Sidney Goldberg worked for almost 25 years in the child welfare system. In 1995, he created and founded The Pathways to Development Program at the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services in Chicago. Pathways provided comprehensive opportunities for children living in foster care to explore and pursue their interests through high quality classes and other learning experiences. This is the only known program of its kind in this country. In 2002, Mr. Goldberg established The Pathways to Development Program in New York City.

Prior to his child welfare work Mr. Goldberg studied with and was supervised by psychologist Albert Ellis, founder of Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy.