He acknowledged that state employees who perform the work offer valuable insight into their own programs. The first place you start is with the people working the system. They provide the resource of knowledge and experience. Before being named agency secretary, Johnson served as the Region IX director of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, coordinating the administration and implementation of departmental policies for the western region. Linda Fenimore, a nurse evaluator at DHS in Sacramento, noted that health services nurses are unable to promote into higher-paying jobs because of the classification structure within the department.
People opt out and do clerical work so they can get more money.
But he said he understand the problems and intends to rectify them. If they think they can make it on the cheap, they don't understand or appreciate the problem. However, he noted that resources to upgrade programs can't be found overnight. In 1997 DDS came under fire when doctors, legislators and patient advocates condemned the Wilson administration for dumping the developmentally disabled into private care facilities in communities that were not ready to handle the needs of some of the state's most fragile residents. While no one argues that some patients, particularly those with less severe disabilities, do better in community care than state-run developmental centers, Johnson questions what is the appropriate balance.