Sandra Kopels
Professor
Office location:304 SSW
Phone number:217-244-5230
Email: kopels@uiuc.edu
Educational Background
Sandra Kopels received her JD and MSW degrees from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and is a licensed attorney. She is currently a professor at the University of Illinois.
Prior to joining the U of I faculty, she was Director of the Legal Advocacy Service of the State of Illinois Guardianship and Advocacy Commission. Her research and teaching focuses on legal and ethical issues as they affect social work clients and practitioners. She has lectured extensively on subjects related to the confidentiality and disclosure of client information. Presently, Professor Kopels serves as the Managing Editor of the School of Social Work Journal and a reviewer for numerous social work journals. Professor Kopels serves as a board member of the State of Illinois Child Welfare Employee Licensure Board and has been appointed as a Trustee for the National Association of Social Workers Legal Defense Fund. She has received repeated recognition from the University of Illinois for her excellent teaching.
Research and Practice Interests
Legal issues for social workers, confidentiality, duty to warn, ethics, special education, substitute decision-making
Current Research
Dr. Kopels is currently co-authoring the third edition of Social Work Records with Jill Doner Kagle. She is beginning work on a project to examine outcomes for older youth in the Department of Children and Family Services.
Recent Publications
Kopels, S. and Lindsey, B. C. (2006).The complexity of confidentiality in schools today: The school social worker context. School Social Work Journal, Special Issue, Summer 2006, 463-78.
Eamon, MK., and Kopels, S. (2004). For reasons of poverty: Court Challenges to Child Welfare Practices and Mandated Programs. Children and Youth Services Review, 26(9), 821-836.
Altshuler, S.J. and Kopels, S. (2003). Advocating in Schools for Children with Disabilities: What’s the New I.D.E.A. Social Work, 48(3), 320-329.
Kopels, S., Charleton, T., and Wells, S.J. (2003). Investigation Laws and Practices in Child Protective Services. Child Welfare, LXXXII (6), 661-684.
Kopels, S. and Chesnut Sheridan, M. (2002). Adding Legal Insult to Injury: Battered Women, Their Children and the Failure to Protect. Affilia, 17(1), 9-29.