Gov. Kristi Noem announced that Shawnie Rechtenbaugh has been appointed as the permanent Secretary of the Department of Human Services (DHS). Secretary Rechtenbaugh has been serving as the interim secretary since January 2019.
Secretary Rechtenbaugh has served the state of South Dakota since 2006 when she started her career as the state prevention coordinator for DHS.
Previous to her position within the Noem’s administration, Rechtenbaugh was the Department of Public Safety’s State 9-1-1 Coordinato and the NextGen 911 institute gave her the Government Leader award for her leadership in advancing the state’s 911 system. She also served as deputy secretary of public safety and finally interim secretary of Public Safety at the end of the Daugaard administration.
Noem says she is pleased that Shawnie agreed to serve in this role on a permanent basis, voicing concerns about long-term care being a critical issue among many other issues. Likewise, Rechtenbaugh says “I look forward to working with our providers and department staff to improve services to our citizens living with a disability and those with long-term care needs.”
