Gov. Mike Braun has appointed Jennifer Dorfmeyer to continue leading the Indiana Department of Child Services, after she has served in the role since January.
The previous director, Adam Krupp, has been on medical leave since late January after being hospitalized for “several days”.
Krupp will now serve as a “special advisor” to the governor on child welfare issues, according to a press release about the appointment.
Dorfmeyer will take on the head position immediately. The agency oversees about 4,000 state employees who are meant to protect children from abuse and neglect.
Braun said that Dorfmeyer had done a great job leading the department in the interim and that Krupp will provide help when needed.
“When he did leave, she did an excellent job. We'll see how that works for him in terms of the new role, and we'll go from there,” Braun said at a recent ceremonial bill signing.
In a statement, Krupp thanked the governor and agency employees for the work they had done to date.
“Indiana's children deserve a system that is stable, compassionate, and relentlessly focused on their well-being; I look forward to being part of that vision moving forward,” Krupp said.
Last year, Krupp led an effort to eliminate up to 40 middle and upper management positions in what he called a “transformational” reorganization of the agency. The move also reduced the number of regions DCS was operating across the state from 18 to now five, which Braun touted as a way of removing unnecessary bureaucracy and redirecting sources to frontline services.
Before Dorfmeyer was the chief deputy director at DCS, she was the executive director at Choices Coordinated Care Solutions. The national nonprofit provides help to youth and families in the foster care system.
Contact Government Reporter Caroline Beck at cbeck@wfyi.org
