[L]ongtime Department of Mental Health Deputy Commissioner Frank Reed will become commissioner of that department, Gov. Peter Shumlin announced Thursday.
Reed has served as interim commissioner since former commissioner Paul Dupre resigned in June. He will formally take over as commissioner on Aug. 21, according to a news release.
Reed has been deputy commissioner since 2012 and has worked for DMH for more than 10 years. He is taking the helm of a department that is struggling to create greater capacity to meet Vermonters’ mental health needs in a decentralized system the state has built post-Tropical Storm Irene.
The state chose to build a smaller state hospital after the former Waterbury facility flooded in 2011, but it’s currently not running at full capacity because of a shortage of psychiatric nurses and high turnover. Many mentally ill patients are still waiting in hospital emergency rooms for inpatient placements.
Reed will also preside over the redesignation process of Rutland Mental Health Services, where he worked in the 1990s prior to joining the Department of Mental Health.
Rutland Mental Health recently submitted a plan of correction after more than a year-and-a-half of state officials raising serious concerns about its management and the services it provides to more than 3,000 people in Rutland County.
As the designated agency for that region, Rutland Mental Health gets more than $28 million from the state — or 99 percent of its funding. A total of 11 designated agencies receive more than $300 million in state funds annually. The Department of Mental Health and the Department of Aging and Independent Living are tasked with their oversight.
In August, 2014, a 13-year-old girl took her own life after waiting close to six months to get treatment services from Rutland Mental Health. Other clients suffered abuse and neglect, documents show. Former CEO Dan Quinn has resigned, and a new management team is working to make improvements.
If Reed and the Department of Mental Health accept the agency’s plan of correction, they will work with Rutland Mental Health over a six month period to see that it’s implemented.
Reed could not immediately be reached for comment on his appointment.
“I am pleased to have Frank step fully into the role of DMH Commissioner, and I know the Department will benefit greatly from his leadership, as well as his keen insight into how the Department can best serve the mental health needs of Vermonters,” said Hal Cohen, Agency of Human Services secretary, in a prepared statement.
Reed’s appointment is among several announced by the Shumlin administration, which has had to contend with the loss of nearly a dozen top officials in the last year.
James Pepper will join the administration as a policy adviser and director of intergovernmental affairs, a position vacated by his wife Aly Richards last month. Richards, a longtime Shumlin aide who served as a policy adviser on education issues, took a position as CEO of the Permanent Fund for Vermont’s Children.
Pepper doesn’t start until the end of the month, and Shumlin spokesperson Scott Coriell said it’s not clear yet what policy area Pepper will be working in. Pepper was previously an attorney for solar energy company SunCommon. Before that he worked for Obama for America and the Democratic National Committee.
Christopher Herrick will take over as director of the Vermont Division of Emergency Management and Homeland Security. His predecessor, Joe Flynn, was appointed deputy Public Safety commissioner last month. Herrick was the chief of Vermont’s Hazardous Materials Response Team within the Department of Public Safety for the last 16 years.
Tom Cheney will become deputy commissioner of the Human Resources Department. Cheney previously worked for House Speaker Shap Smith and U.S. Rep. Peter Welch, both Democrats.
Laura Gray, formerly Shumlin’s legislative liaison, will become director of special projects. Jahala Dudley will take over for Gray. Dudley previously served as press assistant to Welch.
Correction: Frank Reed has been deputy commissioner since 2012, not for 12 years as previously stated in this story.
