Maria Hall-Faul
Assistant Professor
Areas of Expertise
- SW 430 Social Welfare Policy: Theory and Implementation. BASW program.
- SW 772 Introduction to Qualitative Research. PhD program.
Highlighted Publications
- Hall-Faul, M. (2025). Serving state budgets instead of families: A case study of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) spending and human rights in Connecticut. Families in Society.
- Hall-Faul, M., Faul, A.C., & Chikwati, G*. (2025). Racialized moderation of state TANF spending priorities in the post-recession era: A multilevel analysis. Journal of the Society for Social Work and Research.
- Berthold, S.M., Hall-Faul, M., Mortley, C., Mbewe, Y., Harding, S., Libal, K. (2026). Community sponsorship of refugees and asylum seekers: Why social work should care. Advances in Social Work.
Student & Research Availability
- Accepting Students in Programs: Bachelors | Doctoral | Masters
- Available Student Positions: Independent Study | Practicum
- Research or Interest Area Key Words: • Poverty, inequality, and social and economic rights • U.S. social welfare policy formulation, implementation, and devolution • Human rights-based approaches to policy analysis and advocacy • Qualitative research methods in policy and social work education • Federal rulemaking and civic engagement in policy processes
Alma Mater
Ph.D., Social Work, University of Connecticut, 2024 M.S.S.W., Couple & Family Therapy Specialization, University of Louisville, 2014 B.S., Psychology, Centre College, 2011
Get to Know Maria
Dr. Madri Hall-Faul is an Assistant Professor in the College of Social Work at the University of Kentucky. Her research addresses a critical gap between the stated goals of U.S. social policy and the lived realities of families by examining how policy implementation, governance structures, and decision-making processes shape the realization of social and economic rights. She has an interest in understanding how people who have interacted with social welfare programs can shape and influence public policy implementation. An additional line of inquiry in Madri’s work includes refugee resettlement policy in the United States and opportunities for expanded resettlement capacity through voluntarism. Dr. Hall-Faul seeks to strengthen participation and accountability in policy implementation and to support more rights-affirming systems of social provision.
Before entering academia, she held leadership roles in state-level policy coordination in Connecticut, and program management and community health initiatives in Kentucky. She is dedicated to preparing future social workers to engage in evidence-informed advocacy that bridges the classroom and the policy arena.