No Votes, No Term Limits, No Accountability: Inside Richard Whitley’s Decade at Nevada DHHS

Most Nevadans don’t realize that one of the most powerful people in the state is, in fact, someone who wasn’t elected, has no term limit, and no accountability. 

In 2015, Richard Whitley was appointed Director of the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), the state’s largest and most expensive department, overseeing billions in annual spending and the welfare of Nevada’s most vulnerable populations. He was first appointed under Governor Sandoval and has been re-appointed by every governor since, despite the state experiencing many of the same healthcare problems without resolution. 

The Nevada Department of Human Services states, “As DHS Director, Whitley oversees the five divisions that provide both direct services and public assistance programs for Nevadans in need: Aging and Disability Services, Child and Family Services, Health Care Financing and Policy (Medicaid), Public and Behavioral Health, and Social Services. The efforts of DHS comprise nearly one-third of the State budget.” Today, nearly a decade later, a trail of system failures and public scrutiny tells a story of missed accountability and unchecked bureaucratic power from someone who handles nearly one-third of the State budget. 

Billions Spent with Little Accountability

Whitley isn’t brand new to the job; he’s been running Nevada’s health agencies since 2015. That’s nearly a decade of misallocated funds, employee turnover, and problems that just won’t go away. The following are just a few examples. 

The Ongoing Battle of Unlicensed Homes

As was previously reported, “In 2018, a state legislative audit revealed serious problems with the number of unlicensed homes in Nevada—many of which had no inspections, no regulations, and no support, despite housing clients with severe mental illness.” What makes it worse is the fact that it was two state agencies in charge of providing care for people with a severe mental illness that allowed their clients to live in filthy homes at taxpayer expense. In a rare moment of candor in 2018, Whitley told the Reno Gazette Journal that he had to “own” the “systemic failure” that led to mentally ill Nevadans living in squalor. At the time, the Department was under fire for its lack of oversight over the homes—many of which had no inspections, no regulations, and no support, despite housing clients with severe mental illness. His statement, however, did not mark the beginning of reform. It marked the beginning of a pattern: acknowledgment without action. 

To help solve the problem, Whitley appointed Amy Roukie as the new administrator to the Division of Public and Behavioral Health in July 2017, but she was let go by January 2018 due to making “intentional false statements.” Deputy Administrator Eddie Ableser resigned at the same time, but that’s not all. The Nevada Independent reported that, “Chief Medical Officer John DiMuro also resigned around the same time, alleging a “hostile” work environment… and bullying behavior.” He said in a letter to Whitley that he had requested assistance to mitigate his concerns but received no support.” It’s true that Amy Roukie lied on record and was fired, but why she lied is the bigger unanswered question. Did she fall on a metaphoric sword, so to speak?

Employee Turnover Makes a Statement

Regardless of why Roukie and her colleagues left, their departure marks a pattern. High turnover rates, scapegoating, and employees sending letters of resignation citing abuse seem to be the norm for this department. Over the years, the behaviors and the frequency of turnover in senior executives have been alarming. 

Since Whitley’s tenure, staff and former DHHS employees have consistently reported unnecessary turnover, a hostile work environment, and a culture of fear. Why do these complaints go unaddressed? DHHS has its own Human Resources person, who reports directly to Richard Whitley, yet employees have repeatedly had their concerns ignored or dismissed. Investigation reports are completed, then nothing happens. This level of control means that well-respected employees are forced to publicly expose the agency just to be heard. As recently as August 2025, Dena Schmidt, a senior leader of Nevada’s public health agency, attempted to resign, citing “the work environment fostered by Richard Whitley.” In letters to colleagues, she states, she “cannot continue to be subjected to intimidation, humiliation and abusive behaviors.” When her resignation letter surfaced on social media, one commenter summed up the sentiment: “If HR works for him, complaints go nowhere. He moves people around until they give up. Everyone knows it.” The Indy article that published her story had some interesting comments as well, including one user saying,

Weird how this article doesn’t mention all the other times Richard Whitley and his faithful followers have been accused of abusing people, intimidating people, breaking confidentiality laws for HR investigations, etc. but instead talks about the leader he has been for human services. Let’s talk about the abuse, and cruelty people have faced.

Another commentator, Michael Veprauskas, added, 

When Mr. Whitley led the health division, they had a saying, '364 and out the door.’ This meant that it was typical for employees to be fired just before they gained their permanent status. Someone I know was fired in this way after never having a negative employee evaluation. This set their emotional state and professional life into a tailspin. I have come to believe that Mr. Whitley is a horrible individual. Is this who Nevada wants leading its largest agency?

Schmidt, and several other internet users, are not the only ones to make such statements. In 2024, The Nevada Independent reported on an incident in which state employees filed complaints against Ann Polakowski, “who they said fostered an environment built on fear, retaliation and paranoia.” In fact, records show that agency leaders (i.e., Whitley) had been aware of complaints about her behavior since 2019. After she moved to another department (not let go for abusive behavior) in 2023, “she returned to one of her earlier roles — managing some of the same employees who had voiced concerns to investigators and agency leadership.” One employee said, “Our trauma, our experiences, our tears, our sweat, none of that matters, and nobody cares.” The Indy went on to interview 15 current and former employees of the state, and many of them stated their workplace was “rife with fear, paranoia and reluctance to report misconduct.” In December of that year, Polakowski was moved again, and Whitley said he “takes responsibility,” but where is the accountability? What is being done to prevent this hostile environment from recurring? 

Adding to the instability of a bad workplace environment, many roles within DHHS, including senior, behavioral health, and child services, substance abuse are left vacant or filled by interim staff with little relevant experience. This constant turnover erases institutional memory and disrupts long-term planning, leaving programs in a perpetual state of transition.

As one former staffer told The Nevada Independent, “All roads lead directly to Whitley.”

The Youth Mental Health Crisis Persists

As reported by The Nevada Independent, “In 2022, the U.S. Department of Justice concluded that the state was likely violating the federal Americans with Disabilities Act” because it did not have enough supportive services to support kids with behavioral health issues. With no other options, youth across the state were often institutionalized in facilities very far away from their families, and sometimes across state lines. Those services included wraparound care, therapy, crisis support, and behavioral support programs.

The state committed more than $200 million to overhaul Nevada’s behavioral health system and pay for the services needed. Yet, in 2025, the DOJ filed a complaint against Nevada for lack of improvement, stating that if Nevada doesn’t live up to its promises, the complaint will move forward. It’s been three years, and these problems persist, all of which not only continue to hurt Nevadan children but also force the State to face federal scrutiny and increased exposure to litigation. Placing children and youth in unsafe placements due to a lack of facilities and program development shows again a lack of fundamental leadership.

Rural Counties are Suffering

Mental health struggles in Nevada are real, and rural areas are especially vulnerable. Instead of working with communities, Nevada DHHS has increasingly pulled back authority from trusted nonprofits, counties, and private partners, opting instead to “take back” contracts and bring services in-house. Insiders are concerned about how this impacts rural counties, especially when many of those in charge have never worked in a rural setting where resources are nonexistent. And now, with a new Managed Care Organization scheduled to roll out across Nevada starting on January 1, 2026, communities that have been without meaningful services for over a decade are even more uncertain about the future. 

It’s no secret that the rural areas get hit the hardest when it comes to healthcare. When alternative, community-led models attempt to rise with local partnerships, they often fail due to “financial struggles, lack of a united support system, and a historical lack of health care investment in the area.” The Justice Department even made note of Nevada’s lack of community-based services, stating in their investigation report, “Advocates, community-based and residential providers, judges, and other community members agree that Nevada’s lack of community-based services leads to unnecessary institutionalization.” 

The state has launched various rural integration plans over the years, promising better healthcare. Some of those efforts include mobile mental health, telehealth, and workforce support; however, the numbers have not improved. Rural counties like Esmeralda and Mineral still have no consistent mental health services, leaving law enforcement to manage crises and drive people with mental health challenges long distances to get the help they need. As of 2023, 86.9 percent of the state’s population lived in a mental health professional shortage area.

A Decade of No Support 

Many providers describe DHHS as operating in a silo, ignoring evidence-based approaches, refusing stakeholder feedback, and prioritizing control over outcomes. Rather than strengthening the system, the service gaps persist. Youth residential services are still on the brink of collapse. Case management for mental health is often left backlogged for months. Federally funded behavioral health programs have withered after state leaders failed to integrate new funding or service models. The state can’t get funding out the door in a timely manner, causing providers to fail. 

Under Whitley’s leadership, many of the same mistakes have been made, including: chronic understaffing in state run youth psychiatric facilities, continued accusations of patient dumping (including one particularly disturbing story story that went viral in 2022), mismanagement of federal opioid response funds (2017–2020) while overdose deaths continue to rise, ongoing rumors of unlicensed homes where people are living in deplorable conditions, and a failure to update Medicaid billing codes or guidance fast enough for newly credentialed roles like Community Health Workers (PT 89) or Peer Recovery Support Specialists. Furthermore, grant funding and reimbursement delays create barriers for providers and community partners trying to support vulnerable Nevadans, while other partners continue to receive funding with little to no oversight or accountability. 

In each case, DHHS either deflected responsibility, clawed back programs from community partners without meaningful follow-through, or quietly allowed problems to persist, while front-line providers were left to manage impossible caseloads and endure funding delays. Providers burn out, and vulnerable clients pay the price. Whitley has the power to move resources, leaving many state-funded organizations and nonprofits hesitant to raise concerns for fear they won’t receive timely funding to pay employees and maintain operations. Nonprofits, providers, and local governments are left to navigate the system without meaningful partnership from the state, which already struggles to keep payments on schedule. Often, money is shuffled, and problems temporarily disappear instead of being genuinely addressed.

Next Steps for Nevada

As of mid-2025, Whitley remains in office, despite growing bipartisan frustration and escalating advocacy efforts calling for reform. Stakeholders across health, behavioral health, and judicial sectors have begun pushing for structural oversight and independent accountability. The question is no longer whether Richard Whitley has failed to lead. As even he once admitted: “I have to own this failure.” The question now is: Why is he still in charge?

How has this person, the most powerful unelected person in the state, survived three governors with no checks and no accountability for poor performance? 

Nevada’s Reorganization of the Health Department

As of 2025, community trust in DHHS (now DHS) is at an all-time low. Providers are withdrawing from partnerships. Patients, children, youth, seniors, and veterans are falling through the cracks. All of this is probably part of the reason Gov. Joe Lombardo announced the launch of the Nevada Health Authority, effective July 1, 2025, as part of his effort to reorganize the state's health agency and split some of its power. Stacie Weeks, the new head of the Nevada Health Authority, said that Nevada’s healthcare “weaknesses have gone unaddressed for many years,” noting that the current system “leads to higher costs and poor outcomes.” It’s too early to tell if splitting the department will be helpful, but at least changes are being made and Weeks has positive reviews so far. However, Whitley still survives. 

In some ways, the bureaucracy will always win against elected officials, because they often stick around before, during, and after elections. Gov. Lombardo may be attempting to split up some of that control, but the state does not have a good track record with reorganization. The Nevada DHS website is a maze, and the recent cyber attack exposed statewide weaknesses across multiple Nevada systems. Nevada is a slow-moving state that often hangs on to its antiquated features out of comfort, but it’s time to shake things up to improve healthcare across the state, and that means taking a closer look at Richard Whitley.