PhD Candidate
Contact Information
Email: ssbinion@crimson.ua.edu
Areas of Interest and Expertise
- Disability Issues
- Disabled Prisoner Population
- Foster care-involved youth in higher education
- Incarceration experience
- Justice-involved youth
- Reintegration
Education
- BSW, Morehead State University, Morehead, KY
- MSW, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY
Background and Professional Experience
Stefanie Binion received her BSW degree in 2012 from Morehead State University and her MSW degree in 2019 from the University of Kentucky, with a concentration in Community and Social Development. During her time as a MSW student, she collaborated with the Institute for Justice Research and Development (IJRD) at Florida State University and the Kentucky Department of Corrections to implement a pilot research study to better determine offender reentry needs upon release from prison. Additionally, she worked with The Center on Drug and Alcohol Research at the University of Kentucky to facilitate a qualitative research study, which gauged the effectiveness of state funded assistance programs designed to help single mothers attending community college.
Prior to joining academia, Binion began her social work career in 2012 in Washington, D.C., where she worked as a program manager in the nonprofit sector. Her role in this position was to assist intellectually and developmentally disabled individuals with housing, employment, and crisis management. After deciding to pursue a graduate degree at the University of Kentucky, Binion later relocated to Lexington, Kentucky, where she has spent the last few years managing self-sufficiency and wraparound support programs for low income families, single mothers, and undergraduate students