Afton Salas

Afton Salas
  • Doctoral Student, DSW Program
  • LSCSW
  • Dean's Student Advisory Board Member

Contact Info

Biography —

Afton Salas, MSW, LCSW, earned both her Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) and Master of Social Work (MSW) degrees from Park University. She currently serves as a Program Manager at University Health’s Community Behavioral Health Clinic in Kansas City, where she supports multidisciplinary teams delivering comprehensive, trauma-informed care. She is an active member of the DBT Consult Committee, the Hospital Ethics Consult Committee, and the Trauma-Informed Workplace Committee.

Before assuming her current leadership role, Salas worked with several behavioral health and substance use intervention organizations in the Kansas City area, including Mental Health Resources and reStart. Her work reflects a strong commitment to ethical practice, crisis intervention, and improving patient outcomes through trauma-informed approaches.

Research —

Practice and Research Focus Areas

Salas’s practice centers on ethics, trauma-informed care, crisis intervention, and de-escalation. Her research as a doctoral student explores strategies to reduce early psychiatric rehospitalization, with an emphasis on social work’s role in improving continuity of care.

DSW Capstone Project

Capstone project title: Examining Early Psychiatric Rehospitalization and the Role of Social Work Intervention

Capstone project description: This capstone project investigates early psychiatric rehospitalization within the Kansas City area and examines how social work interventions can mitigate these occurrences. Salas aims to develop a comprehensive, multi-tiered program proposal integrating social work strategies across inpatient, outpatient, and community settings to enhance recovery outcomes and reduce readmission rates.

Awards & Honors —

Phi Alpha

Memberships —

Dean's Advisory Board