Brad Shannon:
The Politics Blog

Brad Shannon maintains this blog. He is political editor at The Olympian and can be reached at 360-753-1688 or bshannon@theolympian.com.

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UPDATED: New Children's Admin hire might be controverisal

• Published September 16, 2009

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The state's newly appointed head of children’s services, Denise Revels Robinson of Wisconsin, is drawing questions for her work in Wisconsin. Fair or not, doubts are arising even before Washington’s Department of Social and Health Services holds an event in Kent later today to announce her hiring effective Oct. 19.

Revels Robinson, who was walking around the state Capitol yesterday with Washington state Department of Social and Health Secretary Susan Dreyfus, headed Wisconsin’s state Bureau of Milwaukee Child Welfare. She announced she would leave her director’s job in December amid criticism of both the agency and one of its contractors after a 13-month-old foster child died allegedly from an aunt’s beating.

Her resume, released by DSHS, shows she moved into had an executive policy adviser job with the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families in January, a position she still holds.

Dreyfus said in a news release today she selected Revels Robinson as assistant secretary overseeing the Children's Administration because of her nationally recognized experience, and Gov. Chris Gregoire also applauded her as a leader:

"I was seeking someone with a proven and passionate commitment to public child welfare," said Dreyfus, "and Denise Revels Robinson is that person: she understands the function of child welfare within the spectrum of social services and community. She is recognized and respected at both the state and national level as a leader in child welfare. Denise believes in ensuring that our system has the resources and partnerships we need for quality practices and better outcomes for every child every time."

The DSHS release also said:

During her tenure with Milwaukee County, starting in 1997, Revels Robinson led the way to safely reduce the number of children in out-of-home care from 6,800 to 2,600 by 2003 by accomplishing reunification of children with their families in 70 percent of cases, and 30 percent adopted within 24 months of entering foster care.

But state employees are leery out of the blocks. The Washington Federation of State Employees put out this statement:

WFSE/AFSCME has serious concerns about the appointment today of Denise Revels Robinson as assistant secretary for DSHS Children's Administration. Time will tell if it's the best decision for the children of Washington state.

Revels Robinson headed the troubled Milwaukee Child Welfare System in Wisconsin.

Here is a link to a November column in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel about the death of the 13-month-old and Revels Robinson's unwillingness to talk to a reporter. Here is a link to portions of another story about the case.

In another site, Wisconsin state Sen. Bob Jauch wrote about the 13-month-old's tragic death and said he understood Revels Robinson's decision to resign.

UPDATE: Thomas Shapley, spokesman for DSHS, said Revels Robinson’s long 40-year background in child services outweighed any controversy in the hiring. “There was a broad review. There was a national search and we had panels, both internal and external review panels, that talked to all the candidates. All the information was disclosed. Everything was taken into consideration. What was the overwhelming thing was the over 40 years of solid child-welfare service that she put in.’’

He added: “Of course, we were in contact with the union letting them know that this was taking place.”

The new assistant secretary replaces Cheryl Stephani, who left at the end of December.