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Mississippi Senate confirms Andrea Sanders as new child welfare agency commissioner

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MDCPS Commissioner Andrea A. Sanders received unanimous Senate confirmation today to lead Mississippi’s child welfare agency in achieving its mission to protect the state’s most vulnerable children.

Acting upon a February 24 advise and consent recommendation from the Senate Public Health and Welfare Committee, the full Mississippi Senate confirmed Sanders as the third commissioner for the 1,500-employee Mississippi Department of Child Protection Services, established in 2016 by the Mississippi Legislature.

“The MDCPS team performs critical work every day that directly and significantly impacts the lives of vulnerable Mississippi children and their families,” said Sanders. “We must get this work right; there is too much at stake for us not to achieve our mission. We are intentionally building a state of hope for the children and families of Mississippi. They deserve nothing less than the absolute best we can provide.”

In October 2020, Gov. Tate Reeves appointed Sanders to her current post.

“Commissioner Sanders is the right person at the right time for MDCPS,” said Gov. Tate Reeves. “Her organizational leadership experience combined with her personal and professional commitment to compassionate service delivery, accountability, professionalism and empathy are what the agency needs to ensure safe children and strong families across our state.”

Sanders holds a law degree from the Mississippi College School of Law and a Master’s in Social Work from Tulane University. Before assuming her current MDCPS responsibilities on November 9, 2020, Sanders served as General Counsel and Principal Deputy Executive Director for the Mississippi Department of Human Services where she also served on the Senior Leadership Team and held administrative responsibility for the state's subsidized childcare program. She brings additional experience as an attorney in private practice, for the judiciary, as a clinical therapist with families, children and adolescents, and as a hospital administrator in both the public and private sectors.