Minnesota’s new Commissioner of the Department of Human Services (DHS), Jodi Harpstead, began in the position Sept. 3. A day later, she appeared before a state Senate committee frustrated with the department’s ongoing disasters, which have been met mostly with stonewalling.

Within 90 days, Harpstead pledged to regain the public’s trust in the agency, the state’s largest with 7,200 employees and an $18 billion annual budget. The first thing one ought to do in a new position is under promise and over deliver. Once lost, it takes a long time to regain trust.

  

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