FILE: The Oregon Department of Human Services in Salem pictured in 2020.
Bradley W. Parks / OPB
The state Senate confirmed Liesl Wendt on Wednesday to be the next director of the Oregon Department of Human Services.
Gov. Tina Kotek nominated Wendt after Fariborz Pakseresht, the long-time director, retired in October.
Wendt will oversee one of the state’s largest agencies, which is charged with caring for some of the most vulnerable residents — from seniors in long-term care facilities, to kids placed in foster care, to those with developmental disabilities and others who rely on nutrition assistance programs. The agency has been scrutinized in recent years for well-documented systemic problems facing several of the programs it oversees.
The agency’s current budget includes $7.5 billion in general fund dollars and more than 11,300 positions.
Speaking in favor of the confirmation, Sen. Sara Gelser Blouin, D-Corvallis, noted the agency has “an enormous budget and more importantly, has enormous responsibility.”
Gelser Blouin was a vocal critic of Pakseresht. She said she was initially reluctant to confirm Wendt, who has been the deputy director of the agency since 2018, on such a short timeline. But after a conversation with the governor and Wendt, she changed her mind.
Another state Sen. Janeen Sollman, D-Hillsboro, who also voted in favor of Wendt’s confirmation, questioned the process of the appointment. She asked why there wasn’t more public engagement or a national search to replace the head of such an important agency.
“A strong process can lead to a stronger outcome,” Sollman said.
Lucas Bezerra, a spokesperson for the governor, declined to answer questions about whether there was any public engagement or broader search before Kotek chose to tap Wendt for the position. In an email, Bezerra said Wendt was nominated “based on her proven leadership and reputation amongst ODHS staff during her tenure as deputy director,” and said she has “a proven track record of leading human services organizations in Oregon.”
Wendt’s bio notes she started out with the agency as an independent consultant, trying to identify recommendations to reduce the practice of temporarily housing foster children in hotels.
That form of temporary lodging continues today, despite a court order in 2018 calling for it to end. Oregon has spent millions of taxpayer dollars putting hundreds of kids in hotels after the legal settlement.
“While the number of children in temporary lodging has decreased significantly since 2018, there remains a very small number of children in Oregon with complex needs for which there are no placement options and temporary lodging is necessary,” Jake Sunderland, a spokesman for the agency, wrote in an email. “Acting Director Wendt is best positioned to lead system discussions to develop sustainable solutions with the goal of ending the use of temporary lodging in Oregon.”
In 2024, the state settled a class-action lawsuit against the state’s child-welfare system and promised to reduce the rate of mistreatment and improve the quality of placements. An independent expert, Kevin Ryan, has been appointed to oversee the system.
Wendt received a near-unanimous vote in favor of her confirmation; only state Sen. Todd Nash, a Republican from Enterprise, voted no.
