Gov. Tim Walz appoints Tikki Brown to head new child-focused agency

Gov. Tim Walz appointed Tikki Brown to be the first commissioner of the Department of Children, Youth, and Families when it is established in July.

Brown is currently assistant commissioner of children and family services with the Minnesota Department of Human Services and has been leading the effort to stand up the new agency from the get-go. Before that, she was in charge of the nutrition assistance and economic opportunity at DHS, where she’s worked since graduating from the University of Minnesota in 2001, including various management roles.

“Tikki’s work exemplifies our mission of making Minnesota the best state for children,” Walz said in a statement. “Tikki brings decades of experience and knowledge that will help ensure state government works for all children and families, and that support is available for those who need it most

The Legislature created the new department last year to oversee a number of children-focused state programs that have resided in other agencies, including DHS, Education, Health and Public Safety.

The goal, Brown told the Reformer last year, is to “deepen the alignment and coordination to better improve our services.”

Those services — including child support, child care, juvenile justice initiatives and licensing for foster care and child care centers — are some of the most important and most challenging for state government.

But the payoff can be great: Research shows that “adverse childhood experiences” — like violence in the home, neglect, abuse, addiction, an imprisoned parent — are at the root of many of the social ills the government must confront when those people become adults.

Minnesota ranked fifth in a 2023 study among the 50 states and D.C. for child well-being, and the child poverty rate here is one of the best in the nation, just shy of 11%. (The highest child poverty rate in the nation is Mississippi, at nearly 28%.)

“I am deeply honored to be appointed as commissioner for an agency that has such a deep impact on the lives of so many Minnesotans,” Brown said in the statement from Walz’s office. “As commissioner, I look forward to bringing together a new leadership team and staff from multiple agencies, working with community partners and individuals impacted by our programs, to envision an improved future for our children, youth and families.”