The Center for the Study of Violence Against Children (CSVAC)

Faculty and Staff

Allen Brenzel, M.D. has served as a statewide consultant to the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Resources (CHFS). In that role he has contributed to public policy development with particular expertise in Child Welfare and Child victimization issues. He has developed multiple training curriculums including a recent statewide training on Child Fatality Prevention. He frequently lectures on child mental health topics to medical and mental health professionals as well as child welfare staff. For the past several years he has lectured on the mental health implications of Bioterror events with emphasis on recognition and differential diagnosis of mental status changes.

James Clark, Ph.D., L.C.S.W. , is Associate Dean for Research in the UK College of Social Work and an associate professor in the College of Medicine, Department of Psychiatry. He is co-director of the UK CATS Clinic which is a nationally-recognized program for the assessment and treatment of maltreated children. In 1980, he graduated from Siena College, a Catholic liberal arts school located in Albany, NY. He worked as a social work volunteer in rural W.V., in 1981, and then continued his studies at UK, graduating with a Master of Social Work in 1983. After a year of working in outreach clinic for Catholic Community Services in Doddridge County, WV, he returned to Lexington, KY as a clinician and director of Catholic Social Services Bureau from 1984-89. He then attended the University of Chicago School of Social Service Administration and completed a dissertation which analyzed the treatment and criminal careers of prisoners with schizophrenic disorders, earning the Ph.D. in 1995. He returned to Kentucky and joined the faculty of the UK College of Social Work. He teaches in the doctoral program and directs dissertations. In addition to his research in child maltreatment and substance misuse treatment, he has published in the areas of professional and research ethics, forensic mental health, and consumer satisfaction research. Dr. Clark is also interested in the development of translation approaches in social work research, with special emphasis on problems in forensics and community child mental health. He currently holds the Constance Wilson Professorship of Mental Health.

Otto Kaak, M.D. is a Professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics at the University of Kentucky, Chandler Medical Center and a Principal Investigator of the CATS project. He is the training director of the Triple Board Residency Program, a capacity he has filled since 1986 when the program was instituted as a pilot. He is a founding member of the Kentucky Attachment Project, which educates, advocates and provides training for professionals working with children with attachment disorders.

Ginny Sprang, Ph.D., Associate Professor Buckhorn Endowed Professor of Child Welfare and Children's Mental Health Director, Center for the Study of Violence Against Children 3470 Blazer Parkway Suite 100 Lexington, Kentucky 40509
859-543-0078 fax 859 543-1121

Staff

Jennifer Aldarondo, Ph.D. earned a doctorate from Indiana University in 2000, a master's degree from Mississippi State University in 1994, and a bachelor's degree from Mississippi State University in 1992. She completed her internship in general psychology at Madison State Hospital in 2000, and her post-doctoral training at Cummins Mental Health Center in 2001. She has been licensed at the master's and doctoral level in Indiana, and as a Licensed Psychologist in Kentucky since 2002. Current position is as a Psychologist/Clinician/Team leader, with duties that include; assessment of families and children who have an open case with the Cabinet for Health and Family Services which include identifying strengths and weaknesses, how the family interacts with each other, and psychological and developmental examinations. Duties include generating reports for the Cabinet to aid in making decisions or treatment plans, the supervision of doctoral level clinicians, and conducting school-based/community trainings on skills to use with traumatized children.

Erika Foster, M.S.W., C.S.W. completed her Master of Social Work at the University of Kentucky and is a Program Coordinator for the Behavioral Health Disaster Response Project and also works on a multi-disciplinary clinical team for the Comprehensive Assessment and Trainings Services (CATS) Project. Ms. Bauer also completed a year-long internship at Hospice of the Bluegrass on a home care team from 2005-2006.

Bettye Cheves, BSN, MSN, is a Clinical Faculty member in the College of Nursing at the University of Kentucky, and a key member of the assessment and treatment teams at the CATS clinic. Ms. Cheves is a highly skilled play therapist with over 25 years of experience working with maltreated children and their families and an expert on Attachment.

Angela Combs, MS, LPA, LPCC, completed her Master of Science in Counseling Psychology at the University of Kentucky. Ms. Combs has over 8 years of clinical experience working with children who have been impacted by traumatic events and their families in the capacities of an individual and group therapist, in-home therapist, and in assessment. As a Clinical Team Leader for the Comprehensive Assessment and Training Services (CATS) Project, Ms. Combs coordinates a multidisciplinary team of clinical social workers, psychologists, psychiatrists, and psychiatric nurses to conduct multidimensional assessments of maltreated children and their families. Ms. Combs is also the Educator Coordinator for the CATS Project and oversees the development and activities of students from various levels and disciplines and provides clinical supervision. As a Therapist and Trainer for the Child and Adolescent Trauma Treatment Institute, Ms. Combs provides empirically-based interventions to children and families who have experienced maltreatment and training/mentoring to Regional Clinical Associates involved with the SAMHSA-funded project.

Kay A. Hubbard is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Assessment Coordinator for the CATS Project. Having worked with children and families through the mental health and justice systems for eight years, she has experience conducting forensic interviews and evaluations of family functioning, with an emphasis on interfamilial attachment. She has worked on a variety of multi-disciplinary assessment teams including: social workers, psychologists, psychiatrists, pediatricians, nurses, child protective services workers, law enforcement and attorneys. She has trained and advised child protection service workers regarding the best practices of clinical decision making. Specific areas of expertise/interest include child abuse and neglect, domestic violence, parent-child attachment and child trauma.

Aimee Mau, MSW, LCSW, Treatment and Training Specialist. Ms. Mau completed her Master of Social Work at the University of Kentucky. Prior to graduate school, Ms. Mau gained approximately six years of field experience working with children and adults whose lives were impacted by domestic violence. During graduate school, Ms. Mau was a research assistant and team member with the Comprehensive Assessment and Training Services (CATS) Project. Following graduation, Ms. Mau’s role at the CATS Project was expanded into a position as a clinical team leader where she continues to lead a multidisciplinary group of social workers, psychologists, psychiatrists, and psychiatric nurses in the assessment of maltreated children and their families. As Treatment and Training Specialist for the Child and Adolescent Trauma Treatment Institute (CATTI), Ms. Mau provides treatment and training/mentoring on empirically-based interventions to Regional Clinical Associates involved with this SAMHSA-funded project.

Heather Risk, Psy.D. completed her Master of Science at Eastern Kentucky University and her doctoral studies at Xavier University. As Project Director for the SAMHSA funded, Child and Adolescent Trauma Treatment Institute (CATTI), which is a member of the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCSTN), Dr. Risk conducts and researches empirically-based treatments with victims of child maltreatment and trains other mental health professionals. Dr. Risk is a member of the UK CATS Project and participates as a trainer for the ASPR funded UK Behavioral Health Disaster Response Project. Dr. Risk completed an APA accredited internship at the UC Davis Children’s Hospital, CAARE Diagnostic and Treatment Center in Sacramento, California and has many years of clinical experience with victims of trauma. Dr. Risk’s clinical interests include providing empirically supported treatments to children and families who have experienced maltreatment.

Adrienne Whitt-Woosley, M.S.W., L.C.S.W. is the Director of the CATS Project and a clinical social worker. Ms. Whitt-Woosley has worked with the children and families of Kentucky for 10 years, and has focused her clinical and research efforts on understanding the importance of attachment relationships and the impact of traumatic events. Ms. Whitt-Woosley has specifically worked to assist the Courts and child protection systems to prevent and treat child maltreatment. She was also the director of the UK Behavioral Health Disaster Response Project, which provided research and training for healthcare professionals statewide and nationally regarding disaster response, and she has served as an adjunct professor for the UK College of Social Work.