Jodi Harpstead, commissioner of the Department of Human Services, will resign her post effective Feb. 3, according to the governor’s office.
Jodi Harpstead. (Courtesy of Lutheran Social Service)
Gov Tim Walz thanked Harpstead for her time serving as commissioner.
“I want to extend my deepest thanks to Commissioner Harpstead for answering the call of public service five and a half years ago,” Walz said in a statement. “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.”
Since her appointment in August of 2019, Harpstead oversaw change and stability in the department, according to the governor’s office.
Key among her accomplishments was supporting efforts to split off the Department of Children, Youth, and Families as of July 1, 2024, and Direct Care and Treatment which will become independent on July 1, 2025 from the department.
Also, under her leadership, Minnesota’s 2024 Medicaid renewals process achieved the goal of no disparities within the Black and overall American Indian communities for a first time.
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