There is a new Secretary over NCDSS below is his information. He began his duties today. I have already sent him a copy of my complaint and documentation and asked him to do an investigation into our case and the unethical and illegal behavior of the Wilkes County Department of Social Services. I also informed him that I felt people at the state level had lied to the Regional Office in Atlanta and helped cover up the actions of WCDSS.
I do not know if it will do any good, but the one thing I do know, is in order to make changes you have to keep talking about it, keep contacting anyone and everyone who has the ability to do something, until someone listens. Never give up. Change is not easily acheived, you just have to keep trying. I have listed Mr. Cansler and his assistants email addresses below. If you live in North Carolina I suggest you contact him with your complaints…I mean what is the worst that could happen, he could ignore you, but hey its not like that hasn’t happened before. Maybe he will listen, it is worth a shot!
Secretary Lanier Cansler began his duties as Secretary on Januurary 12th. Please forward correspondence for the Secretary to Lanier.Cansler@ncmail.net or to his assistant, Betty Harrison, at Betty.Harrison@ncmail.net
Also here are some articles that I put together on his appointment. I love how the department is refered to as troubled. I believe it is troubled in more ways then they would ever admit. The only way for them to rectify the problems is to respond to the complaints that they receive, you do not fix problems by ignoring the issues. I only hope that this new secretary is better than the last two. Here are the articles:
http://www2.journalnow.com/content/2009/jan/07/perdue-rounds-out-her-cabinet/
Perdue rounds out her Cabinet
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Democratic Gov.-elect BevPerdue wrapped up her Cabinet picks yesterday by choosing a Republican and former deputy at the troubled Department of Health and Human Services to lead the agency.
Perdue chose Lanier Cansler as HHS secretary even though he was the No. 2 person at the agency from 2001 to 2005 as its efforts to fix the state’s mental-health system were widely criticized.
Cansler’s consulting business, which he started after leaving the post, has been involved with the department. He represented a company whose $265 million Medicaid billing contract was recently accepted by the state.
Perdue defended the choice, saying that “99 percent” of the health professionals, service providers and advocates “agreed that I couldn’t find a better leader to set the ship back to the right course.”
Perdue will succeed outgoing Democratic Gov. Mike Easley on Saturday.
The governor-elect also said that current Administration Secretary Britt Cobb will stay on the job, the only holdover from the Easley Cabinet.
Kenneth R. Lay, a former Bank of America marketing executive, will head the Department of Revenue.
Dee Freeman, the retired chairman of the Triangle-area Council of Governments, will lead the Department of Environment and Natural Resources.
Cansler, 55, is a former N.C. House member from Asheville who left the legislature to become deputy secretary at HHS in the Easley administration under then-Secretary Carmen Hooker Odom.
Cansler more recently has registered as a lobbyist for Computer Sciences Corp. The company has landed a contract, one of the largest in state government, to complete an overhaul of North Carolina’s Medicaid billing system. Cansler also was once a registered lobbyist for ValueOptions Inc., a key contractor that oversaw payments for the state’s mental-health services.
Cansler said he registered for the firms to err on the side of caution. He said he only helped company leaders meet legislators, not push for certain legislation or actions by state government.
“I wanted to be absolutely certain that no one could accuse me of doing anything improper, and that’s the way that I will continue operating in Health and Human Services,” Cansler said.
Perdue said that Cansler has completely withdrawn from outside work and said he won’t make any decisions or participate in discussions involving former clients.
“He has become 100 percent owned by the people of North Carolina for the next four years as secretary,” Perdue told reporters.
Electronic Data Systems, the company that had held the Medicaid contract for 30 years, may appeal the contract award to Computer Sciences.
Cansler said as secretary, he would have no role in that matter.
Freeman, 57, worked in city government for 27 years and retired last week after eight years as the chairman of the Triangle J Council of Governments.
The council is a voluntary organization of city and county governments in seven Piedmont counties that try to work together on regional issues, such as air quality and the environment.
Later yesterday, Perdue said she had hired Eddie Speas as her general counsel.
Speas worked with the state Justice Department for 32 years, leaving as the chief deputy attorney general in 2003.
He has worked in a Raleigh law firm since then.
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/125/story/455835.html
Perdue picks Cansler for troubled agency
DHHS appointee experienced, but brings some baggage to job.
Posted: Wednesday, Jan. 07, 2009
Governor-elect Bev Perdue reached across party lines Tuesday to complete her cabinet, tapping Lanier Cansler, a former state representative and Republican from Buncombe County, to run the troubled Department of Health and Human Services and fix its broken mental health system.
Cansler is a serious student of public policy who previously worked as deputy secretary of the department before he left for private enterprise. From a health policy standpoint, his choice is a good one, though his connections to private businesses and his work as a registered lobbyist will give reformers pause. Cansler is registered as a lobbyist for a Virginia company that just landed a $265 million contract to develop and operate a Medicaid bill-payment system for the state, and he has done work for other companies that do business with his new department.
Cansler said he had registered as a lobbyist to comply with the letter of the law but had not done any significant lobbying work. Both he and Perdue said they have agreed that he will not participate in any decisions that constitute a conflict of interest. Cansler’s complication is a concern that both he and the Perdue administration will have to watch closely.
Perdue also announced that Allen Feezor, former vice president for University Health Systems of Eastern North Carolina and recently president of the N.C. Foundation for Advanced Health Programs, will be deputy secretary of the department. He brings a wealth of experience to the post.
Perdue unveiled other cabinet choices, including the only holdover from the Easley administration. Britt Cobb, a Raleigh insider with an excellent reputation, will be secretary of administration.
She chose a relatively unknown person to head the Department of Environment and Natural Resources. Dee Freeman, a Lenoir native and former Brevard city manager, recently stepped down as head of the Triangle Council of Governments. She said Freeman would balance economic concerns with environmental protection, but both must remember that the environment needs an effective advocate.
The commerce department can speak for the economy.
Perdue also announced that Eddie Speas, a former chief deputy attorney general in the state Department of Justice, will be her general counsel. It’s a good choice.
Charlotte’s Ken Lay to be next secretary of revenue
Perdue also followed through on a campaign promise to appoint a cabinet member from Charlotte. He is Ken Lay, a senior vice president with Bank of America and a board member of the Afro American Cultural Center, who will be Perdue’s secretary of revenue.
Lay moved to Charlotte three years ago and now oversees market research for Bank of America. He grew up in Brooklyn, N.Y., graduated from Notre Dame and spent his career with IBM and then JPMorgan Chase before joining BofA.
Lay has no experience in government, and says he never aspired to work in government. He had met Perdue at fundraisers a few times, and she called him out of the blue to ask if he would consider the job. He knew little about the Revenue Department and told us he still has a lot to learn. He doesn’t know his top priorities in the job yet, and says he’ll spend many weeks assessing the situation and reporting to Perdue on the department’s most urgent needs.
He’ll have his hands full. As the state’s top tax collector, he’ll be under pressure in a down economy when tax receipts are dwindling and legislators are looking for all the money they can find.
We hope Lay is successful. He’ll have a steep learning curve, but his business background and expertise in marketing and information technology should serve him well. From all we know, he is intelligent, engaged and energetic enough to take on a big new challenge.
Perdue’s appointments have been generally solid ones. She has avoided the complications that can come from naming major fundraisers to her cabinet, though several have raised money for candidates. The key will be setting high expectations for their performance as well as for their conduct as Perdue’s administration tackles a long list of problems facing the state in 2009.
Lawdoll
