The University of Kentucky College of Social Work has inducted Elizabeth Croney, MSW, LCSW, President of KVC Behavioral Healthcare Kentucky, into its Hall of Fame. Croney was inducted alongside two others – Teresa James of the Kentucky Dept. for Community-Based Services and Carl Smith of the Brooke Army Medical Dept. Center in Brooke, Tex.

KVC is a nonprofit child welfare and behavioral healthcare organization that provides foster care, in-home therapy and other family-related services. The organization serves more than 3,500 children in eight regions of the state. KVC Kentucky is a subsidiary of KVC Health Systems which serves over 25,000 children in five states and Washington, D.C.

Croney began her career working in alcohol abuse and mental health programs, and in 1989, she was appointed as the first director of Stoner Creek Centre, an inpatient psychiatric unit for children and adults. Croney established a private practice in Bourbon County in 1990, where she worked extensively with children and families.

In 1999, she formed Croney & Clark, Inc., a private, for-profit corporation serving three rural counties, and over a 10-year period, she developed it into an agency providing services in metropolitan Fayette County and 16 surrounding counties. Croney & Clark delivered wrap-around behavioral health and community-based services to children and families identified by the Kentucky Department of Mental Health as needing intensive services. KVC acquired Croney & Clark in 2009 and appointed Croney president of Kentucky operations. In December 2010, she became president of the KVC West Virginia subsidiary, which she left in 2012 when Kentucky was awarded eight Intensive In-Home and Family Preservation contracts. This meant more than doubling the size of the Kentucky operation to 235 employees. In 2009, Croney was awarded Prevent Child Abuse Kentucky’s “Champion for Children” Award.

Croney holds a bachelor’s in criminal justice from the University of South Florida and a master’s in social work from UK. She has published in the area of ethics and supervision and is a sought-after workshop leader, trainer, and speaker in the U.S. and Canada.

The College of Social Work Hall of Fame Award is presented annually to graduates of UK’s BASW, MSW, or Ph.D. Programs who have made exceptional contributions to the field of social work, locally, nationally and/or globally. Recipients were recognized and inducted into the Hall of Fame at a dinner in Lexington.