David A. Berns has tried to retire four times in his long career as a social-services administrator. This time, he says, he means it. <\/p>\n
Berns, 67, announced Thursday he is stepping down as director of the D.C. Department of Human Services at the end of June, leaving a post that put him in charge of responding to the citys recent homelessness crisis. <\/p>\n
In an interview Friday, Berns said his departure had nothing to do with the months of controversy or the Democratic primary loss last month of his boss, Mayor Vincent C. Gray. Rather, he said, he has been planning since early this year to reunite with his wife, children and 94-year-old mother in northwest Michigan. The timing is such now that I want to get back home, he said. <\/p>\n
Berns, a former Arizona cabinet official and nonprofit executive, oversaw an effort to tightly integrate the citys welfare, nutrition, housing and other social services programs, winning accolades for the work. He also won praise for his candor with the media and with advocates for low-income residents and the homeless. <\/p>\n
But he was Grays deputy most visibly in charge of homeless services as a number of families seeking shelter this past winter more than doubled, and the city faced withering criticism over its handling of the influx. <\/p>\n
Berns becomes the third official to leave the mayoral cabinet since Grays April 1 primary loss, joining transportation director Terry Bellamy and Nicholas Majett of the Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs. <\/p>\n
In a statement thanking Berns for his service, Gray acknowledged those controversies. David has faced major challenges in his time as DHS director, and he has responded each time with thoughtfulness, expertise, compassion and the ability to execute a plan, the mayor said, adding that Berns vastly improved city programs for the needy. <\/p>\n
Berns said Friday he was proud of his efforts to revamp the citys welfare system, taking steps for the first time in decades to individually assess and address the needs of the more than 17,000 D.C. families receiving public benefits. <\/p>\n
We were 16 years behind the rest of the nation, he said, noting that the city only in recent years moved to implement the type of welfare reform rolled out on the federal level in the mid-1990s. <\/p>\n
Still, Berns most often commanded public attention as the citys efforts to house homeless families struggled to meet the demand. <\/p>\n
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