Broomfield’s Director of Health and Human Services, Karen

Beye, will join newly elected Colorado Governor Bill Ritter’s

cabinet as the state’s Executive Director of the Colorado

Department of Human Services.

Broomfield City and County Manager George Di Ciero said,

“The Governor and his Transition Committee were impressed

with the creativity Karen brought to Broomfield’s Health and

Human Services Department. The collaborative efforts she

has instituted in Broomfield can be a model for doing

business differently at the Colorado Department of Human

Services.”

Part of Broomfield’s success in the local HHS realm came

from Beye’s efforts in working with the mayor, current and

past city councilmembers, community members, Broomfield

staff and state agencies to create programs that address

community needs through the organization of resources in a

mutually supportive and cost-effective manner.

As a result of her leadership, Broomfield’s Department of

Health and Human Services provides, in an integrated

manner, all Workforce Center services, public assistance

services to children and adults, Temporary Aid to Needy

Families (TANF), nutrition, public health, environmental

health, CSU Cooperative Extension services, vital statistics

and senior services under a single-service agency umbrella.

The department also works cooperatively with other

Broomfield departments to extend services when

responsibilities overlap.

Di Ciero expressed appreciation for Beye’s work in getting mandated human services and health programs up and running to be completely operative when Broomfield became a combined city and county in 2001. “Karen has done a tremendous job for Broomfield. Her leadership has been outstanding. While there is no question Karen will be missed very much, her appointment as Colorado’s Human Services Director is a high honor for her and is also an honor she has brought to Broomfield,” he said.

In a unique arrangement engineered by the State of Colorado and Broomfield in 1999, Beye came to Broomfield on loan from the state to create Broomfield’s Department of Health and Human Services.

Then the Managing Director of the Colorado Department of Human Services (CDHS), she led Broomfield’s planning efforts in the transition, making sure everything was in place when Broomfield opened its doors as a combined city and county government on

November 15, 2001. Beye is Broomfield’s first Health and Human Services Director.

Di Ciero said, “Broomfield is grateful to have had the opportunity to design, from the ground up, an effective and integrated approach to health and human service delivery. Karen is a prime example of our intention to hire the best and the brightest. The upside is that, in her new position, she can still continue to help Broomfield be the best it can be.”

When she came to Broomfield, Beye said setting up the HHS Department for Broomfield was “a once in a lifetime opportunity to put into practice an innovative and integrated approach to blending what are often cumbersome, overlapping, and inefficient state, federal and local government programs.” Her goal to improve the lives of at-risk families in Broomfield in a creative and cost-effective way was met every day, Di Ciero said.

Beye is a graduate of Western College for Women, Oxford, Ohio, with a bachelor’s degree in psychology. She has a master’s degree in Social Work from the University of Denver. Beye also previously served as executive director of the Colorado Department of Social

Services and was appointed by then-Governor Roy Romer as managing director of the consolidated departments of Social Services and Institutions. She has been a leader in the development of Colorado’s welfare reform efforts for many years.

Prior to serving in the Romer administration, Beye worked for the Jefferson County Department of Social Services as a social worker, supervisor and deputy director. She is currently vice president of the Colorado County Directors of Social Services Association and an appointee of Gov. Bill Owens to the Colorado Commission on School Readiness and Early Childhood Development.

Respected throughout the state by human services providers and local and state government officials, Beye has a reputation as a leader who understands state/local partnerships and finds

creative and innovative ways to get a job done. She is widely recognized for her leadership in designing Colorado’s Welfare Reform program and is a national expert on child-care delivery.

As a nationally recognized advocate and leader in the area of child care and early childhood development, Beye helped Colorado gain recognition for three years in a row by WORKING WOMEN magazine as one of the best child care states in the nation. Beye currently chairs the American Public Human Services Association subcommittee on child care/early childhood development and will chair a national committee on ways to improve quality, accessibility and affordability of child care programs.