Michael SainiProfile page
Professor
Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work
Orcid identifier0000-0001-5475-4033
- ProfessorFactor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work
- 416-946-5027 (Work)
- 416-420-0097 (Mobile)
BIO
Michael A. Saini joined the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work in 2008 as an Assistant Professor. He is now a Professor and holds the endowed Factor-Inwentash Chair in Law and Social Work, and is the Co-Director of the Combined J.D. and M.S.W. program with the Law Faculty.
Michael’s scholarship addresses the intersections of law and social work and the advancement of children and families’ well-being in systems governed by law. Michael has generated new knowledge regarding the assessment of co-parenting; the complexity of strained parent-child relationships; the impact of interparental conflict; the use of technology to support parent-child relationships; the crossover cases of child protection and child custody disputes; and social-work perspectives on the law as a socially embedded phenomenon.
For 19 years, Michael conducted parenting plan evaluations and assisted children’s counsel for the Office of the Children’s Lawyer, Ministry of the Attorney General in Ontario. Michael has over 200 publications, including books, book chapters, government reports, systematic reviews and peer-reviewed journal articles.
In 2019, Michael was awarded the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts’ Stanley Cohen Distinguished Research Award, sponsored by the Oregon Family Institute.
Media availability: TV, Radio, Print/Online
Michael’s scholarship addresses the intersections of law and social work and the advancement of children and families’ well-being in systems governed by law. Michael has generated new knowledge regarding the assessment of co-parenting; the complexity of strained parent-child relationships; the impact of interparental conflict; the use of technology to support parent-child relationships; the crossover cases of child protection and child custody disputes; and social-work perspectives on the law as a socially embedded phenomenon.
For 19 years, Michael conducted parenting plan evaluations and assisted children’s counsel for the Office of the Children’s Lawyer, Ministry of the Attorney General in Ontario. Michael has over 200 publications, including books, book chapters, government reports, systematic reviews and peer-reviewed journal articles.
In 2019, Michael was awarded the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts’ Stanley Cohen Distinguished Research Award, sponsored by the Oregon Family Institute.
Media availability: TV, Radio, Print/Online
ACADEMIC POSITIONS
- Associate ProfessorUniversity of Toronto, Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, Canada2013 - present
- Co-Director, Combined JD/MSW ProgramUniversity of Toronto, Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, Canada2013 - present
- Factor-Inwentash Chair in Law and Social WorkUniversity of Toronto, Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work, Canada2013 - present
NON-ACADEMIC POSITIONS
- Private practice (parenting coaching, custody evaluation, consultation, expert testimony)Pathways to CoParenting, Canada2003 - present
- ConsultantNational Centre of State Courts2017 - present
- ConsultantAisling Discoveries Child and Family Centre2017 - present
- ConsultantBlue Hills Child and Family Centre York Region2014 - present
- ConsultantPeel Children’s Aid Society2016 - present
- ConsultantNebraska State Court Administrator’s Office2016 - present
- Clinical AgentOffice of the Children’s Lawyer, Ministry of the Attorney General2004 - present
DEGREES
- Ph.D.University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
- MSWUniversity of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
- BSWLakehead University, Thunder Bay, Canada
- BANipissing University, North Bay, Canada
- BALaurentian University, Greater Sudbury, Canada
AVAILABILITY
- Industry Projects
- Media enquiries
- Masters Research or PhD student supervision