KATHLEEN COULBORN FALLER, Ph.D., A.C.S.W., D.C.S.W., is Marion Elizabeth Blue Professor Emerita of Children and Families at the University of Michigan. She is also Co-Director of the Family Assessment Clinic in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

She is involved in research, clinical work, teaching, training, and writing in the area of child welfare, child sexual abuse, and the child welfare workforce. Her primary practice and research areas are child sexual abuse and forensic interviewing. She conducts case record reviews where the issues are child maltreatment, child welfare, and social work best practice. She has been qualified as an expert witness in Federal, State, and County courts, in child protection cases, criminal cases, domestic relations cases, and civil litigation.

She is the recipient of the Sol Gothard Lifetime Achievement Award, the National Organization of Forensic Social Workers (2018), Michigan Child Abuse and Neglect Social Work Award (2014), the Institute on Violence, Abuse and Trauma (IVAT) William Friedrich Memorial Child Sexual Abuse Research, Assessment and/or Treatment Award (2012), the Michigan Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers’ Lifetime Achievement Award (2012), the National Children’s Advocacy Center’s Outstanding Lifetime Achievement Award (2011), the University of Michigan School of Social Work Distinguished Faculty Award (2010), the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children’s Outstanding Research Achievement Award (2008), and the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children’s Outstanding Service Award. (1998).

She is the author, editor, or co-editor of 10 books, Social Work with Abused and Neglected Children (The Free Press, 1981), Child Sexual Abuse: An Interdisciplinary Manual for Diagnosis, Case Management, and Treatment (Columbia University Press, 1988), Understanding Child Sexual Maltreatment (Sage Publications, 1990), Child Sexual Abuse: Intervention and Treatment (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 1993), the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children Study Guide: Interviewing Children Suspected of Having Been Sexually Abused (Sage Publications, 1996), Maltreatment in Early Childhood: Tools for Research-based Intervention (Haworth Press, 2000), Understanding and Assessing Child Sexual Maltreatment, Second Edition (Sage Publications, 2003), Interviewing Children about Sexual Abuse: Controversies and Best Practice (Oxford University Press, 2007), Seeking Justice in Child Sexual Abuse: Shifting Burdens and Sharing Responsibilities (Columbia University Press, 2010) and Contested Issues in Child Sexual Abuse Evaluation (Routledge Press, 2014), as well as approximately 100 research and clinical articles. She has conducted over 300 juried professional conference presentations at international national, and state conferences and provided over 250 workshops for child welfare professionals.