One Word for Department on Aging: “Instability”

Milwaukee County Supervisor Steve F. Taylor today said that “instability” has become the operative word at the Department on Aging since the 2015 retirement of Director Stephanie Sue Stein.

Taylor, a member of the Commission on Aging, was critical after it was announced that Randal Kohl, Program Coordinator – Community Programs, and Lisamarie Arnold, Outreach Program Coordinator, left the department to accept positions in the private sector.

“We’ve had nothing but uncertainty in the department since the middle of last year,” Taylor said, whose resolution to make Interim Director Jonette Arms the permanent director of the department was recently approved by the County Board. Taylor’s resolution, which he co-authored with Sup. Peggy Romo West, also called for the agency to remain independent and not a part of the Department on Health and Human Services.

“The director position has been vacant since June, and now two key staffers have left the department,” Taylor said. “The Department on Aging provides much-needed and well-deserved services to our seniors. I was concerned that the uncertainty of having an interim director would have an adverse effect on the services provided to our seniors. But with staff resignations we have gone from uncertainty to instability.

“I once again call on the administration of County Executive Chris Abele to hire Arms permanently so that she can begin to replace staff and restore stability to the department. Our seniors deserve better than to have a department that cannot serve them adequately because of staff turnover. The administration needs to hire Jonette Arms permanently so that she can begin the work of restoring the department to full capacity and provide our seniors with the services they need.”

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.

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