Mayor Zohran Mamdani appointed a former Pennsylvania homelessness official, Erin Dalton, to head the New York City Department of Social Services — following the sudden departure of the agency’s commissioner earlier this month.
Dalton comes from the Pittsburgh area, where she served as director of Allegheny County’s Department of Human Services.
The Mamdani administration heralded her efforts there to get homeless people off the streets without using the threat of jail, as well as her implementation of a county mobile response team that sent out mental health workers on 911 calls.
Erin Dalton is Mamdani’s DSS commissioner. Allegheny County Department of Human Services
“Erin Dalton has spent decades proving that government can and must work better for people who rely on it most,” Mamdani said. “She has expanded access to housing, strengthened social services and protected our most vulnerable neighbors.”
The post was left vacant by Molly Wascow Park, a holdover of Mayor Eric Adams’ administration, who abruptly resigned in the wake of the historic cold snap that left at least 19 New Yorkers dead on the streets, the majority of them from hypothermia.
The Mamdani administration faced weeks of backlash over its handling of the fatally frigid mayor — with critics saying the fresh-faced Democratic socialist mayor failed to do enough to get homeless people off the streets.
Erin Dalton faced criticism for her oversight of the child welfare program in Allegheny County. Allegheny County
Dalton said she was “deeply grateful” for the prominent spot in the new admin.
“DSS can reduce the painful trade-offs families make between food and medicine, housing and safe childcare,” Dalton said.
“We can work to help the best public servants in the country deliver assistance more efficiently and with greater dignity. And we can work relentlessly so that all New Yorkers have access to better resources. I can’t wait to get started.”
Zohran Mamdani appointed a DSS commissioner. Michael Nagle for NY Post
During her previous job, Dalton faced blowback for her oversight of a child welfare program in Allegheny County, which has less than half the population of Queens.
The county’s AI tool used by social workers repeatedly flagged black children much more than their white counterparts for “mandatory” follow-ups, alleging potential neglect, according to a 2022 report by the Associated Press.
Researchers found black kids had been flagged nearly a third of the time, while white kids only 20% of the time.
County officials brushed off the concern, saying social workers had the ability to override the tool.