People in the news

Carmen R. Nazario

Former Health and Human Services Assistant Secretary for Children and Familes (September 2009-July 2010)

(hhs.gov)

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Background

At a Glance

Career History: Assistant Professor at the Inter- American University of Puerto Rico; Administrator of the Administration for Children and Families for the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico (2003-2008); Senior Resident and Investigator for the Jordan Poverty Alleviation Program; State of Delaware, cabinet secretary of Health and Social Services (1993-1997)
Hometown: Bayamon, Puerto Rico
Alma Mater: University of Puerto Rico, B.A., 1967; Virginia Commonwealth University School of Social Work, MSW, 1973.

Spouse: Alexis Nazario
DC Office: 370 L'Enfant Promenade, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20447
Web site

Path to Power

A native of Puerto Rico, Nazario attended the University of Puerto Rico where she earned a B.A. in sociology and graduated with honors in 1967. She went on to earn a master's of social work from Virginia Commonwealth University School of Social Work, graduating in 1973.

Longtime Social Services Official

Nazario started her public service career in 1968 as a social worker at the Social Services department in her native Puerto Rico.

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She went on to hold titles such as local Social Services director in Puerto Rico and the state of Virginia. While working for Virginia, she also held the title of regional licensing supervisor and chief of locally- administered programs for the northern Virginia region for the state Social Services department.

Nazario's star began to rise during her time as the director of Social Services in Loudoun County, Va. While there, Nazario's programs to reduce foster-care services and teen pregnancy garnered her state and national recognition. She was also honored with the state meritorious service award for her leadership in the implementation of repatriation efforts during Operation Desert Storm.

In 1989, she became the deputy secretary for the Puerto Rico Department of Social Services, where she successfully led disaster recovery efforts t in the wake of Hurricane Hugo, which "at the time was the biggest disaster in the history of FEMA."

Delaware Health and Social Services

It was Nazario's role as secretary of Delaware's Health and Human Services department, from 1993 to 1997, however, that made the Clinton administration take notice. Her accomplishments there included overseeing welfare reform and Medicaid managed care, creating a new Division of Aging and Services for the disabled, and management improvements in residential and community-based services to people with mental retardation and developmental disabilities.

While working in Delaware, Nazario was awarded The Order of The First State - the highest honor the governor of Delaware can bestow.

Clinton Administration

During the Clinton administration, Nazario served as both the associate commissioner for childcare in HHS's Administration on Children, Youth and Families and the principal deputy assistant secretary at the Administration for Children and Families.

In the former position, Nazario provided leadership and management direction to the agency on policy direction and the issuance of final regulations. Nazario was appointed to the latter position in July 1999, where she was responsible for management and policy for more than 60 programs that addressed the needs of children and families.

Puerto Rican Government and Academic

From January 2003 to December 2008, Nazario served as administrator of Puerto Rico's Administration for Children and Families. There she led an agency of 4,000 staff with a budget of over $220 million.

As an assistant professor at the Inter-American University of Puerto Rico, Nazario taught social policy and coordinated the Social Work Practicum at the School of Social Work.

The Issues

Nazario has made it her mission to help low-income working families succeed - no matter the economic climate. During her 2009 Senate confirmation hearing, Nazario said one of her three priorities in her new position would be to "focus on supporting families to achieve economic success."

"Providing families with the tools they need to succeed is fundamental to ensuring that low-income working families are full participants in, and contributing members of, our society," Nazario said.

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Those tools are sure to include initiatives like the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP). HHS announced in January 2that as part of the program, $1.2 billion had been released to the states to help low-income citizens and families with their heating bills this winter.

"LIHEAP helps more than six million low-income households deal with energy costs," said Nazario. "We will continue to work with states, tribes and territories to assure their heating assistance programs work effectively."

Child-Support Payments

Part of Nazario's mission also includes ensuring that parents entitled to child support are receiving it. The Administration for Children and Families (ACF) serves as a watchdog for child support enforcement and presides over the Child Support Enforcement Program, which was created in 1975 and is a parternship between federal, state and local governments. The program establishes and enforces child support orders.

A November 2009 report released by the U.S. Census Bureau stated that about half of parents owed child support in 2007 received the full amount and nearly one-third received only a portion of the total amount due. One-quarter received none of the child support they were owed. The figures are the result of a survey jointly conducted by the Census Bureau and ACF.

"These figures show the importance of child support as income to families, especially those in poverty," Nazario said. "Our primary interest is making sure that children get financial and medical support they need."

Welfare Reform

Welfare reform has been a focus for Nazario since her tenure as cabinet secretary for Health and Social Services in Delaware. While in that role, she oversaw welfare reform on the state level and offered insights to Congress during the 1996 federal welfare overhaul in the Clinton administration.

Nazario played a key role in implementing a new state welfare initative at that time called "A Better Chance." "A Better Chance" was comprised of five different ideas: work must pay more than welfare; welfare recipients must exercise personal responsibility; welfare should be transitional; both parents are responsible for their children and two-parent families must not be discriminated against; reducing teen pregnancy must be aggressively pursued.

While speaking before the House Ways and Means Human Resources subcommittee in November 1995, Nazario stressed that adequate funding should be a top priority for the reform.

"We do not believe we can succeed in our efforts to provide Delawareans a better chance at self sufficiency without adequate funds for upfront costs, critical support servcies and transitional benefits, in particular child care and health care," Nazario stated.

In the past, Nazario has held a few different positions with the American Public Welfare Association, including vice president on the board of directors. She has also been the president of the National Council of Local Public Welfare Administrators.

Child Development

Tapped by Obama, Nazario is sure to carry out their mutual belief in investing in children's futures. She stated as mcuh during her 2009 Senate confirmation hearing: "If confirmed, I plan to work collaboratively across sectors to enhance opportunities for children to succeed in school and in life."

She added that to follow through with this, she would need to help the department "establish strong links between programs within ACF [Administration for Children and Families], across HHS and other federal departments and with outside agencies and organizations."

The Network

In the Obama administration, Nazario reported to Deputy HHS Administrator William V. Corr. She was former Delaware Gov. Tom Carper (now a senator from the same state) secretary of Health and Social Services.

Campaign Contributions

No political donations were listed at the Center for Responsive Politics.

Additional Resources