OCS executive resigns

Marcia Kennai is stepping down from her post as head of the state's Office of Children's Services on March 8. She said her decision has nothing to do with recent press and government scrutiny of the agency.

Kennai has served since 2003 as deputy commissioner for the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services, of which OCS is a part. OCS has been under federal scrutiny since the emergence of a case in which Sherry Ann Kelley and Patrick Leon Kelley, both of Mat-Su, allegedly abused their five adopted children.

"There has been speculation that this is about the Valley case," Kennai said of her departure. "That is not true."

Instead, Kennai said, her East Coast family calls. "All in one week, my mother fell, my daughter got sick and I got a job offer," she said.

Kennai has accepted a job as the director of social services in Anne Arundel County, Md.

She will be replaced by Tammy Sandoval, currently OCS deputy director. Sandoval, who has 20 years' experience in social services, previously worked for the National Resource Center on Child Maltreatment and has been with DHSS since early 2004.

Department of Health and Social Services Commissioner Joel Gilbertson said, "Marcia Kennai has not only made a difference in child welfare, she also helped change the Alaska child protection system - for the better - since starting this position."

During Kennai's tenure, a federal audit of OCS prompted the agency to implement a new data management system for child protection, the Online Resources for the Children of Alaska.

"At the time of our review, we had a 23.7 (percent) repeat maltreatment rate," Kennai said. "That was way too high." Now, the proportion of children returning to OCS with more abuse has dropped to 15.5 percent, and Kennai said it's still decreasing.

Kennai said she welcomes close looks into her and others' work in the child protection industry.

"When children are affected, there should be scrutiny," she said.