Staverne Y. Miller is the Acting Commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families (DCF). She leads an agency of 4,200 social workers and support staff serving approximately 39,000 children and young adults with a budget of $1.4 billion. Acting Commissioner Miller is a veteran social worker and manager, having spent more than 30 years at DCF prior to her appointment in September 2023.
Acting Commissioner Miller began her DCF career as a case carrying social worker before ascending to supervisory and managerial roles in the Department’s Boston and Southern regions. She served as an Area Director, managing the day-to-day clinical and business operations of local DCF offices in Taunton, Brockton, and Boston, prior to her promotion as Regional Director of four Boston offices.
Most recently, she served as Assistant Commissioner for Permanency responsible for the Department’s Foster Care, Adoption, and Adolescent and Young Adult Services units. She drove the ongoing development of policy, practice, and training to assure children and youth’s permanency goals remain at the forefront of every stage of their DCF involvement.
In 2020 she became co-chair of the agency-wide Racial Equity Workgroup and Steering Committee with accomplishments including a robust menu of training and resources that focus on diversity, equity and inclusion and a new protocol to assess the impact of policy initiatives across racial and ethnic groups. As Acting Commissioner, she continues to lead efforts to support the diverse needs of Massachusetts children and families and to promote an inclusive work environment for DCF staff.
Acting Commissioner Miller earned a B.A. in psychology from Lincoln University and received her M.S.W. from Simmons University. She is a Licensed Certified Social Worker (LCSW) in Massachusetts.
