Practice Brief
Los Angeles · Nationwide
Child Welfare & Daycare Expertise Grounded in Real-World Experience
Former Director
Los Angeles County Department of Children & Family Services
Georgia Division of Family & Children Services
Special Appointments
Commissioner: Georgia Department of Early Care & Learning
Education
Master Of Social Work, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Recognition
2021 Distinguished Alumnus, UNC School of Social Work
Practice Areas
A focused practice across inter-related systems.
Expert consultation, analysis, reports, and testimony for plaintiff and defense counsel in complex child welfare and daycare litigation.
01 / Practice Area
Child Welfare & Investigations
Child injury or death, negligent investigation, failure to protect, foster care practice, placement and supervision, facility licensing & oversight, regulatory compliance, policy and practice, standard of care.
02 / Practice Area
Daycare & Early Childhood
Child injury or death, negligent supervision and monitoring, staff-to-child ratios, facility licensing and oversight, health and safety practices, abuse and neglect prevention, staff screening and background checks, staff qualifications and training, regulatory compliance, standard of care.
At a Glance
A practice grounded in operations, not opinion.
The figures below are not advertisements. They are evidence of a career spent inside agencies, statutes, budgets, policies and practices that complex litigation now examines.
+
$ B
hrs
Bobby D. Cagle, MSW
Position
“Expertise in this work doesn't come from titles - it comes from having held the file, written the policy, and answered for the outcome.”
Practice Areas
From frontline social worker to system director.
A linear path through every level of the systems Bobby is now retained to evaluate — beginning at the county caseworker level and ending at the executive direction of the largest child welfare agency in the United States.
2022 — NOW
President & CEO, Cagle Consulting
Los Angeles, CA · Strategic advisory and expert witness practice.
2017 — 2022
Director, Los Angeles County DCFS
9,300 staff · $3B budget · Population 10.3M
2014 — 2017
Director, Georgia DFCS
$1.6B budget · 7,700 employees · Statewide child welfare and economic services.
2011 — 2014
Commissioner, Georgia Department of Early Care + Learning
$687M · 6,600 licensed providers · GA Pre-K administration
2006 — 2011
Legislative + Policy Director, Georgia DFCS
2003 — 2006
Deputy Director, Mecklenburg County DSS
2001 — 2003
Director, Graham County, NC DSS
1991 — 2001
Probation/Parole Officer, Supervison, District Manager, NC Department of Corrections
1989 — 1991
Child Welfare Social Worker, Graham County, NC DSS
The Journal
Notes from the practice.
Long-form writing on emerging issues at the intersection of child welfare, regulatory compliance, and litigation strategy. All entries →
Apr 01, 2025
Cagle Expert Witness Services: A Trusted Partner in Child Welfare & Human Services Litigation
Apr 01, 2025
Reading a Consent Decree: A Field Guide for Litigators
Apr 01, 2025
What Daycare Licensing Actually Reviews — and What It Misses
Bring expert clarity to your most consequential case.
Initial consultations are conducted, confidentially at no cost, typically within 72 hours of intake. Engagements accepted nationally, in state and federal forums.