|
 Department of Children, Youth, and Families Implementation Office Update: Feb. 28, 2025
|
|
Transfer Update
In January 2025, Help Me Connect at the Department of Health (MDH) and positions from the Business Solutions team at the Department of Human Services (DHS) transferred to the Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF). Implementation efforts will continue over the next several months and the remaining program and employee transfers will occur in June 2025.
Hiring Announcement
Randall (Randy) Keys has been selected as the Inspector General for DCYF. He began on Wednesday, February 12, within the Department of Human Services’ (DHS) Office of Inspector General, reporting to temporary DHS Commissioner Shireen Gandhi. In June 2025, licensing and program integrity functions supporting children, youth, and families will move to DCYF. Until this transfer occurs, Randy will work closely with DHS and DCYF leadership in a knowledge transfer role to learn more about each of these areas, engage with stakeholders, and become familiar with the teams.
Before his selection to this position, Randy worked in the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families (WDCF) since 2010 as a senior manager for child care licensing and subsidies, the WDCF’s Chief Legal Counsel, and as a Project Attorney advising on child care policy and programs. While serving as the Chief Legal Counsel he also assumed responsibility for establishing and overseeing the newly created Inspector General office for the WDCF. For more than two decades prior to working for the State of Wisconsin, Randy served on active duty in the U.S. Army as a Judge Advocate. He is a Life Member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars.
Strategic Planning Update
DCYF is partnering with Wilder Research to complete a bold and implementable five-year comprehensive strategic plan by June 2025.
Wilder Research hosted 10 engagement sessions – five for staff and five for community partners. Two additional sessions were hosted in partnership with the Children’s Cabinet, one specific to county human services leaders and the other for Tribal leaders. The sessions included nearly 300 participants. The goals of the sessions were to capture reactions to and suggestions for DCYF’s mission and vision statements and inform the agency’s values, principles, and top priorities.
A survey was also developed to capture individual participant feedback, for those who were unable to attend a face-to-face session, and more than 250 survey responses were submitted.
The strategic plan will be a public document outlining the agency’s commitment to centering the voices of children, youth, and families. It must be inclusive of leadership vision, set the tone for the agency's culture, and be actionable by agency staff and leaders. Like the strategic plans of all state agencies, it will be aligned with the Governor's One Minnesota plan.
|
 DCYF Transition Timeline
July 1, 2023: The DCYF Implementation Office was established.
March 1, 2024: A transition report from the commissioner of MMB, on behalf of the Implementation Office, was submitted to the Minnesota Legislature, outlining planning, engagement efforts, and recommendations for the transfer of programs to the new agency.
March 21, 2024: Governor Walz signed Chapter 80, House File 3646, creating the statutory infrastructure for DCYF.
April 29, 2024: Governor Walz named Tikki Brown as the Department of Children, Youth, and Families commissioner, effective July 1, 2024.
July 1, 2024: DCYF was established, and programs from Children and Family Services at DHS, Early Learning Services at the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE), and some identified central operations functions transferred throughout July.
October 15, 2024, through July 15, 2025: Quarterly transition reports are due to the Legislature from the commissioner of DCYF regarding the status of the program transfers.
October 23, 2024: Additional central operations positions transferred.
January 29, 2025: Help Me Connect from MDH and positions from DHS Business Solutions Office transferred.
June 4, 2025: Per the planning timeline, remaining positions from Finance, Management Services, and Compliance transfer.
June 18, 2025: Per the planning timeline, relevant licensing, program integrity, and operations functions from the DHS Office of Inspector General, the MDE after-school community learning grant, the Department of Public Safety (DPS) Office of Restorative Practices and youth justice programs functions transfer.
June 30, 2025: Per statute, the Implementation Office completes final transition preparations and ends its work.
Quick Links
DCYF Implementation Office
Frequently Asked Questions
Overview of DCYF
Part C FAQs
Contact Us
|
|
About the Department of Children, Youth, and Families Implementation Office
The Department of Children, Youth, and Families Implementation Office, housed at MMB, provides project management, coordination, and capacity for the budget, policy, and administrative planning necessary to transfer programs centered on children and families, and associated finances, to the new agency.
|
|
|
|
|
