Carey Cockerell, commissioner of the Department of Family and Protective Services, is retiring this year. He was director of juvenile services in Tarrant County until taking the DFPS job three years ago, after scandals in child and adult protective services led to legislative attention, budget increases, and rebuilding efforts there. But the agency's latest misadventure shadows his resignation: DFPS is the agency that removed 400 children from a religious compound in West Texas earlier this year, an action the state's courts ruled was unlawful. Agency officials say his resignation and the raid aren't related. Cockerell leaves at the end of August.
Mary Katherine Stout is Gov. Rick Perry's new director of budget, planning and policy, sort of replacing Mike Morrissey, who'll now be a senior advisor to the governor. He'll still be in the mix on the budget, we're told. Stout comes to the job through the Texas Public Policy Foundation, a conservative think tank based in Austin.
Rep. Fred Hill, R-Richardson, isn't seeking reelection. So he's giving up his spot on the Legislative Budget Board to open a spot for someone who's at least got the possibility of coming back for another session. The newbie? Rep. Dan Branch, R-Dallas. House Speaker Tom Craddick wanted another Dallas-area lawmaker in Hill's place.
Jennifer Ahrens has joined the Texas Association of Life and Health Insurers as Executive Director, replacing Mike Pollard, who'll stick around as "senior advisor" until the end of next summer (after the coming legislative session). Ahrens was most recently at the Texas Department of Insurance, but previously worked for Gov. Rick Perry, and as a Senate staffer before that.
Jay Dyer jumps from the Secretary of State, where he was general counsel, to the Texas Attorney General's office, where he'll be special assistant and special counsel to AG Greg Abbott.
Mike Berger, director of the Wildlife Division at the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department, is retiring after 40 years at that agency. He ran that division for the last five years, and plans to leave in August.