OLYMPIA – Sekou Shabaka, director of the state Juvenile Rehabilitation Administration, has resigned after an independent study cited conflicts between staff and management and disputes over the core mission of the agency.
Shabaka, who was appointed to the division directorship within the Department of Social and Health Services in December 2005, will leave his post by week’s end.
DSHS Secretary Robin Arnold-Williams called his departure a mutual decision. Shabaka did not immediately return a call for comment on Wednesday.
The division has 1,100 employees and deals with juvenile offenders, including prevention programs, detention centers and parole.
An anonymous letter sent from agency workers to Arnold-Williams and Gov. Chris Gregoire complained about a climate of retaliation and fear at the division, saying Shabaka had wrongly fired top managers and undermined staff projects.
Independent investigator Nancy Campbell said she found nothing illegal, but, “Overall, there was a concern that there wasn’t a good fit, I guess is the best way I could described it,” she said.
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