Jennifer McClendon, M.S.W., Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Human Development and Family Science

Phone: (775) 682-8707
Email: jmcclendon@unr.edu
Building: WRB
Room: 4066

Summary

Dr. McClendon has experience in social service delivery, crisis intervention, program planning and evaluation, and program management. She recently served as the Director of the Human Services Network, a collective organization of non-profits in the human service sector across Northern Nevada, strengthening public policy to promote positive outcomes for clients. As a consultant for Turning Point, she has managed and evaluated school- and community-based projects in Nevada’s rural and urban areas, including a recent project with Nevada’s Office for a Safe and Respectful Learning Environment. Other areas of expertise include mental health crisis intervention, access to mental health and addiction service systems, services for homeless youth, and family support for chronic and severe mental illness. She leverages her community relationships to create unique experiential student learning opportunities, reflected in her teaching and publications.

Curriculum Vitae

Education

Ph.D., Social Work, Washington University in St. Louis
M.S.W., Washington University in St. Louis
B.A., Psychology, Wellesley College

Courses taught

At University of Nevada, Reno:

SW 321 Basics of Professional Communication, 780 Advanced Practicum

Other places:

Principles of Social Work Practice
Foundations of Practice
Evaluation of Programs and Services
Human Behavior in the Social Environment
Organizational Context for Professional Practice
Social Work Research Methods

Research interests

Jennifer's research focuses on services for homeless youth and young adults. Other areas of academic expertise and interest include mental health crisis intervention, services for LGBT youth, access to children's mental health service systems, and family support for chronic and severe mental illness.

Presentations (Past five years)

Pollio, D.E., McClendon, J., Rice, E., Stella, A., Thacher, J. & Rosenthal, D. (2013, November). Development of a social network website to prevent HIV in a young adult homeless population. Paper to be presented at the APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition, Boston MA.
McClendon, J. & Jonson-Reid, M. (2010, January 15). Using cross-sector service use patterns to explore intra-group differences among sheltered runaway youth. Paper presented at the Society for Social Work and Research 14th Annual Conference, San Francisco, CA.
Bender, K., Ferguson, K., Pollio, D., Thompson, S. & McClendon, J. (2009, November 10). Technology as an underutilized tool for providing health services and support to street youth. Paper presented at the American Public Health Association 2009 Annual Conference, Philadelphia, PA.
Pollio, D., Thompson, S.J., Bender, K., Hunter, S., McClendon, J., McKean, B. A comparison of transience and risk in street youth: St. Louis, Missouri and Austin, Texas. Society of Social Work and Research Annual Meeting, San Francisco, CA, Jan 10-14, 2007.

Publications

McClendon, J. & Jonson-Reid, M. (under review). Using cross-sector service use patterns to explore intra-group differences among residents of community-based youth shelters.
McClendon, J. & Jonson-Reid, M. (under review). Comparing runaways across three service sectors: Community-based shelters, juvenile justice, and foster care.
McClendon, J. & Lane, S. (forthcoming). Homeless people. In A. Gitterman (Ed.), Handbook of social work practice with vulnerable and resilient populations, 3rd edition. New York: Columbia University Press.
Pollio, D.E., North, C.S., Hudson, A.M., Hong, B.A., Osborne, V.A., & McClendon, J.B. (2012). Psychoeducation responsive to families (PERF): Translation of a multifamily group model. Psychiatric Annals, 42:6. DOI: 10.3928/00485713-20120606-06.
McClendon, J., Pollio, D. E., North, C. S., Reid, D. L., & Jonson-Reid, M. (2007). School-based groups for parents of children with emotional and behavioral disorders: Pilot results. Families in Society, 88, 124-129.