The departing chairman of the House Health and Human Resources Committee says he is excited to get started as the leader of a newly-created state bureau to manage child welfare programs.
Jeffrey Pack, a 41-year-old Republican from Raleigh County, will be the new commissioner for the Bureau of Social Services. He is resigning his House seat before assuming the job with the Department of Health and Human Resources.
“I view this as an opportunity to make a difference in a different arena,” Pack said this week on “Radio Roundtable” on WJLS AM in the Beckley area.
Pack said he started considering the move after being felt out about his interest.
“I was approached by some folks in the executive, and they said ‘Are you interested in this position?’ I said, ‘Well, I’d certainly be willing to talk about it.’ So I thought about it and I prayed about it a lot. And once I understood more about it, it seemed like a good fit,” Pack said. “It was a difficult decision. I loved serving in the House. I’ve loved being in the Legislature.”
As he weighed the choices, he felt called to take on the new role.
“I feel like this is a burden that’s been put on my heart and maybe this is my calling. So it seemed like the thing to do.”
The new position with DHHR came about after this year’s retirement of Linda Watts, the commissioner of the Bureau for Children and Families.
Watts testified in early June before a joint health committee chaired by Pack that leadership at the Department of Health and Human Resources had decided to split the bureau that deals with child welfare issues into two.
One will be the Bureau for Family Assistance and Support, which will administer family assistance programs. The search for the commissioner of that bureau has been ongoing.
The other is the Bureau for Social Services, which will manage protective services, as well as foster care, child placement agencies and additional child welfare services. DHHR said the position leading the Bureau for Social Services pays $90,000 annually.
“Ultimately what we’re talking about is kids who have experienced significant trauma and have endured things that you and I can’t imagine or probably don’t want to imagine,” Pack said. “If we can make their lives a little better or give them some continuity in their lives and some structure and do what’s right by the kids, then we’ll be OK.
DHHR’s job posting for the commissioner of the Bureau for Social Services expresses preference for candidates with work experience in social services, especially in program administration capacity.
The posting highlights the commissioner’s role as a liaison for national, state and local agencies, advocacy groups and other entities. “The work is considerably dynamic due to the extensive interrelationship with other bureaus, departments, agencies and the Legislature.”
Pack is a graduate of Concord University, is a former coal miner and an Air Force veteran who has recently been working in human resources.
In the recent radio interview, he said his legislative experience would help with the new job.
“I think maybe I will have a better understanding of how government actually works, like how things actually happen,” he said. “There’s the way we think it works and there’s the way it actually works. Sometimes we don’t take the opportunity to figure out how it actually works.
“The other thing is, I’ve built up — I hope — what I believe to be a number of good relationships with my colleagues in the Legislature. There’s not many folks in the Legislature I would feel uncomfortable walking in to their office and sitting down and having a frank conversation.”
In the announcement of Pack’s hiring, DHHR Secretary Bill Crouch agreed.
“Jeff’s experience serving as the chair of the House Health and Human Resources Committee is a great asset for the state,” Crouch stated.
“As a legislator, he has seen first-hand the issues that many families face and has demonstrated great dedication to West Virginia’s children and families. He has led the effort to provide funding for Child Protective Services as well as shepherded the transition to managed care for our CPS population. I am confident he is ready to tackle this new bureau with a fresh perspective.”
Pack, who was first named to the House in 2018 and then re-elected, shepherded a broad-ranging bill of foster care reforms through the legislative process two years ago. That bill enumerated rights for foster families and increased per diem for foster families while establishing an equivalent rate for kinship families.
In announcing Pack’s resignation from the House of Delegates on Friday, Speaker Roger Hanshaw described him as thoughtful and likely to reserve judgment until making a reasoned decision.
“His quick smile and sense of humor can be almost disarming, but they bely a man who quietly studies all people and all subjects before making up his mind,” stated Hanshaw, R-Clay.
“As Chairman of our Health and Human Resources Committee, Chairman Pack rolled up his sleeves and faced our state’s most tangled, troubled agencies head-on. I couldn’t be more proud of the work Chairman Pack has done for West Virginia families, and I know he will treat his new endeavor just as he’s done every previous task: Jeff Pack will put his head down, focus, listen and lead. And West Virginia will be a better place because of it.”
There are about 7,000 children in West Virginia’s foster care system at any given time, with a myriad of challenges.
“We have appreciated his concern for families and willingness to listen to their needs and concerns during his tenure as a delegate and committee chairman,” said Marissa Sanders, executive director of the West Virginia Foster, Adoptive, & Kinship Parents Network.
“He was instrumental in the passage of strong bills of rights for foster children and foster parents. We hope he will bring that focus on families to the new Bureau, including by interacting directly with youth and families who are part of the child welfare system. We look forward to working with him to make needed reforms to ensure that our child welfare system truly meets the needs of West Virginia families.”
Jim McKay, the state coordinator of Prevent Child Abuse West Virginia, noted that Pack oversaw passage of significant legislation to improve the state’s child welfare system, including the creation of an ombudsman’s office. Pack took special interest in listening to the voices of families, McKay said.
“We hope he will bring this same focus and dedication to listening to the lived experience of families with him in his role as Commissioner. This is a critical time for the field of child abuse prevention and child welfare in general,” McKay said.
“While there are great challenges, there are also innovative, effective, evidence-based strategies that help strengthen families, prevent child abuse, and reduce the need for foster care.”
Pack acknowledged he still has a lot to learn.
“I want to travel around the state a little bit. I want to go to CPS offices. I just want to meet with CPS workers out in the field every day and say ‘What works for you? What doesn’t work for you? What could happen at a level above you that could make your job easier or help you perform your job easier or make you want to stay in this position?”
“I want to be careful about not really making wholesale changes before I get my feet under me and get a good grasp of what’s already going on there.”