Bill J. Crouch, Cabinet Secretary of the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources (DHHR), today announced additional changes as a result of the organizational study of DHHR by the McChrystal Group, at the direction of Gov. Jim Justice.
DHHR is centralizing the reporting structures of the staff who work in the job functions of Finance, Management Information Services, Human Resources Management and Purchasing. Finance staff in each bureau and office will report to Tara Buckner, DHHR's Chief Financial Officer; technology staff will report to Shaun Charles, DHHR's Chief Information Officer; purchasing staff will report to Warren Keefer, Director of the Office of Administration; and all human resources staff will report to Angie Ferris, DHHR's Director of the Office of Human Resources Management.
DHHR has also instituted a temporary hiring freeze. Positions of critical need will still be filled, but requests to hire must be approved by the respective Deputy Secretary and sent to the Office of Human Resources Management for review and final approval by the Secretary. These critical positions include CPS and APS workers, Inspector General, State Health Officer/Commissioner for Public Health and essential staff at state facilities. Positions already posted to the WV Division of Personnel website will still be filled and hiring events previously scheduled will be held.
“DHHR has important work to do to help the residents of West Virginia,” said Crouch. “We strongly believe that these organizational changes are steps in the right direction, and we will continue to make wise decisions going forward. By getting the right people in the right places, we continue the critically important work of the Department to meet the needs of both the people and the State of West Virginia.”
For more information on DHHR’s top-to-bottom review and efforts moving forward, visit https://dhhr.wv.gov/Pages/DHHR-Moving-Forward.aspx.