Breaking: Alaska Commissioner Kim Kovol leaving Dunleavy Administration for Trump HHS role

By SUZANNE DOWNING

Gov. Mike Dunleavy announced Tuesday that Alaska Department of Family and Community Services Commissioner Kim Kovol will leave state government to join President Donald Trump’s Administration at the US Department of Health and Human Services.

Kovol, the first commissioner of the newly created Department of Family and Community Services, will depart the Dunleavy Administration on Jan. 2. Deputy Commissioner Tracy Dompeling will assume the role of acting commissioner following her departure.

“It has been an honor to serve as the first Commissioner of the Department of Family and Community Services,” Kovol said in a statement. “I am incredibly grateful to the staff, partners, and communities who have supported our work. Together, we have made meaningful progress for Alaska families, youth, and elders, and I will always be proud of what we have accomplished.”

Dunleavy appointed Kovol as acting commissioner when DFCS officially launched on July 1, 2022, following the reorganization that split the former Department of Health and Social Services into two agencies. She was later confirmed as commissioner in 2023. During her tenure, Kovol was tasked with building the department from the ground up, shaping its mission, staffing structure, and policy direction.

“Commissioner Kovol has been a strong and dedicated leader from the very beginning of this Department,” Dunleavy said. “As the first Commissioner of DFCS, she built a foundation focused on service, accountability, and support for Alaska’s most vulnerable populations. I thank her for her service and wish her every success in this next role.”

The Department of Family and Community Services oversees several of the state’s most complex and high-profile divisions, including the Office of Children’s Services, the Division of Juvenile Justice, the Alaska Psychiatric Institute, and the Alaska Pioneer Homes. The department’s mission centers on providing safety, support, and personal well-being for vulnerable Alaskans.

Kovol’s leadership coincided with heightened scrutiny of the Office of Children’s Services and Alaska’s foster care system. In November 2025, she responded publicly to a legislative audit and criticism from lawmakers who argued that OCS was failing to adequately protect vulnerable children. In an op-ed, Kovol pointed to declining caseloads and workforce improvements, stating that average caseloads had dropped from 19 to 16, with a departmental goal of 13, and that staff turnover had decreased from a pandemic-era high of 56% to 38%. She argued that the changes demonstrated progress and said Alaska’s children were safer than in prior years.

Before joining the Dunleavy Administration, Kovol built a career in social work and public service. She holds a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts and K–8 education from San Diego State University and a master’s degree in social work from the University of Alaska Anchorage. She also served as a 2018–2019 Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities fellow through UAA, with a focus on navigating autism services in Alaska.

At the federal level, Kovol will join the US Department of Health and Human Services under Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., marking a transition from state-level leadership to a national role in health and human services policy.