does.”
— Andrea Verbanic
“There is no surer way to end a conversation, stop a person’s ability to share their viewpoint with vulnerability, and prevent solution-based discussions than by hurling loaded words that carry with them years of hurt and frustration. In our quest to solve our most pressing social problems, we can’t afford to drop conversation killers into the middle of conversations we have to have.”
— Andrea Verbanic
Andrea Verbanic 