OLYMPIA – Dennis Braddock is stepping down as head of the state Department of Social and Health Services.
The 61-year-old has held the job for four years. He said there’s “tremendous pressure” running the agency, which has an $8 billion annual budget and 18,000 employees.
Its clients include thousands of elderly, poor, mentally ill, disabled, drug addicted and abused people.
Earlier this year, federal auditors said the department fell below national standards in protecting children from abuse and providing foster children with stable homes.
The state auditor also said the department failed to report patient abuse allegations at state mental hospitals and had spent $24 million on Medicaid clients with missing or fraudulent Social Security numbers.
“There’s tremendous pressure, and media-related crises do occur,” Braddock said of the job. “You’re driven from pillar to post, from one crisis or another, and the governor needs to have a person that they trust completely.”
Braddock will stay on the job until the next governor can appoint a successor.
Maple Valley: Arrest in woman’s slaying
King County sheriff’s officers arrested a 33-year-old man after a woman was fatally shot and her 16-year-old daughter was wounded Wednesday in a condominium in a quiet residential neighborhood. The man, held for investigation of murder, was the 32-year-old woman’s husband and the teen’s stepfather, officers said. The victims, who were shot with a rifle, were not immediately identified. The girl’s injury was not life-threatening, said sheriff’s Deputy Travis DeFries.
Seattle: Cups provide grounds for discussion
Starbucks Coffee Co. says it will hand you a notable quote with your cup of java. The company will start printing quotes on its cups to provoke discussions among customers. The statements will be on noncontroversial “life topics” that “delight and inspire,” the company said. The intent is to promote respectful conversation, “not to incite controversial, taboo subjects,” company spokeswoman Valerie Hwang said. A review board checked the quotes, she said. The quote cups will be offered first in North American stores before expanding internationally.
Tacoma: 30-year-old wallet found at school
A demolition contractor tearing out a wall at Stadium High School here found a wallet with student identification from 30 years ago. The contractor made a few phone calls and found the owner, Joanne Green. She said her wallet had been stolen and she lost $13 in hard-earned baby-sitting money. The money was long gone, but Green said the return of the wallet with pictures of her family made her Christmas cheery.
Tukwila: New rule on credit scores signed
State Insurance Commissioner Mike Kreidler says he has signed a new rule on credit scoring to help protect consumers. Under the rule that takes effect in July, insurance companies will have to explain how a credit history affects whether a person can get insurance or the best rate for a policy. The companies no longer will simply be able to use the term “unfavorable” to describe a facet of the consumer’s credit history. And they will have to tell the consumer what he or she can do to improve.
From Herald news services
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
