Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee, who has been in office for more than eight months, has yet to submit nominations for permanent directors of state agencies responsible for human services, vulnerable children and families, and the elderly.
During an interview at The Public’s Radio last week, McKee said he was happy with the current leadership at the agencies, though some might get new directors. He explained the delay by citing the need to win Senate confirmation for permanent directors.
But Senate spokesman Greg Pare said McKee has not submitted nominations for permanent directors of the state Department of Human Services, the state Department of Children, Youth and Families, and Healthy Aging, a division within DHS.
McKee inherited an acting director at only one of those agencies, DCYF, when he became governor in early March.
Sen. Louis DiPalma (D-Middletown), chairman of the Senate Committee on Rules, Government Ethics and Oversight, said the absence of permanent directors impedes progress on key needs within the state agencies.
“Given the number of vacancies we have,” DiPalma said, “it could be extremely problematic for a person who is ‘acting’ to have the ability, because if they’re not going to be the permanent leader for their organization, attempts to make the necessary changes that are needed for, we’re talking the thousands of Rhode Islanders who depend on those services,” may not move ahead. “We need leaders that are going to be permanent.”
McKee spokeswoman Alana O’Hare said the legislature needs to come back into session before the Senate can confirm nominees.
When it comes to acting directors, she said, “Whether their title is ‘acting’ or if they are the confirmed permanent director — the important thing to note here is that the work is getting done in the agencies. The governor is in the process of officially submitting nominations for permanent directors, which as you know will require advice and consent of the Senate when the General Assembly reconvenes.”
McKee became governor after his predecessor, Gina Raimondo, left to become U.S. Commerce secretary.
John Marion, executive director of the nonpartisan good government group Common Cause of Rhode Island, said keeping acting directors in place for extended periods raise a question of checks and balances.
“When department directors are allowed to serve in an acting capacity for long periods of time those checks and balances aren’t working properly,” Marion said. “The legislative branch does not fulfill the important role of providing advice and consent to nominees. The process only works if all the branches honor their respective roles.”
The last permanent director of DCYF, Trista Piccola, resigned more than two years ago, in July 2019.
Faced with a difficult mission, DCYF has faced criticism from state lawmakers for years about the oversight of vulnerable children and other concerns.
Acting Director Kevin Aucoin, who has repeatedly stepped into that role over the years, “is doing an admirable job,” DiPalma said, although he lacks the master’s in social work that is supposed to required for the agency’s director under state law.
Added House Speaker Joe Shekarchi, “It is concerning that DCYF is still without a permanent director, several months after the General Assembly approved additional funding and flexibility to find one, including the authorization for a three-year contract. This was prioritized in conjunction with a significant influx of funding to reduce caseloads and make other necessary improvements in how the department carries out its mission.”
“I am also troubled that there has been no appointment for a deputy secretary of housing, a position the Assembly created five months ago,” Shekarchi said. “This ‘housing czar’ was directed to make extensive policy recommendations to guide future actions in a report that was due by the end of the year. The Assembly has allocated tens of millions in state resources to begin to address this critical issue and it is disappointing to see the lack of urgency to fulfil this mandate.”
Celia J. Blue is the interim director of the state Department of Human Services. Courtney Hawkins, the previous director, resigned in May.
At the Office of Healthy Aging, formerly known as the Division of Elderly Affairs, Michelle Szylin is the interim director. Rose Jones stepped down as the director in July.
Meanwhile, Richard Charest, who was confirmed in July as director of the state Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities and Hospitals, is also the interim director of Eleanor Slater Hospital.
“I understand Director Charest is probably the right person to do that,” DiPalma said, referring to Charest’s experience as CEO of Landmark Medical Center in Woonsocket, “though it’s difficult to be leading an overall organization that has behavioral healthcare, that has developmental disabilities,” and Eleanor Slater.
The state Department of Environmental Management also has an acting director, Terrence Gray, following the departure of Janet Coit in June to become assistant administrator of the National Marine Fisheries Service.
This story has been updated.
Ian Donnis can be reached at idonnis@ripr.org. Follow him on Twitter @IanDon. Sign up here for his weekly RI politics and media newsletter.
