YFS Director Named

Charlotte, NC – The Mecklenburg County Department of Social Services (DSS) has selected Paul M. Risk as the new director of its Youth and Family Services (YFS) division.

Effective today, Risk will begin leading the County's child welfare division which is responsible for child protective investigations, family interventions, foster care and adoptions. YFS has an annual budget of $49.5 million and a staff of 420.

Risk has been serving as the YFS Interim Director since September 2007. He has held a variety of management positions at YFS including: deputy director for operations, senior social services manager for Geo District 1, and permanency planning unit coordinator.

"His commitment to a family-centered, community-based approach to child welfare, along with his concern for the well-being of children, made him the ideal candidate," said Janice Allen Jackson, general manager for Community Health and Safety and interim Department of Social Services director.

"I look forward to continuing the work with our community partners to provide neighborhood-based services while working with staff to ensure that the children of Mecklenburg County grow up in safe families and neighborhoods," said Risk.

A County employee for more than 15 years, Risk received his Bachelor of Social Welfare from Southern Illinois University and his Master of Social Welfare from the University of Illinois. Risk currently serves as a board member on the North Carolina Juvenile Crime Prevention Council and is taking the County Administration course at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's School of Government.

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Media Contact: Darrell Cunningham at 704-336-3286 (office) or 704-621-1540 (cell) or Darrell.Cunningham@MecklenburgCountyNC.gov

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