Minnesota Department of Human Services Commissioner Jodi Harpstead says she's resigning after more than five years in the job.
Minnesota Democratic Governor Tim Walz and Lt. Governor Peggy Flanagan announced Harpstead's departure which will take place on February 3.
“I am proud of her work running the most complex and wide-ranging agency in state government,” Walz said in a statement. “I am especially proud of how Commissioner Harpstead supported the enterprise-wide work to separate DHS into three separate agencies, which will make each of them more effective, more accountable, and easier to manage.”
Harpstead was appointed in August 2019 to run one of the state's largest agencies.
“I have been so proud to be the Commissioner of the caring, competent, and high-capacity Department of Human Services,” Harpstead said in a statement. “I’m pleased that we were able to balance new, stronger process controls with greater responsiveness to community partners, worked with the DHS grants and contracts team to imagine a re-design of the agency’s thousands of grants, and built an unparalleled team of strong senior leaders.”
The Department of Human Services has been under scrutiny due to fraud in its programs including a recent FBI raid at two autism center that received millions in Medicaid reimbursements through the state’s early autism intervention program. There is also the specter of the massive Feeding Our Future COVID fraud scandal.
A 2022 report from the Office of the Legislative Auditor found a there was a lack of oversight those DHS programs. Walz had not named an interim DHS commissioner to over the role.
Prior to her appointment, Commissioner Harpstead was the president and CEO of Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota (LSS) since September 2011. She also was the executive vice president and chief operating officer for LSS and spent 23 years in a variety of positions with Medtronic, Inc.
