Dauphin County Dependency 101: Procedure and Practice

Heather Paterno is the Lead Staff Attorney for Dauphin County Social Services for Children and Youth. She obtained a Bachelor of Arts in Business Communications from Bentley College and earned her Juris Doctorate from the Dickinson School of Law of the Pennsylvania State University. Upon graduation, Heather practiced commercial litigation and family law for almost 18 years at Goldberg Katzman, P.C., where she focused her practice on children’s issues, becoming the first court-appointed guardian ad litem for custody actions and paving the way for the now common practice. From 2015-2024, Heather was a court-appointed guardian ad litem in Dependency where she represented hundreds of children subject to the child welfare system. Heather has served as a Dauphin County Custody Conference Officer, Arbitration Panel Chair, Adjunct Professor of Paralegal Studies at Harrisburg Area Community College, authored three children’s books, and has served on numerous local boards supporting child protection, growth, and opportunity. Prior to assuming her current role with CYS, Heather clerked for the Honorable Courtney K. Powell.

Jenni graduated from Hampton University and Chicago-Kent College of Law. She served as a prosecutor in Dauphin County and later worked for Pennsylvania’s Office of Inspector General and Department of State’s Bureau of Professional and Occupation Affairs. She was also an Adjunct Professor at Messiah College. In 2018, Jenni founded Chavis Law Firm, LLC, which provides legal services to business owners, handling matters such as business formation, trademarks, estate planning, and licensure defense. Jenni serves as a hearing examiner for Dauphin County for dependency and delinquency matters. The firm’s website is www.chavislawfirm.com, and Jenni can be reached at (717)884-8533 or jenni@chavislawfirm.com.

Cory A. Leshner is a Trial Attorney. The majority of Cory’s practice is focused on Criminal Defense. Cory has extensive criminal jury trial experience across the Commonwealth. He has served as lead Trial Counsel in Cumberland, Dauphin, Northumberland, Snyder, Union and York Counties on Criminal Defense matters including homicide, attempted homicide, drug deliveries resulting in death, felony drug offenses, sexual offenses, and bank robberies. Cory presently serves as one of eight (8) appointed Conflicts Counsel in Dauphin County and as an Assistant Public Defender in Northumberland County. Cory has previously served as an Assistant Public Defender in Snyder County. In addition to Cory’s Criminal trial practice, he also practices regularly in the area of criminal appeals before the Superior and Supreme Courts of Pennsylvania. Cory also serves indigent parents in Dauphin County as court appointed Counsel for Children and Youth matters as well as Termination of Parental Rights litigation. Aside from Criminal Defense, Cory has significant civil litigation experience in the areas of real estate, specifically eminent domain and landlord/tenant matters, as well as personal injury, and commercial contractual disputes. Before joining Mette, Cory operated a solo practice in Dauphin and Northumberland Counties focusing on Criminal Defense, civil litigation, and business matters. Prior to his practicing law, Cory gained valuable experience in business management and operations in the fields of real estate, construction, transportation, and logistics. Cory’s diverse experience has led him to adopt the motto of Legal Insight, Business Instinct.