Gov. Gregoire swears in Dreyfus as new DSHS Secretary

For Immediate Release: May 20, 2009

OLYMPIA � Gov. Chris Gregoire today swore in Susan N. Dreyfus as the Secretary of Department of Social and Health Services. Dreyfus, a Wisconsin executive, has more than a dozen years of leadership experience in both the private and public social services sectors.

�This state is facing tougher and more challenging times than we�ve ever seen. That is why I believe that Susan is the right leader at the right time. She is up to the challenges I�ve asked of her, and I�m very confident Susan will deliver,� said Gregoire. �Times like these call for courage and innovation. No longer is there room for doing things the same old way. Susan will guide DSHS in finding new and better ways to deliver our services.�

Starting immediately Dreyfus has been tasked by the governor to identify efficiencies in the agency as well as position it to better meet growing demands. The governor has also asked Susan to make filling the Children�s Administration Assistant Secretary position a priority.

Because DSHS spends more than any other state agency on health care, Susan is also tasked with continuing the reform work already under way of developing a more effective, value-driven health care delivery system.

DSHS is Washington�s largest state agency, with more than 19,000 employees and a combined state and federal two-year budget of about $20 billion. Each year, more than 2 million Washington residents turn to the agency for help. Its five divisions are responsible for an array of social services, including medical assistance, mental health services, vocational rehabilitation, food assistance, child welfare, care for the frail elderly and disabled adults, child support enforcement, juvenile rehabilitation, and alcohol and substance abuse prevention and treatment.

�I appreciate that this is a challenging and stressful time for people in Washington and throughout the nation as we tackle a tough economic environment. The economy's impact on all of our neighbors and the sacrifices we need to make to balance the budget cannot be underestimated,� said Dreyfus. �Please be assured that none of us is alone in this walk. All of us will have to consider new and effective ways to do our work to focus where need is the greatest, work through partnerships, across systems and agencies, explore new technologies and maximize all resources available to us.�

�What we cannot do is give up hope and belief that, with hard work and a focus on the future, we will come through this time an even stronger, more focused Department that can continue to be a critical link to people who depend on us, Dreyfus added.�

A Wisconsin resident for the past 33 years, Dreyfus, 51, was executive vice president for strategy with Rogers Behavioral Health System, Inc., in the Milwaukee area. Prior to joining Rogers in 2007, Dreyfus served for five years as senior vice president and chief operating officer of the National Alliance for Children and Families and Families International. With the Alliance, Dreyfus consulted with nonprofit human service agencies across the country on a range of governance, organizational and program areas, including child welfare practice, system design and management, contracting, policy, and state and federal financing.

In 1996, Dreyfus was appointed administrator of the Division of Children and Family Services within the Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services. For nearly seven years she led this office responsible for child welfare, regulation and licensing of child care facilities, youth development and other community programs. In this role, Dreyfus successfully led the state�s assumption of all child welfare responsibilities from Milwaukee County. She also championed a major redesign of physical and behavioral health services for children in out-of-home care provided by Medicaid.

Dreyfus is married with three adult children. She earned a bachelor�s degree in business administration from the University of Wisconsin - Green Bay and attended the Program for Senior Executives in State and Local Government at Harvard University�s John F. Kennedy School of Government. Her annual salary is $163,056.