Roderick Bremby
Commissioner
Department of Social Services
Commissioner Bremby joined Connecticut state government after an extensive public-sector career in Kansas and Texas. From 2003 to 2010, he served as the Secretary (chief executive officer) of the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, that state’s combined public health and environmental protection agency. As Secretary, he led programs dedicated to providing disease surveillance and prevention efforts, bioterrorism planning guidance, local and rural health assistance, health care and environmental information, and statewide health promotional campaigns. In addition, he oversaw the regulation of public and environmental health functions, including childcare centers, hospitals and medical facilities, laboratories, food service establishments, landfills, confined animal feeding operations, and construction and operating permits for all companies with the potential to pollute the environment.
After his appointment by Governor Malloy to head Connecticut’s Department of Social Services, Commissioner Bremby has been assessing the agency’s operations and directing initiatives in health care program restructuring, modernization of client service delivery, legislation/budget implementation, and related areas. He has also made a priority of visiting staff throughout the department’s statewide network of 12 field offices within the first 75 days of his tenure.
DSS is state government’s biggest agency in terms of budget – over $5.7 billion in state fiscal year 2012 – and has nearly 2,000 staff statewide. DSS delivers a wide variety of services to children, families, adults, people with disabilities and the elderly, including health care coverage, childcare, child support enforcement, independent living services, energy assistance, food and nutrition aid, and program grants. In the health coverage area alone, the department provides services to nearly 540,000 Connecticut residents of all ages.
The Commissioner has contributed volunteer services to many civic endeavors, including service on the Board of Kansas Action for Children, and the Kansas Advisory Group on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency. He founded the Lawrence Partnership for Children and Youth, a group fostering community collaboration on behalf of the well-being of children and youth. He is a past President of the Lawrence, Kansas' branch of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.
Commissioner Bremby’s awards include the 2010 Kansas Public Health Association President’s Award; the 2009 Kansas Natural Resource Council Environmental Action Award; and the 2008 Kansas Public Administrator of the Year recognition from that state’s Chapter of the American Society of Public Administration. In early 2011, Mr. Bremby received a citation in his name, the Roderick Bremby Award for Exceptional Courage by a Public Official, from the Breaking the Silence Conference, an environmental public interest organization, in Kansas City, Kansas.
The Commissioner is married and has four children. He currently resides in Hartford.