Office of the Director

The Department of Social Services is administrated by a director who is appointed by the Governor and approved by the state Senate. This department director, in turn, appoints the division directors. There are nearly 7,000 budgeted employees in the department and the total budget for Fiscal Year 2017 is over $9.6 billion.

The Department of Social Services is responsible for coordinating programs to provide public assistance to children and their parents, access to health care, child support enforcement assistance and to provide specialized assistance to troubled youth. While many programs give needed financial assistance and services, other units work toward reducing financial dependency of the citizens on government.

The Human Resource Center (HRC) guides the overall human resources management system for 7,355 budgeted employees within the department. The center is responsible for ensuring compliance with merit system rules and coordinating activities in the areas of personnel law, labor relations, recruitment, selection, classification, compensation and training. HRC is also responsible for union negotiations, resolution administration, administering the employee grievance system, all aspects of equal employment opportunities, and provision of equal services and benefits to all DSS clients.