After a long search, Los Angeles County’s Board of Supervisors voted to hire a new director for the county’s sprawling Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) today.
In a 3-2 vote, the board voted to hire Bobby Cagle, who most recently was the director for the Division of Children and Family Services for Georgia’s Department of Human Services. Cagle beat out Jooyeun Chang for the job. Chang had served as associate commissioner of the Children’s Bureau under President Barack Obama.
According to a Department of Human Services press release from earlier this year, Cagle launched a “roadshow” to engage child welfare professionals and the public in reforming the child welfare system in Georgia. He was also adopted from foster care as a baby and has said that working in the field was a “calling.”
Los Angeles’ child welfare agency is the largest in the nation, serving more than 34,000 children, almost 21,000 of whom are placed in out-of-home foster care.
Once county officials negotiate salary and other requirements, Cagle will take over for DCFS Acting Director Brandon Nichols.
Cagle could not be immediately reached for comment.