CORE Program Alum New Federal Head of Foster Care
CORE looks forward to beginning a mutually-beneficial series of discussions at its upcoming National Conference (April 14-16 outside of Chicago) with keynote speaker Mr. Bryan Samuels, the newly-confirmed Commissioner of the Administration on Children, Youth and Families at HHS. Mr. Samuels spent eleven years living and learning at the Glenwood School for Boys and Girls, co-host of the CORE National Conference.
On February 12, the U.S. Senate confirmed Mr. Samuels in this position. As the HHS press release states, “His commitment to public service is largely motivated by his own success in overcoming great personal hardship during his eleven and a half years of growing up in a residential school for disadvantaged children. This experience helped shape his commitment to serve children who lived in foster care and reinforced his belief that dedicated people and well-designed programs can make a dramatic impact on the lives of at-risk youth.”
Mr. Samuels previously served as Chief of Staff for Chicago Public Schools, where he played a key role in managing the day-to-day operations of the third largest school system in the nation.
From 2003 to 2007, Mr. Samuels served as Director of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS), the nation’s third largest child welfare agency. In his role, Mr. Samuels implemented comprehensive assessments of all children entering care; redesigned transitional and independent living programs to prepare youth transitioning to adulthood; created a child location unit to track runaway youth; and introduced evidence-based services to address the impact of trauma and exposure to violence on children in state care. As a result, DCFS established the lowest caseload ratios for case managers in the nation; reduced the number of youth “on run” by 40 percent and number of days “on run” by 50 percent; decreased the use of residential treatment or group homes by 20 percent; and eliminated the number of past due child protection investigations by 60 percent.
Prior to this, Mr. Samuels taught at the University of Chicago’s School of Social Service Administration while also providing technical assistance to state and local governments to improve human service delivery to vulnerable populations.
HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius says, “Bryan Samuels has devoted his career to working on behalf of children, youth and families. His distinguished career in public service has been guided by his personal experience growing up in a residential school for disadvantaged children. He is committed to making a difference in the lives of at-risk children, and will be an outstanding leader at the Administration for Children and Families.”
CORE looks forward to welcoming Mr. Samuels at its 2010 National Conference.