Lavinia Limon Appointed Director HHS Office of Family Assistance
HHS Secretary Donna E. Shalala announced today that Lavinia Limon has been appointed as director, Office of Family Assistance in HHS' Administration for Children and Families.
"The success of welfare reform depends on the skill and determination of dynamic people to change how the welfare office works for families and children," said Shalala. "Lavinia Limon is one to make it happen."
OFA is the federal agency that administers the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program, the nation's largest cash assistance program, and the Jobs Opportunities and Basic Skills Training (JOBS) program, which helps people on welfare become self- sufficient.
Ms. Limon has been active in domestic and overseas refugee and social services programs for over 18 years. A native of Los Angeles, Calif., Limon served as executive director of the International Institute of Los Angeles, a more than $7 million, community organization that assists immigrants, refugees, and the foreign-born in achieving economic and social self-sufficiency. Limon was director of the International Rescue Committee, Los Angeles, between 1983 and 1986; and worked with Church World Service in the mid-'70s. Since September 1993, Limon has served as the director of the Office of Refugee Resettlement, which is also in ACF. She will continue serving as ORR director.
"With the same ingenuity, enthusiasm and compassion Lavinia brings to helping refugees rebuild their lives, her vision will restore confidence for both welfare workers and recipients," said Mary Jo Bane, assistant secretary for children and families. "Her important contributions to the President's Welfare Reform Work Group and ORR make Lavinia the right person at the right time to take on this new challenge."
Ms. Limon is a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley.
Note: All HHS press releases, fact sheets and other press materials are available at http://www.hhs.gov/news.
Contact: Michael Kharfen (202) 401-9215
