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Wednesday, 17 June 2009 09:32 |
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David A. Hansell, Commissioner of New York State’s Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance, will be resigning his position to become Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Children and Families in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The resignation will be effective on June 26.
“During his tenure at the Office of Temporary and Disability Assistance, Commissioner Hansell has helped to broaden the scope of the agency’s mission from moving individuals from welfare to work to a focus on enhancing the economic security for all of the State’s low-income individuals and families,” said Governor David Paterson in making the announcement.
“With the Governor’s foresight and leadership, we have taken major strides toward enhancing the economic security of low-income New Yorkers during this historic economic downturn,” said Hansell. “We have achieved record enrollment in the food stamp program, increased the welfare grant for the first time in 19 years, expanded access to education and training programs for public assistance recipients, launched the myBenefits website, and brought millions of dollars in increased federal funding to the State for benefits and services to families in need. Governor Paterson’s support has been critical to these and other accomplishments, and for that I am grateful.”
“We are sad to see Commissioner Hansell leave OTDA but certainly wish him well at the federal level,” said Bich Ha Pham, Director of Policy, Advocacy and Research at the Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies. “His leadership has helped lead to important improvements in the areas of transitional jobs and wage subsidies as well as improving access to education, including adult basic education and college education. We are hopeful that the governor will appoint someone who has experience working in the field and carries the same progressive perspectives as Commissioner Hansell.”
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