Tikki Brown is set to serve as the first Commissioner of the Department of Children, Youth, and Families. (Courtesy of the Office of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan)
Gov. Tim Walz has named a longtime Minnesota Department of Human Services official the first commissioner of a new state government agency that will be responsible for state child care and public assistance programs.
Tikki Brown will head the new Department of Children, Youth and Families when the agency is established in July. Brown is currently the assistant commissioner for Children and Family Services with the Minnesota Department of Human Services, an agency she has worked at since 2001.
“From the initial inception of the new Department of Children, Youth, and Families, I have been excited about the opportunity to create better outcomes for Minnesotans,” Brown said in a statement.
Brown will run an agency handling responsibilities currently held by others, including the Department of Human Services and the Department of Education.
The new Department of Children, Youth and Families will handle child care services, child support, and welfare programs like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. It also will deal with some juvenile justice-related divisions from the Department of Public Safety.
Brown has served in many roles related to the areas DCYF will cover when it starts operating, according to the governor’s office. In her 22 years at the Department of Human Services, Brown has worked in nutrition assistance and food programs, and climbed into senior administrative roles.
Walz pitched a new state agency focused on youth and families in his 2023 budget recommendations, and DFL lawmakers approved the move during the last session. The new agency was part of the governor’s push to make Minnesota the “best state in the country for kids.”
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