Monday, at the end of the workday, Secretary of Human Services Doug Racine was called to the governor’s office. There, he was told by Governor Shumlin’s chief of staff, Liz Miller, and Administration Secretary Jeb Spaulding that his services were no longer needed.
Racine spoke with Vermont Edition about the firing and his work with the agency. He said he had felt supported by the governor and his staff and the job he was doing but that Shumlin wanted someone with a more outward style who would spend more time in front of the media and local groups talking about the work of the agency.
"Sure, it's a political move," Racine said. "The governor wanted a public show of having someone leave. Yeah, I think I'm a scapegoat. But it's the governor's prerogative. You only need two votes. One is mine and one is the governor's and I lost his."
Racine's department has come under fire because of some very public problems with the Department for Children and Families. At least three deaths have been attributed to child abuse. In some of those cases, DCF workers had already been working with the families. Racine he believes DCF is underfunded and understaffed despite having recently adding some staff members.
"I believe that we should have more staff to do investigations and also to work with families that are at risk. It's not just a question of bringing a child into custody." Racine noted that the state needs more services in the individual communities to address these problems.
