Faculty Profiles

Dr. Kaycee Bills

Kaycee Bills

PhD, MSW, LSW
Social Work
Gerontology

 

Kaycee Bills is an assistant professor in the Bachelor of Social Work program. Bills has worked in disability case management, community mental health, foster care and adoption, research and data analytics, and she served in the US Navy Reserves. She is a co-founder of a special needs cheerleading squad called the Whitley County Dazzlers, board member for the Invisible Disabilities Association, and a research affiliate with the Racism-Based Violence & Injury Prevention lab at Boston College. Her favorite part about teaching is the opportunity to mentor students and collaborate with them on research projects. When she is not at Saint Mary’s, she enjoys traveling to new countries and watching her daughter compete in dance and the Special Olympics.

Education 

  • PhD, University of Tennessee, Knoxville 
  • MSW, Hawaii Pacific University 
  • BSW, University of Saint Francis 

Research Interests 

  • Disability Accommodation Assessment
  • Disability Inclusion and Social Outcomes
  • Foster Care/Adoption Attachment  

Courses Recently Taught 

  • SW 202: Introduction to Social Work
  • SW 235: Human Behavior and the Social Environment
  • SW 333: Macro Methods
  • SW 334: Social Welfare Policy & Service
  • SW 365: DSM-5 and Mental Health Disorders

Creative and Scholarly Work 

Bills, K., & Mills, B. (2023). Using Athletics to Mitigate the Negative Relational Outcomes Bullying Has on Youth with Disabilities. Sport Social Work Journal, 3(1), 1-12. https://openjournals.bsu.edu/sportsocialworkjournal/article/download/3839/2168

Gates, T. G., Bills, K. L., Bennett, B., & Kelly, B. L. (2023). Cyberbullying, Mental Health, and Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Youth with Disabilities: Intersectionalities and Environmental Risks. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 32(10), 3159-3166.

Bullington, K., Bills, K. L., Thomas, D. J., & Nuckols, W. L. (2022). Above-average student loan debt for students with disabilities attending postsecondary institutions. Journal of Postsecondary Education and Disability, 35(1). https://digitalcommons.odu.edu/emse_fac_pubs/119/

Walker, D. T., Bills, K. L., & Motley Jr, R. O. (2023). Physical and mental health outcomes of Black emerging adults with community violence exposure: an integrative review. Trauma, Violence, & Abuse

Bills, K. L. (2020). The direct relationship between bullying rates and extracurricular activities among adolescents and teenagers with disabilities. Journal of Evidence-Based Social Work, 17(2), 191-202. https://doi.org/10.1080/26408066.2019.1705958

Bills, K. L., & Mills, B. (2020). Teachers' perceptions towards inclusive education programs for children with Down syndrome. Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs, 20(4), 343-347. https://doi.org/10.1111/1471-3802.12494

Bills, K. L. (2020). Helping children with disabilities combat negative socio-emotional outcomes caused by bullying through extracurricular activities. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 30(5), 573-585. https://doi.org/10.1080/10911359.2020.1718052

Bills, K. L. & Spears, E. (2020). Degree duration among undergraduate students with disabilities. Journal of Emerging Trends in Educational Research and Policy Studies, 11(2), 64-68. https://doi.org/10.15640/jehd.v9n4a6

Bills, K. L. (2021). Implementing Universal Design for Learning in higher education. International Journal of Innovation, Creativity, and Change, 15(3), 321-331.

Bills, K. L., & Mills, B. (2022). Limitations When Conducting Quantitative Disability Research. Journal of Research Initiatives, 6(2), 10.

Bills, K. L., West, S. M., & Hargrove, J. (2019). Housing cost burden and maternal stress among very low income mothers. J. Soc. & Soc. Welfare, 46, 73. https://doi.org/10.15453/0191-5096.4107

Bills, K. L. (2019). A Review of Literature: Identifying Barriers to Academic Success Among Students with Disabilities Attending College in Rural Regions. Contemporary Rural Social Work Journal, 11(1), 8.

Bills, K., Okamoto, S. K., & Helm, S. (2016). The role of relational harmony in the use of drug-refusal strategies of rural native Hawaiian youths. Journal of ethnic & cultural diversity in social work, 25(3), 208-226. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5267551/