Rachael Paris

Rachael Paris serves and Kinship Navigator in the University of Kentucky College of Social Work KKRC, where she provides education and resources to kinship caregivers at the beginning of their journey in the foster care system. Rachael graduated from Southwest Baptist University with a degree in Intercultural Studies and English Literature in 2016. Her career path has consistently been in international spaces, working bilingually in English and Spanish to fill a variety of roles that support her current work. For example, she previously served as a US Peace Corps Volunteer, where she lived in Quito, Ecuador and supported local initiatives to address child labor in the city. She also brings several years of child welfare experience, where she has held roles such as CASA Volunteer, Permanency Specialist, Support Counselor, and Therapeutic Foster Parent and learned skills such as intra-agency collaboration, cultural sensitivity, trauma-informed care, as well as gaining first hand experience in caring for high needs children, which informs her compassion and service to the families she interacts with. Rachael believes in positioning herself to do the most good, and is intentional about improving her capacity to effectively and efficiently serve her clients through the KKRC.