LITTLE ROCK – The Arkansas Department of Human Services’ (DHS) Division of Children and Family Services (DCFS) has promoted a respected leader with more than a decade of experience supporting youth and families across the state to lead DCFS. The promotion will be effective later this month.

DHS Secretary Kristi Putnam today announced Tiffany Wright as the new DCFS Director. In this role, Wright will oversee the DHS division responsible for child abuse prevention, child protection, foster care, family reunification, and adoption programs and will lead a dedicated team of more than a thousand employees spread across offices in every county in Arkansas.

“Tiffany brings a wealth of experience to this position in both frontline and supervisory roles,” Putnam said. “She knows the people, she knows the programs and policies, and most importantly, she is a compassionate leader who understands the critical role that DCFS plays in protecting children and supporting families.”

Wright, who most recently served as the Assistant Director of Field Operations for DCFS, succeeds DCFS Director Mischa Martin. Martin joined DCFS in 2016 and was promoted to Deputy Secretary for Youth & Families in January.

Wright joined DCFS in 2009 as a family service worker tasked with providing protective and foster care services to children experiencing abuse and neglect. In 2016, she was promoted to Foster Care Program Manager, working to engage, support, and recruit foster families across the state. In 2019, she became the Foster Care and Adoption Program Administrator. In this role, she bolstered efforts to bring permanency to children in foster care and engaged partners in impactful initiatives like the Project Zero Heart Gallery, which features compelling biographies and photos of adoptable children in need of loving forever homes.

Wright later served as Community Services Program Administrator, supporting field operations across the state and working to guide staff during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, she became the Assistant Director of Field Operations, supervising the directors of each DCFS area and ensuring that agency resources are available to provide needed services to children and families on a 24/7 basis.

“It has been incredibly gratifying to see first-hand how our work strengthens families and supports children in need, and I am so excited to now lead these efforts for DCFS,” Wright said. “I look forward to working alongside my colleagues and our many partners including legislators, judges, foster parents and so many others who work tirelessly in support of our shared goal of protecting children.”

Wright’s first day in the new role will be May 22.

DCFS, one of the eight Divisions that make up DHS, works to ensure safety and permanency for children and youth of all ages and to strengthen families. Staff in 10 service areas across the state work alongside national and local partners to respectfully engage children and youth, families, and communities to prevent and protect them from child abuse and neglect, provide safety and stability through foster care, and permanency through reunification, adoption, and other services.

Additional information about the Division is available by visiting the DCFS page on the DHS website at humanservices.arkansas.gov/divisions-shared-services/children-family-services/.