Dr. Slayter conducts research related to disability, child welfare and addiction services. She is a professor of social work at Salem State University where she is Associate Graduate Program Coordinator, Faculty Support Coordinator and Coordinator of the Certificate in Equity-Minded Practice, a partnership with Massachusetts' Department of Children and Families.Dr. Slayter has taught both social policy, internship seminar and research courses at Salem State since 2005. Dr. Slayter obtained both a master’s and doctoral degree in social policy from the Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University where her scholarship focused on the disability and health policy arenas. During her time at Heller, Dr. Slayter was a pre-doctoral trainee supported by the National Institute on Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse (NIAAA) and an American Fellow supported by the American Association of University Women (AAUW). Dr. Slayter received her Master’s degree in social work at New York University in 1995 after completing her undergraduate work in history (with a focus on women’s studies, medical history and medical anthropology) at Macalester College in 1990.Prior to her doctoral work, between 1995-2000, Dr. Slayter practiced as a forensic social worker in a variety of court-based settings in New York City. These settings included Washington Square Legal Services, where Dr. Slayter partnered with New York University law students in the co-representation of parents charged with child abuse and/or neglect. Dr. Slayter went on to work as a social worker and educational consultant for the Legal Aid Society’s Juvenile Rights Division in Brooklyn, where she partnered with guardians ad litem in the representation of children on cases related to child protection, juvenile justice and special education law. Dr. Slayter also worked as a social worker in partnership with public defenders at The Bronx Defenders, an early adopter of the “holistic advocacy” model of criminal defense. In the Bronx, Dr. Slayter developed a special interest in the behavioral health concerns of people with disabilities (especially people with intellectual disabilities).