Biography  Department of Human Services Clarence H. Carter

Clarence H. Carter is currently the Director of the District of Columbia’s Department of Human Services (DHS). He was appointed to this position by Mayor Adrian M. Fenty on July 5, 2007. The Director of the Department of Human Services is a cabinet-level position with responsibility for all income assistance support programs and related welfare-to-work employment programs, early care and education subsidies and quality improvement program initiatives, and a wide spectrum of social service programs including homeless services, adult protective services, and teen pregnancy prevention efforts.
 
Prior to being appointed to serve as Acting Director of DHS, Mr. Carter was appointed to serve as the Deputy Administrator for the Food Stamp Program in the United States Department of Agriculture. The Food Stamp Program is the first line of defense against hunger in America.  The $30 billion federal program provides assistance to more than 20 million low-income elderly and disabled Americans to purchase life-sustaining food.
 
The Food Stamp appointment represented the second leadership position in the Administration of President George Bush. Previously Mr. Carter was appointed to serve as Director of the Federal Office of Community Services. As the agency's chief executive, Mr. Carter provided the agency with direction and leadership as it provides community based support services for low-income Americans.
 
For the past 20 years, Mr. Carter has had the distinction of being appointed to serve the administrations of one President and three Governors in various senior level positions among a variety of state and federal agencies.
 
Prior to the OCS appointment Mr. Carter was appointed by Virginia Governor James S. Gilmore in January 2000 to serve as the first Executive Director of the Virginia Tobacco Settlement Foundation.
 
Prior to the Foundation appointment Mr. Carter served as Commissioner of the Virginia Department of Social Services. In that capacity Mr. Carter was responsible for the administration of a state-wide organization with 1,500 employees and an annual operating budget in excess of $ 1 billion. The hallmark of his Social Services tenure was the successful implementation of the Commonwealth's landmark welfare reform initiatives. Fully implemented two years ahead of schedule, the program was instrumental in cutting the public assistance roles by more than half, from an all time high of 74,000 families receiving AFDC/TANF to a 30 year low of 31,000. In the first five years of the program more than 25,000 public assistance recipients obtained gainful employment, earning in excess of $200 million.