After "Growing Pains" ended, Kerns turned to directing. She directed one episode of "Growing Pains" while starring on the show and got hooked. In an interview, Kerns stated, "Directing is where I've always wanted to go". She loved directing and decided to change the focus of her career from acting to directing, while continuing to make rare appearances in front of the camera when the right parts come along. She has also directed episodes of television shows including "Dawson's Creek", "Titans", "Scrubs", "Private Practice", "Psych", "Felicity", "Grey's Anatomy", "Privileged", "ER", "Ghost Whisperer," "Army Wives", "Pretty Little Liars", "Switched at Birth", "The Goldbergs", "This Is Us", and "Fuller House". Kerns also directed Annie Potts in an original made-for-television movie for Lifetime TV entitled: "Defending Our Kids: The Julie Posey Story". She has since made a number of shorts, and directed the sixth episode of "Pitch", a sports drama on Fox.