Directors of Community Access and Family Well-Being and Protection Appointed
November 14, 2022
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
(Des Moines, Iowa) The Iowa Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announces the appointment of two key leadership positions today. As part of HHS’ alignment effort, two new divisions within the department were created to better align policy and practice.
“I could not have asked for two more well qualified, talented and committed leaders to complete the HHS leadership team. Both have strong vision for how the work of their division contributes to the overall success of the agency as we execute our goals of serving Iowans. I can’t wait for them to get started,” said Director Kelly Garcia.
Janee Harvey will lead the new Family Well-Being and Protection Division of HHS and will oversee policy and practice for child protective services, child care and family services. Harvey previously led the Division of Adult, Children, and Family Services for Iowa DHS where she has been a driving force in the Family First Act which gave our state the opportunity to shift our child welfare system from one reliant on foster care, to a system centered on families. Before coming to Iowa, she worked in a number of leadership roles in New York City area foster care, family, and social service agencies.
“Stepping in to the new role of Division Director for Family Well-being and Protection synthesizes the work I’ve done throughout my career, from my start as a social worker to ultimately leading Iowa’s adoption of Family First. I’m eager to continue the work of investing in families and natural supports as the most effective way to produce positive outcomes for children and families in Iowa”, said Harvey.
Erin Drinnin will head the Community Access Division and will oversee child support services, economic assistance programs and wellness and preventive health. Drinnin comes to HHS from United Way of Central Iowa where she held the role of Community Impact Officer. In that role she oversaw programs and partnerships that provided food assistance, housing, health and mental health care to low-income Iowans. Prior to that she worked for the Iowa Department of Public Health where she managed federal grants, and direct care workforce initiatives, as well as recruitment and retention programs for rural health care providers.
“I am honored by the opportunity to use my background in community engagement and public health to lead the newly developed Division of Community Access with HHS. I’m confident that 1 with strong collaboration from statewide partners, we can succeed in strengthening Iowa families and improving outcomes through support services, economic assistance programs and wellness and preventive health,” said Drinnin.
As these two divisions are established, the existing Division of Adult, Children, and Family Services and the Division of Field Operations will be formally disestablished. Current functions of these divisions will be incorporated into the new divisions, or other areas of HHS. Harvey will begin her new role December 9 and Drinnin will join the agency in late December.
###
Media Contact:
Sarah Ekstrand: sarah.ekstrand@idph.iowa.gov
Alex Carfrae: acarfra@dhs.state.ia.us