North Carolina announces new Department of Public Safety head

Deltek Analyst Kristin Howe reports.

North Carolina Governor Bev Perdue recently announced that Secretary Reuben Young will lead the newly restructured Department of Public Safety. The new department will consist of three former departments: the Department of Corrections (headed by Alvin Keller), the Department of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (currently headed by Linda Hayes), and the Department of Crime Control and Public Safety, which Young currently heads.

The consolidation, announced last December, gives Secretary Young control over the North Carolina Highway Patrol, National Guard, prisons, parole officers and youth centers starting January 1, 2012. The goal of the departmental restructuring, which is part of a larger state government overhaul initiative, is to streamline government. These public safety changes will affect nearly 27,000 employees and save at least $3.7 million through the consolidation of management and staffing functions. The state hopes to reduce redundancies throughout departments, particularly in the areas of human resources, training, administration and purchasing. Numerous large-scale projects are likely to be affected by this transition, and some may be put on hold until the proper authority is established for executing contracts under new departments. The Department of Correction’s Inmate Trust Fund Deposit and Disbursement System project, which is already on hold due to budget cuts, is likely to be further delayed. Also, existing contracts set to expire during the transition may be renewed to avoid having to issue solicitations while the new department establishes itself.

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