CSBG-DCL-2022-37 ACF Assistant Secretary Contreras Meet and Greet

Community Services Block Grant

Dear Colleague Letter

DCL#: CSBG-DCL-2022-37

DATE: June 22, 2022

TO: CSBG Grant Recipients

SUBJECT: ACF Assistant Secretary Contreras Meet and Greet

ATTACHMENT(S): N/A

Dear Colleague,

Please join the Office of Community Services (OCS), Division of Community Assistance (DCA) for a special meet and greet with the Administration for Children and Families’ (ACF) Assistant Secretary (AS) January Contreras,  as she prepares to mark her first 100 days with ACF. The virtual meet and greet will take place from 2:00-2:45 PM (ET) on Wednesday, July 6.

AS Contreras is excited to speak with the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) grant recipients during her first meeting with OCS. To maximize our time together and ensure we have adequate time to both hear about AS Contreras’ priorities and take questions from grant recipients, we are asking attendees to submit questions in advance of the meeting, so we can try to answer as many questions as possible during the event.

We request that each CSBG grant recipient — state, territory, Tribe and Tribal Organization, state association, and national training and technical assistance partner — pre-register for this session. Please submit any questions for AS Contreras as part of your registration  or through this form  by Wednesday, June 29, 2022.

Lastly, please see AS Contreras’ bio below.

January Contreras is the Assistant Secretary at the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). As the assistant secretary, Contreras leads with a focus on effectively and equitably delivering on the agency’s vital mission to promote the economic and social well-being of children, families, and communities across the nation. She does so alongside ACF’s 1,500 employees and in partnership with state, tribal, territorial, and local governments.

Contreras has championed the safety and stability of children, youth, and families for more than 20 years. She is a former county prosecutor and assistant attorney general who went on to lead a legal aid center for children and young adults experiencing abuse, neglect, human trafficking, family separation and homelessness.

Contreras previously served in the Obama-Biden Administration as ombudsman for citizenship and immigration services at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, and as a designee to the White House Council on Women and Girls. In these roles she led efforts to launch new federal training and guidance to ensure immigrant victims of domestic violence and other crimes are treated with the same dignity and protection all victims deserve. 

At the state level Contreras oversaw the Arizona Department of Health Services after serving as assistant director of the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System, Arizona’s Medicaid agency. She was a member of Governor Janet Napolitano’s Children’s Cabinet, as well as the Arizona Early Childhood Development and Health Board. Throughout her career Contreras has been motivated by a sense of duty to strengthen the safety and well-being of children, young adults, and families, especially when they are facing their most difficult moments.  

Contreras is proud of her roots in Arizona’s border towns and Phoenix barrios. She earned a B.A. and J.D. from the University of Arizona. She and her husband of 27 years are the proud parents of two adult sons.

Thank you for your attention to these matters. OCS looks forward to you joining us for this special event.

/s/
Charisse Johnson
Director, Division of Community Assistance
Office of Community Services