A Louisiana woman will be the new head of Nebraska’s Department of Health and Human Services.
Gov. Pete Ricketts named Courtney Phillips as HHS chief executive officer. She is the deputy secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals.
Her appointment comes at the conclusion of a national search — paid for with private dollars — for what Ricketts called a “transformational” leader for a troubled state agency that he and others have said needs a cultural change.
The department has been described as one always facing a complexity of issues that left little time for proactive, visionary and innovative change.
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Lt. Gov. Mike Foley, when he was state auditor, was a major critic, uncovering examples of waste, mistakes, overspending, lack of documentation and mismanaged funds, and reporting the department had squandered tax dollars in several programs.
In Phillips’ previous position, she was chief operating officer and chair of the Louisiana department’s Human Services Interagency Council, which provides a statewide planning process for the delivery of human services.
She also provided direct management and oversight for the department’s major program offices, including behavioral health, aging and adult services, people with developmental disabilities and public health, as well as the Louisiana Commission for the Deaf.
Prior to her appointment as deputy secretary in Louisiana, Phillips, 36, had steadily risen through the department’s ranks in positions ranging from a Medicaid program manager to chief of staff. She was a key architect of the legislation and process to create the agency’s Office of Behavioral Health.
Phillips is a doctoral student in public policy at Southern University and holds a bachelor of science in kinesiology and a master’s degree in public administration from Louisiana State University.
As she works with Ricketts to craft a strategic plan for the Nebraska department, Phillips said, her focus will be driven by a mission to help Nebraskans live better lives.
Ricketts said Phillips will help transform HHS.
“Her expertise will help state government to work better for the children who are in the care of the state, for individuals who live in state facilities or through our support in the community, and for all those who rely on public services,” Ricketts said.
The six HHS divisions have an annual combined budget of $3.5 billion in state and federal dollars and accounts for more than one-third of spending in the overall state budget. The agency employs about 5,500 people across the state.
Phillips will take office April 2. Her salary will be $200,000. Former CEO Kerry Winterer, who left the job in mid-December, was paid $166,000.
Ricketts’ two other finalists were Clarence Carter, former director of the Arizona Department of Economic Security, and David Newell, president of Nebraska Families Collaborative, which is the sole remaining private contractor providing child welfare services in the Omaha service area.
Carter resigned from his Arizona post Jan. 5, after what the Arizona Republic called a child-welfare “fiasco” in late 2013, in which more than 6,500 uninvestigated reports of child abuse and neglect were discovered. Carter said he was unaware of the cases.
Announcements about division directors for the department will be made later, Ricketts’ office said.
The Legislature will be required to confirm the appointment.
Date: February 6, 2015