ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Department of Human Services Secretary Rafael Lopez will step down next week, Governor Wes Moore announced on Monday.
"I am grateful for Secretary Lopez's leadership—especially during one of the most challenging times in the history of our state," Moore said.
Lopez and the department faced scrutiny last year after an audit finding registered sex offenders living in homes where foster children were placed, and then a child who died while staying in a hotel in the state's care.
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Lopez said he is resigning for health-related reasons.
His resignation is effective Monday, February 23.
"It has been an honor to serve in the Moore-Miller Administration and I am immensely proud of the progress we have made in service to Marylanders," Lopez said.
House Republicans released statements following the news.
"I think this is a step in the right direction," said Delegate Mike Griffith (R), who is sponsoring a bill named for the girl who died last year. "While some of the problems in the Department go back years, the Secretary demonstrated time and again that he was not the agent of change the Department needed to keep children safe."
The Governor has tapped former Baltimore County Administrative Officer Stacy L. Rodgers to be acting secretary, beginning on April 1, with Deputy Secretary Gloria Brown Burnett serving as an interim secretary until then.
"I thank Governor Moore for the opportunity to serve as acting secretary," Rodgers says. "The Maryland Department of Human Services helps the people who need it most and our mission is more important now than ever before. I look forward to continuing our progress."
Rodgers has served as the director of the Baltimore City Department of Social Services, in leadership roles at the Social Security Administration, and as deputy director for program operations at the D.C. Child and Family Services Agency.
