Susan Dreyfus, an executive vice president for the Rogers Behavioral Health System in Oconomowoc, has been named secretary of the Department of Social and Health Services for the state of Washington.
Dreyfus, 51, will join the agency, and the governor’s Cabinet, on May 18. She visited with department staff and leadership Tuesday in Washington.
The Department of Social and Health Services is Washington’s largest state agency, with more than 19,000 employees and a combined state and federal two-year budget of about $20 billion. Its five divisions are responsible for an array of social services, including medical assistance, mental health services, vocational rehabilitation, food assistance, child welfare, care for the frail elderly and disabled adults, child support enforcement, juvenile rehabilitation, and alcohol and substance abuse prevention and treatment.
“Throughout my career, I have been committed to improving the lives of vulnerable children and adults and their families,” Dreyfus said in a written statement. “In this economy, we are challenged to do more with less. Washington is known as an innovative state, and this is the time to look for opportunities to be more efficient and effective.”
Dreyfus has been the executive vice president for strategy with Rogers Behavioral Health System Inc. since 2007.
“Under Susan’s leadership, we have forged a strategic plan for the development of the Rogers Behavioral Health System and its key corporations,” David Moulthrop, Rogers Memorial Hospital president and CEO said in a statement. “She was a key player in developing the governance for those key corporations and the system as a whole.”
Prior to joining Rogers, Dreyfus served for five years as senior vice president and chief operating officer of the National Alliance for Children and Families and Families International.
Dreyfus also served on the Wisconsin State Legislative Council on Adoptions to develop ways to streamline adoptive processes and protect the rights of children and parents.
In 1996, Dreyfus was appointed administrator of the Division of Children and Family Services within the Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services, responsible for child welfare, regulation and licensing of child care facilities, youth development and other community programs. She led the officer for nearly seven years. In this role, Dreyfus successfully led the state’s assumption of all child welfare responsibilities from Milwaukee County. She also championed a major redesign of physical and behavioral health services for children in out-of-home care provided by Medicaid.