TO CONGRATULATE MARY C. WILLIAMS OF RICHLAND COUNTY UPON BEING NAMED PRESIDENT OF THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF PUBLIC CHILD WELFARE ADMINISTRATORS, AND TO WISH HER WELL AS SHE TAKES UP HER NEW DUTIES AT THE HELM OF NAPCWA.
Whereas, the House of Representatives is pleased to learn that Mary C. Williams of Richland County has been named president of the National Association of Public Child Welfare Administrators (NAPCWA), an affiliate organization of the American Public Human Services Association (APHSA); and
Whereas, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit, bipartisan organization that represents government-health and human-service professionals in all fifty states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, APHSA helps develop, promote, and implement public human-service policies and practices; and
Whereas, Ms. Williams, who currently serves as the director of program improvement for the South Carolina Department of Social Services (SCDSS), began her term of office as president of NAPCWA in early January 2011; and
Whereas, she has been a member of that organization for several years, having been active on the executive committee and previously having served as vice president. She has assisted NAPCWA on developing suggested policy changes and recommendations for critical federal child-welfare reforms, such as the redesign of the Child and Family Services Reviews and child-welfare financing; and
Whereas, a seasoned public child-welfare director, Ms. Williams' current responsibilities at SCDSS include serving as the federal liaison to the Administration for Children and Families (Atlanta Regional and Washington, D.C., offices), coordinating various interagency programs, and being responsible for quality-assurance reviews in the State; and
Whereas, she was previously the director of human services at SCDSS, having oversight of child-welfare, child-care, and adult-service programs and managing a budget of approximately $116 million in state and federal funds and more than four hundred twenty employees, including twenty-five supervisors; and
Whereas, a former staff attorney for SCDSS's general counsel and the Children's Law Center at the University of South Carolina School of Law, Ms. Williams is a member of the Children's Committee of the South Carolina Bar Association and former volunteer guardian ad litem for Richland County CASA; and
Whereas, in 2006, she was also appointed by Governor Sanford to spearhead the Independent Living Policy Academy for the National Governor's Association. She organized the Child Abuse and Domestic Violence Task Force, which was awarded a multimillion-dollar grant from the Department of Justice to develop a local response to domestic violence and child maltreatment; and
Whereas, grateful for Ms. Williams' long record of public service, as well as her years of outstanding leadership in that arena, the House of Representatives takes great pleasure in recognizing Mary C. Williams as newly elected president of the National Association of Public Child Welfare Administrators. The members wish her much success at this exciting new post. Now, therefore,
Be it resolved by the House of Representatives:
That the members of the South Carolina House of Representatives, by this resolution, congratulate Mary C. Williams of Richland County upon being named president of the National Association of Public Child Welfare Administrators, and wish her well as she takes up her new duties at the helm of NAPCWA.
Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be presented to Mary C. Williams.