 The Department of Human Services that exists today began as the Community Services Department in 1965. John Bach was the founding director. Three operating divisions made up the department: Head Start, Manpower Employment Training Programs, and Aging Services. Head Start began as a summer program, educating children ages 3 to 5. Manpower managed adult and summer youth programs, as well as migrant farm worker programs.
In September of 1969, the county created a community services commission which was designated as the Community Action Agency, serving all of Maricopa County outside the City of Phoenix . The Community Services Department administered the new Community Action Program (CAP) to 14 local communities.
In 1976, still under the leadership of Bach, the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act replaced the Manpower Division with META (Maricopa Employment & Training Administration).
Adolfo Echeveste became the director in 1979, and the department name was changed to the Human Resources Department. By the end of that year, the department was composed of four divisions: Head Start, Community Services Division, META and the new Special Transportation Services (In a reorganization, the state assumed management over Aging Services).
In 1983, a new act, the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA), replaced META with the Employment & Training Division.
Two years later, Barbara Moody became the department director.
In 1991 the department was renamed the Social Services Department and consisted of four divisions: Head Start, Community Services Division, Special Transportation Services, and Employment & Training.
The department received another name change in late 1994, to the Department of Human Services, and Director Rich Marshall came aboard. Restructuring left the department in charge of three divisions encompassing various programs: Education (Head Start); Community Services (CAP and Special Transportation Services); and Employment & Training (JTPA services). In 1995 the city of Mesa broke off from the Community Services Division and was designated as its own Community Action Agency.
The Early Head Start program came onto the scene in 1996, servicing children, from birth to age 5, and their families. That same year the Employment & Training Division underwent an exciting change after it received funding to implement the One-Stop Career Center system. This new system offered a variety of services to both job hunters and employers. Mesa was the first location for a One-Stop Center and a Glendale center was added a year later. Satellite centers were setup both in Scottsdale and in Avondale in 1997 and 1998, respectively. During this time, partnerships were developed with the State Department of Economic Security agencies, including Job Service, Unemployment Insurance, Vocational Rehabilitation, Veterans Services, the Title V Older Worker Program, and the Maricopa County Community College District. Employment & Training became the Workforce Development Division in 1999.
In July of 2000, JTPA was replaced by the Workforce Investment Act (WIA). Under this new act, the provisional principles allowed the division to streamline services for job hunters and employers; to provide universal access to services without eligibility requirements; and to empower clients to make their own decisions by providing them with quality information and resources. The act's implementation emphasized youth programs as well. Special Transportation Services became a partner with the One-Stop Centers and moved into the Workforce Development Division.
Workforce Development Division, in January 2002, moved its Glendale Career Development Center to Peoria . In June 2003 the Mesa Career Development Center moved to Gilbert. The Peoria Center was relocated to the West Valley in 2007. Today, the division operates full-service centers in Gilbert and the West Valley .
In March 2003 the Department of Human Services welcomed Annette Stein as the new Department Director and Trish Georgeff as the Deputy Director. Stein retired in July, 2008, and after a national recruitment Trish Georgeff was appointed Director.
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