The director of the Iowa Department of Human Services has resigned and Governor Kim Reynolds says she’s replaced him with an interim director.
Reynolds says in a statement that Jerry Foxhoven resigned Monday.
Foxhoven released a statement Monday afternoon saying he’d submitted his resignation at the request of the governor and that it was an honor to serve as director of the agency.
Reynolds has named Department of Public Health Director Gerd Clabaugh to take on interim duties running the DHS until a permanent replacement is hired.
Reynolds appointed Foxhoven as director in June 2017.
During the past two years, he has overseen a rocky transition to a privatized Medicaid program in which two major insurers have departed the state.
He’s also faced criticism about oversight of state juvenile institutions.
The Iowa Juvenile Home in Toledo, which housed troubled girls, closed after questions were raised about their treatment and a federal lawsuit underway now is delving into use of isolation rooms and restraints at the Iowa Training School for Boys.
The Glenwood Resource Center, which cares for people with intellectual disabilities, has reported eight deaths in four months.
Clabaugh has served as public health director since 2014.
