Kiaras spent 25 years working directly with young people in residential care settings across different service sectors ranging from child welfare and treatment settings to youth custody, in-patient psychiatric units and youth homeless shelters. Dr. Gharabaghi started his career in the human services in the 1980s, working directly with young people facing adversity, managing not for profit youth serving programs in child welfare, child and youth mental health, and youth homelessness, and providing family support services to newcomer families. Currently, Dr. Gharabaghi is the dean of the Faculty of Community Services at Toronto Metropolitan University. Previous to this, he was Director of the School of Child and Youth Care, also at Toronto Metropolitan University.
His own background is marked by both forced and voluntary migrations spanning three continents, multiple languages, and engagement with multiple faith groups. He is author of over 300 books, articles and creative writings, including A Hard Place to Call Home: A Canadian Perspective on Residential Care and Treatment for Children and Youth (Canadian Scholars Press, 2019).