Social-service agency chief resigns as Ducey takes office

• DES Director Clarence Carter resigns after nearly 4 years.
• He is the first agency director to depart under new Gov. Doug Ducey's administration.
• Ducey's staff said they are working on finding a new director for the social-service agency.

Clarence Carter, the controversial director of the state's social-service agency, submitted his resignation Monday.

He is the first agency director to publicly announce his departure as the Doug Ducey administration takes office. Ducey's office issued a statement wishing Carter, who was appointed by former Gov. Jan Brewer, well. The new governor also hinted a replacement would be named in short order.

In a letter to staff at the state Department of Economic Security, Carter lauded the work of his agency's employees, calling them "some of the finest, most committed, dedicated, capable and passionate workers" he has worked with in his 22-year career.

Although he mentioned the Great Recession, which prompted lawmakers to cut the agency's budget at the same time the demand for services increased, he made no reference to the child-welfare fiasco that engulfed the agency in late 2013.

The discovery of more than 6,500 uninvestigated reports of child abuse and neglect prompted Brewer to pull the Child Protective Services office out of DES and ultimately turn it into its own agency, the state Department of Child Safety. Carter said he was unaware of the uninvestigated cases and later fired one of his deputies over the matter.

But he never was held accountable for the actions of his agency, a development that puzzled many at the Capitol who saw that Brewer was quick to fire staffers for far-lesser offenses.

Carter was not asked to submit his resignation, which takes effect Friday. But he apparently read signals from the new administration, which has been interviewing existing agency directors, as well as newcomers, for positions.

Carter did not mention what his next move will be. But in his e-mail to DES staffers, he said he felt called to pursue the next step in his vision of creating a social-service system in which services are tailored to individual needs.

He launched a "person-centric" initiative in Arizona, but the effort never got beyond initial studies and recruiting a few families.

Brewer appointed Carter to lead the wide-ranging agency in March 2011. DES houses many of the state's safety-net programs, administering the federal food-stamp program, temporary cash assistance, unemployment and child support.

Reach the reporter at maryjo.pitzl@arizonarepublic.com or via Twitter @maryjpitzl.