Racine Out at Vt. Agency of Human Services

This comes after troubled year at several of its departments

Gov. Peter Shumlin's spokeswoman has confirmed that Shumlin asked Human Services Secretary Doug Racine to leave after troubles at multiple departments within the agency.

The initial announcement of Racine's departure gave no clear indication of what prompted it. But spokeswoman Sue Allen tells The Associated Press "the Governor felt a change in leadership at AHS was needed at this time."

Health Commissioner Harry Chen will replace Racine at the largest agency in state government, which has been faced with problems on several fronts in recent months.

Among them: controversy surrounding the role of the Department for Children and Families in overseeing the deaths of two babies who had been in state care, and the problem-plagued rollout of the Vermont Health Connect insurance marketplace by the Department of Vermont Health Access.

Copyright AP - Associated Press
Contact Us