Jackie Counts, Associate Director of Programming came to the Institute in 2004.  She holds a Bachelors in Social Work from Kansas State University, a Master’s Degree in Social Welfare from the University of California-Berkeley, and is currently pursuing a PhD in Social Welfare at the University of Kansas.  Before joining the Institute, Counts was a research associate for a private consulting firm and spent much of her work and volunteer life serving non-profit organizations. 

Ms. Counts’ primary responsibilities for the Institute include program development, proposal preparation and support, and fostering public service by searching for innovative ways to partner with and support agencies and communities.  In addition to this work, Counts is the Principal Investigator on several early childhood and child abuse and neglect prevention grants that partner with the Kansas Children’s Cabinet and Trust Fund and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.   Through this work, Counts and her team provide strategic planning, technical assistance, and evaluation services to state and local agencies.

Counts’ areas of interest include early childhood and child abuse and neglect prevention.  She and her team are the authors of the Protective Factors Survey, an instrument to measure multiple protective factors in families.  The instrument is currently being used in over 30 states.  A manuscript on the development of the instrument is currently under review.  Recent publications include a chapter on best practices in child abuse and neglect prevention in a book titled Multidimensional Evidence Based Practice.  Counts is currently working on her dissertation proposal, which proposes additional testing of the Protective Factors Survey with Spanish speakers.  Counts is also interested in Complexity Theory and understanding how agencies and professionals can utilize context to promote positive change.

CV/Resume