New Assistant Commissioners Announced

Audrey Deckinga

Sasha Rasco

Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) Commissioner Anne Heiligenstein announces the addition of two new assistant commissioners -­ Sasha Rasco and Audrey Deckinga.

“Both Rasco and Deckinga assume their new roles with a wealth of experience and commitment to our clients, staff, and stakeholders,” says Heiligenstein.

Rasco assumed her role as the assistant commissioner for Child Care Licensing (CCL) on February 16.  Rasco has worked in the Child Care Licensing program since 1997 and has been the director of policy and program operations since 2003. Her career began in the child-care industry 19 years ago as a direct child-care worker.  In addition, she served as a policy fellow for the Maryland Governor's Office of Children, Families, and Youth and worked in the private sector for the Texas Taxpayers and Research Association and the Texas Alliance for Child and Family Services.

“I am honored to lead and support the excellent work of the Child Care Licensing program that, through regulation and investigation, wraps a layer of protection around thousands of children while they are cared for outside of their families or placed for adoption with new families,” said Rasco.  “I especially look forward to hearing from CCL staff, child-care and child-placing operations, and from other internal and external stakeholders about their ideas for improving regulatory protections for children.”

Rasco’s leadership and expertise have been crucial to Residential Child Care Licensing (RCCL) reform, including the comprehensive revision of the RCCL minimum standards. Last year, Rasco was appointed by Governor Rick Perry to the Committee on Licensing Standards.  “It is my goal to continue evaluating and improving the minimum standards for Residential Child Care Licensing and of the weighted enforcement system, to begin the six-year review of the child day-care standards, and to bolster the ongoing training opportunities for CCL staff,” added Rasco.

Rasco has a master’s of public affairs from the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin, where she wrote her thesis on child care policy.

Deckinga will take the reigns of Child Protective Services on March 1. Having worked in the human services field for over 30 years in three states, Deckinga will bring both experience and a fresh perspective to her new role. Not only was Deckinga a therapeutic foster parent for children in Minnesota, she also worked for Child Protective Services in Texas for over 18 years.  In Texas CPS, Deckinga rose through the ranks, working in the field as a caseworker, supervisor, program director, and then at state headquarters as the division administrator for placement and services and as the director of policy and program.  For the past three years she has worked as a senior policy analyst at the Health and Human Services Commission in the office of health services.

“I am thrilled to be returning to CPS,” said Deckinga.  “Even though I have been gone from DFPS for less than three years, I am in awe of all the positive changes that DFPS has accomplished for children and families during that time, including a decline in removals, the expansion of kinship care, Family Group Decision Making and PAL services for youth.”
  
During her years with CPS she supervised the initial implementation of the kinship care and Family Group Decision Making programs and developed the Exceptional Care pilot. 

“I look forward to working with all of you and our stakeholders as we continue these efforts and tackle any new challenges that arise,” Deckinga noted.

She holds a bachelor’s in psychology from Calvin College in Michigan and a master's degree in social work (MSSW) from the University of Texas at Austin.