Recognized expert in child welfare issues, Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), federal child & family services reviews.
April 24, 2003
Governor Frank H. Murkowski announced today the appointment of Marcia Kennai (kun-EYE) as Deputy Commissioner of Health & Social Services. Ms. Kennai will head the new Office of Children's Services announced last month as part of a major reorganization of the Dept. of Health & Social Services.
"I am very pleased that Marcia Kennai is joining our health and social services team," Murkowski said. "In this nationwide search, we sought the best individual possible to lead Alaska's vital work in child protection. Marcia is a recognized expert in child welfare issues, and she is the kind of authority that other states call on to work on their federal review of child and family services."
"April is Child Abuse Prevention Month, and this is exactly the right time to announce that we have recruited Marcia Kennai, the right person for this important job," DHSS Commissioner Joel Gilbertson said. "With this appointment, DHSS now has its full senior management team in place." Kennai will join the Department full time on Sept. 2 but will be working with DHSS staff before September on the federal Performance Improvement Plan (PIP) and on the transition from Div. of Family & Youth Services to the new Office of Children's Services.
Marcia Kennai has a distinguished social services career that spans over 35 years. Most recently she was Director, Protective Services Division of the New Mexico Children, Youth & Families Department. Prior to that she was Director of Community Services and Programs at Good Shepherd Center in Maryland. She began her career as a foster parent caseworker, foster parent trainer and recruiter. She has also served as an independent social work consultant, a field instructor for several universities, and as adjunct clinical instructor for the University of Maryland School of Social Work.
In 1992 she received the Child Advocacy Award from the Child Welfare League of America. Ms. Kennai has a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Maryland at College Park, a Master of Social Work from the University of Maryland School of Social Work (1983), and she completed the Leadership Program at the Maryland Department of Human Resources (1992).
Under the DHSS reorganization announced in early March 2003, the new Office of Children's Services includes all the child protection services formerly in the Div. of Family & Youth Services. Child protection services are elevated to the Deputy Commissioner level in the reorganization, and the Office of Children's Services includes child protection, foster care, and adoption services, as well as child health programs including the WIC Program, Healthy Families, and the Infant Learning Program.
For more information, please contact:
Ross Soboleff Public Information Officer III
Department of Health and Social Services
(907) 465-1611