PhD Candidate
Contact Information
Email: kebolton@crimson.ua.edu
Areas of Interest and Expertise
- Child Welfare
- Interdisciplinary Research
- Trauma and Neurobiology
- Trauma-informed Mental Health Treatment
Education
- BS (Family, Youth and Community Sciences), The University of Florida
- MSW, Asbury University
Bio
Kelly Bolton received her bachelor of science in Family, Youth and Community Sciences in 2013 from the University of Florida, and her MSW from Asbury University in 2015. She is a licensed clinical social worker (LCSW).
After graduating, Bolton worked in Kentucky as an in-home and school-based therapist for youth probated to the Department of Juvenile Justice. She then worked as a clinician in KVC Kentucky’s Family Preservation and Reunification Services (FPRS) Program as a clinical specialist, conducting comprehensive mental health and family assessments for families involved with the State of Kentucky Department of Community Based Services (DCBS). Botlon also gained experience with providing trauma-informed treatment, including Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and Trauma Systems Therapy, for children and adolescents as an in-home and school-based therapist in this role. Between 2019-2020, Botlon worked as a supervisor for other FPRS Program clinicians, and was primarily tasked with reviewing and providing feedback on their program documentation and conducting multiple training courses to aid in their clinical development. In her time as a supervisor, she also completed third-party reviews of out-of-home care case files within DCBS, using standardized evaluation findings and providing recommendations to state administrators to improve the management of out of home care cases within the State of Kentucky.
Collectively, Bolton’s professional experiences have contributed to academic pursuits and research interests centered on exploring the dissemination of trauma-informed mental health treatment and improved methods of interdisciplinary collaboration and communication, as they relate to intervention and service delivery outcomes with children and families involved with their local child welfare systems.
Presentations
Cecil, D., Bolton, K., & Schmidt, G. (2015). DSM-5: Beyond skepticism and into practicality. 65th Conference of the North American Association of Christians in Social Work. Pursuing Shalom: Serving Our Neighbors Locally and Globally.