Don Winstead
Deputy Secretary
Department of Children and Families
1317 Winewood Boulevard
Building 1
Tallahassee, FL 32399-0700
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Florida
Don Winstead, Deputy Secretary for the Florida Department of Children
and Families (DCF), emerges as the one person in Florida making
an exceptional contribution to the prevention and treatment of child
abuse and neglect. His most recent and significant accomplishment is
the application for, approval of, and implementation of the Title IV-E
Foster Care Waiver, approved on March 31, 2006 and implemented
the following October 1st.
Mr. Winstead brings numerous talents and skills to his senior leadership
role at the Florida Department of Children and Families, including:
extensive knowledge of State and Federal policy and practice
regarding child welfare and public assistance Federal funding, youth
development, welfare reform, public policy development, data analysis,
outcome evaluation, and evidence-based practice. In addition to these
individual strengths, he collaborated with community-based agency
leaders in Florida to bring about the first statewide waiver for flexible
use of foster care funds in the country. The combined efforts of
public and private child welfare stakeholders resulted in an extremely
strong proposal to the Federal government and a landmark Federal
approval of this waiver, which allows Federal IV-E foster care funds to
be used for any child welfare purpose. This demonstration waiver puts
incentives in line with program goals and good practice. Florida also
takes this opportunity to acknowledge the contribution of the additional
members of the IV-E Waiver Senior Implementation Team as
these leaders share in this significant accomplishment: Steven Murphy,
President and Chief Executive Officer, Partnership for Strong Families;
Melissa Jaacks, Assistant Secretary for Administration, DCF; Ron
Zychowski, President, Community-Based Care of Volusia and Flagler
Counties; David Fairbanks, Director, Provider Relations, DCF; and Glen
Casel, Executive Director, Community-Based Care of Seminole Inc.
Don Winstead has served Florida and the United States well throughout
his tenure as Deputy Secretary of the Department of Children and
Family Services and as a former Deputy Assistant Secretary for the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services. His is a true success story:
a talented and dedicated leader who advanced through the ranks from
frontline caseworker to numerous top administrative positions over his
past thirty plus years of service. |
