Janet Melnick

Prior to working on her doctorate, Melnick was in clinical practice and administration in local agencies that specialize in work with the elderly for over fifteen years. She was the original supervisor of the Protective Service Unit for the Lackawanna County Area Agency on Aging. After leaving the AAA, Melnick was the Director of Rehabilitation Services for Telespond Senior Services. In that capacity she was responsible for the administration of two adult day services facilities, a CORF- Coordinated Outpatient Rehabilitation Facility, In- home Respire Services and Family Caregiver Services. Melnick was one of the original grantees for Robert Wood Johnson Dementia Care and Respite Services Project. After the end of that grant demonstration project she was invited to become a consultant for the RWJ Foundation Partners in Caregiving Program, which funded and mentored Adult Day Care Program across the country. She was the Assistant Coordinator of the Social Work Field Program at Marywood University prior to moving to Penn State. She has been faculty member in Human Development and Family Studies (HDFS) at the Pennsylvania State University, Scranton campus since 2000. Her primary teaching responsibility is in the gerontology and the internship components of the program. Her research has been predominantly in the area of rural home and community-based services to the elderly. She has been the primary investigator for three grants from the Center for Rural PA in this area of research.