Expert in the Behavioral Health Standard of Care

Specialties & Experience of this Expert Witness

Additional Information

Matthew Madaus, LCSW, is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker with over 35 years of leadership experience in the behavioral health field. He currently serves as Executive Director of the Behavioral Health Collaborative of Alameda County, an association of nonprofit mental health and substance use treatment providers. Member agencies deliver services to more than 175,000 children, youth, and adults annually, including mental health care, substance use treatment, foster care, education, and housing. Mr. Madaus advises agency executives and senior staff on upholding the standard of care across their service systems. Mr. Madaus was the CEO of Edgewood Center for Children and Families in San Francisco, overseeing all residential treatment and community-based programs. He was the Clinical Director of The Home for Little Wanderers in Boston, where he provided leadership to numerous residential and community-based programs. He has held positions as Executive Director, Chief Operating Officer, Residential Treatment Director, Director of Community Mental Health, Program Director, and other manager and clinical roles. Mr. Madaus has experience designing, launching, running, and accrediting residential treatment centers, group homes, drug and alcohol rehab facilities, crisis stabilization units, inpatient psychiatric programs, emergency shelters, foster care programs, and a wide range of community-based programs in both California and Massachusetts. Mr. Madaus has taught at the undergraduate and graduate level, served on many regional, state, national, and international committees and Boards, and presented at numerous conferences. He has provided training and consultation on the behavioral health standard of care, clinical practice, and program design throughout the U.S. and internationally. Mr. Madaus authored No Crash Landings: Upholding the Standard of Care in Behavioral health Services from Childhood through Young Adulthood. The book is published by Oxford University Press, released October 13, 2025. He has been retained by both plaintiff and defendant attorneys in the U.S. and Canada on 150 cases and testified 20 times.