Alex Jutca will serve as director of the Allegheny County Department of Human Services, Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato announced Thursday.
Jutca has served as interim director since March, when former director Erin Dalton departed to become Commissioner of the Department of Social Services in New York City.
The appointment follows a national search conducted by the county using a public policy consulting firm, which included multiple interview rounds and a community panel of local human services leaders.
“Allegheny County DHS is known for innovation and using data to drive services for our people, and Jutca is an excellent leader to help guide this agency into the future,” Innamorato said. “With a commitment to analytical rigor, a heart for helping people and the experience at DHS that will provide a steady hand during challenging headwinds, we are thrilled that Alex will be the next DHS Director.”
Jutca said, “I am grateful to the County Executive for this opportunity. Allegheny County is a special place, and DHS’s strong heritage demonstrates that government can make real progress on social problems — even those some consider intractable. I look forward to building on that progress by working with our team and partners to focus intensely on how we can measurably improve outcomes for people who, in many cases, are seeking help during the most challenging moments of their lives. I take that responsibility seriously, and our team is ready for the work ahead.”
DHS provides services across several areas, including child welfare, family strengthening and youth programs, behavioral health, homelessness, intellectual disability services and aging programs. It operates with an annual budget exceeding $1 billion and assists more than 200,000 residents each year.
Jutca joined the department in 2021 as director of the Office of Analytics, Technology and Planning. In that position, he managed data and research, software development, strategic planning and program incubation.
Outside his county role, Jutca has been recognized as an Emergent Ventures and Policy Entrepreneurship Network Fellow. He serves as an adviser to the Center for Addiction Science, Policy and Research and has contributed to national initiatives focused on government data use and experimentation.
Before joining county government, Jutca worked as a senior economist and data science leader at Amazon, where he developed operational performance systems and built teams. He began his career at the Federal Reserve Board of Governors and worked in the nonprofit sector focused on scaling evidence-based social programs.
A native of Southwestern Pennsylvania, Jutca earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Villanova University and a master’s degree in public policy from Harvard University. He resides in the Pittsburgh area with his wife and four children.
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