Commissioner Andrew Brown leads Behavioral Health Services for the Kansas Department for Aging and Disability Services. Commissioner Brown has more than 25 years of experience in human services program management and public service. He came to KDADS in 2017 to serve as Prevention Program Manager. Andrew reports to Deputy Secretary of Programs Janis DeBoer and serves on the KDADS leadership team.
Prior to joining KDADS, Andrew worked at Headquarters, Inc. in Lawrence, Kan., where he served as executive director. Brown earned a Bachelor of Applied Sciences in Human Services degree and Graduate Certificate in Non-Profit Management from Washburn University in 2010 and a Master of Social Work, Concentration in Administration, Advocacy and Policy, from the University of Kansas in 2012. He is a 2016 Washburn University Alumni Fellow and a 2015 Leadership Lawrence Alumni.
Assistant Commissioner Adkins assists in the management of the BHS Commission and supervision of staff. He is mainly responsible for oversight and management of the Community Integration section within BHS which houses the CARE (Client Assessment Referral and Evaluation) team, the Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC) Implementation team, the Quality Assurance Team, and the Nursing Facilities for Mental Health Pre-litigation Settlement Agreement response. Drew reports to Commissioner Brown and serves on the KDADS Leadership Team.
Drew has a background in Missouri state government, working most recently in the Missouri Department of Mental Health as the Communications Director for the Office of Disaster Services and serving a stint before that with the Missouri Department of Economic Development. He also spent several years serving as legislative staff within the Missouri House of Representatives. Drew has a Master of Business Administration and a Graduate Certificate in Business Analytics from the Bloch School at UMKC, and a Master of Science and Bachelor of Science from Missouri State University. He volunteers on the Board of the Urban Ranger Corp in Kansas City, MO, and volunteers with Camp Quality Northwest.