BISMARCK, N.D. – Minnesota Governor Tim Walz announces the resignation of Commissioner of the Department of Human Services Jodi Harpstead.
Her last day will be February 3. Walz’s office did not give a reason for Harpstead stepping down in a press release announcing the decision.
“I thank Governor Walz and Lieutenant Governor Flanagan for the honor and privilege of serving the people of Minnesota over two terms in their Administration. I have been so proud to be the Commissioner of the caring, competent, and high-capacity Department of Human Services. 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,” Harpstead said.
“I want to extend my deepest thanks to Commissioner Harpstead for answering the call of public service five and a half years ago,” said Governor Walz. “I am proud of her work running the most complex and wide-ranging agency in state government. 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.”
Walz says since August 2019 Harpstead’s key accomplishments include supporting the enterprise-wide work to separate the Department of Human Services into three agencies including the Department of Children, Youth, and Families and Direct Care and Treatment which will become independent July 1. Walz adds, under her leadership, the state’s 2024 Medicaid renewals process achieved the goal of no disparities within the Black and overall American Indian communities for the first time, and an 80 percent auto-renewal rate, earning Minnesota the rank of 8th in the nation.
