Kathleen Wells, Ph.D., is a Professor of Social Work and of Psychology at Case
Western Reserve University (CWRU). She received the Ph.D. from The University of Colorado at
Boulder and completed post-doctoral work at Duke University Medical School. She joined the faculty
of CWRU in 1991. She teaches master's- and doctoral-level courses in the areas of human development
and research. She has been active in faculty governance with leadership positions in the Faculty
Senate and the American Association of University Professors. Reflecting her interests in child
mental health and child welfare, she serves on national boards concerned with these issues
including the Child Welfare League of America's National Council on Research in Child Welfare and
the Institute for the Advancement of Social Work Research Scientific Advisory Committee.
Her research focuses on foster children and the economic, family, and
individual-level factors that are linked to their reunification with their families. She is
examining competing hypotheses pertaining to how these factors affect speed of reunification. Her
work has been supported by grants from The Annie E. Casey Foundation, The Cleveland Foundation, The
Gund Foundation, and the Ohio Department of Mental Health. A secondary research interest is
therapeutic foster care, and she has been involved in a National Institute of Mental Health-funded
study of this issue. Her other scholarly activities include theoretical work, editorial work,
involvement in national research forums, and empirically-based practice.
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