Faculty/Staff Kenneth J. Jaros, PhD
Assistant Professor
Associate Chair for Departmental Administration
Director, Center for Maternal and Child
Health Leadership in Public Health Social Work
Graduate School of Public Health
210 Parran Hall
Pittsburgh, PA 15261
Phone: 412-624-3161
Fax: 412-624-5510
E-mail: kjaros@pitt.edu
ADMINISTRATION
I am presently serving in the position of associate chair for departmental administration for the Department of Behavioral and Community Health Sciences (BCHS). I also am the director of the Center for Maternal and Child Health Leadership in Public Health Social Work, a training project funded by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau, Health Resources and Services Administration, U.S. Public Health Service in the Department of Health and Human Services. This project has for many years facilitated an exciting collaboration between the Graduate School of Public Health and the School of Social Work and has consistently been successful in graduating large numbers of minority students at both the master's and doctoral levels.
My focus is typically on applied community-based research, helping organizations translate ideas into effective intervention programs. My primary areas of interest include children and youth services, community organizing, and addressing issues of health disparities. I have directed a variety of needs assessment and evaluation projects relating to children with special healthcare needs, substance-abusing women, statewide maternal and child health planning, peer education, and violence prevention. In addition, I have also had the opportunity to work on two recent projects evaluating transportation services for the elderly and individuals with disabilities.
TEACHING
Within the department I co-teach the introductory Health Program Evaluation class, as well as, teach Introduction to Maternal and Child Health Services, and the Seminar in Maternal and Child Health. I am a core faculty member of the federally funded UCLID Center (University Community Leaders and Individuals with Disabilities) Neuro-Developmental Disabilities Training Program at the University of Pittsburgh. I very much enjoy working directly with students in an advising role, by serving on doctoral committees, and in other more informal mentoring roles.
COMMUNITY SERVICE
Over the years I have provided technical assistance and consultation to numerous community-based health and social service agencies and served on advisory boards for a variety of local organizations. At the state level, I have served on both the Pennsylvania Maternal and Child Health Advisory Council and the State Child Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) advisory committee. I have held a range of leadership positions in the social work section of the American Public Health Association, and have regularly served as a grant reviewer for the Maternal and Child Health Bureau in the U.S. Health Resources and Services Administration.