Governor Crist Names George Sheldon Secretary of Department of Children and Families

Governor Charlie Crist today, September 30, 2008, named George Sheldon as Secretary of the Department of Children and Families.

Mr. Sheldon will succeed Bob Butterworth, whose resignation was effective August 15, 2008.

The press release from the Office of Governor Charlie Crist is reprinted below.

Should you have any questions or comments, please do not hesitate to contact Frank Mayernick, Jr. at Colodny Fass.

Governor Crist Names George Sheldon Secretary of Department of Children and Families

TALLAHASSEE – Governor Charlie Crist today named George Sheldon as Secretary of the Department of Children and Families to succeed Bob Butterworth, whose resignation was effective August 15, 2008. Sheldon previously served as the department’s Assistant Secretary for Operations under Bob Butterworth.

“I am confident George will carry forward the tremendous improvements that have been achieved in our services to Florida’s children and families,” Governor Crist said. “George brings to the agency unequaled experience and a understanding of the best ways to serve Florida’s most vulnerable citizens.”

Since 2007, the Department of Children and Families has experienced a new era of openness, and enacted what Secretary Butterworth called the ‘Two Sense Strategy,’ which calls on a sense of urgency and common sense in all decision making. Additionally, the department has received national recognition for increasing access and accuracy in providing services to Florida’s most vulnerable. ACCESS Florida was one of seven winners of the 2007 Innovations in American Government Award given by Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. This year, the agency was awarded $5.4 million as a high-performance bonus for improved accuracy in administering the Food Stamp Program.

Through Operation Full Employment launched earlier this year, the department’s leadership, along with partners in community-based care, have successfully hired more than 100 former foster children, offering the young adults the opportunity to gain professional employment and sustain their independence.

Prior to arriving at the Department of Children and Families, Sheldon served as associate dean for student and alumni affairs at St. Thomas University in Miami. Most of his career, however, has been spent in public service, beginning in 1967 with a position at the Florida Department of State. He then held a number of positions in state government including leader of Governor-Elect Reubin O.D. Askew’s transition team, and as a two-term Representative in the Florida House. As a state legislator, Sheldon served on the Committee on Health and Rehabilitative Services and was integral in the reorganization of the agency now known as the Department of Children and Families. In 1980, Sheldon was voted the Most Valuable Member of the Legislature by the Florida press corps.

Among Sheldon’s other notable achievements are 20 years of service on the Board of Directors of the Advocacy Center for Persons with Disabilities, co-author of the legislation that created the Community Care for the Elderly program with then-Governor Bob Graham, and chair of the House Committee on Nursing Home Reform. Sheldon served under then-Attorney General Bob Butterworth beginning in 1999 as the Deputy Attorney General for Central Florida. George Sheldon holds a bachelor’s degree and law degree from Florida State University.

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