Mississippi Department of Human Services
Using Government for self enrichment?
About Gregg Phillips’ Role
Executive Director for the Department of Human Services
In office 1993 to April 26, 1995
Source: https://web.archive.org/web/20030420212632/http://www.peer.state.ms.us/330.html
Archive Copy: https://archive.ph/WGFah
Executive Order regarding Gregg Phillips
Archive Copy: https://files.catbox.moe/n76bdu.pdf
Commentary
So to sum up, Gregg Phillips was at one time the Director of Mississippi’s Department of Human Services. He resigned as Director to accept a position with a firm that he had previously approved as recipient of a $875,000 contract with MDHS. At some time or another, he founds and becomes CEO of Enterject, Inc. Enterject gets a large portion of it’s business by helping private companies get tax credits from federal Welfare to Work (WTW) programs, and various similar schemes that allow governments to cut welfare rolls. Phillips worked in this capacity at least until the fall of 2002.
Source: https://www.offthekuff.com/wp/?p=7444&cpage=1
Archive Copy: https://archive.ph/4v84g
Carol Burnett of Mississippi's Low Income Child Initiative said Phillips was a "very controversial choice" to head Mississippi's human services department because he was so inexperienced with the issues faced by poor families.
"I think his work in government is more political than it is really trying to promote any kind of improvement over time for human services for low-income families," she said. "I regret that type of person is the choice to head agencies that have such incredible influence over how programs are shaped that so influence the lives of children and families."
Warren Yoder, director of the Public Policy Center of Mississippi, said Phillips' controversial privatization of child support collections under a contract to Maximus Inc. was limited by the Legislature in scope.
Even so, he said the experiment was a failure, and the Legislature later turned both child support collections and welfare-to-work training programs back to the state.
Source: https://www.offthekuff.com/mt/archives/002029.html#002029
Archive Copy: https://archive.ph/BlLgl
One outstanding, earlier PEER case in November, 1995 blasted Gregg Phillips, the recently departed Executive Director of the Mississippi Department of Human Services, for taking a $7,000-a-month job with a specialized equipment company which had sold equipment to a job-training program created by DHS.
Phillips directly went to work for Synesis, then a division of Centec, the supplier of mobile learning laboratories used by LEAP, the ambitious job training program for welfare recipients.
Before he left DHS, Phillips had approved an $875,000 contract with Centec, which PEER said was a third of the company's entire net worth.
PEER had called on the Ethics Commission and the Attorney General to pursue possible violations of state ethics laws by Phillips, saying that his actions, in the least, violated the spirit and intent of the law.
Phillips' job with Synesis didn't last very long, and somehow he got off the hook for prosecution. However the PEER investigation did cost Phillips a job he wanted as Alabama's state human services head.
Archive Copy: https://archive.ph/2xbPy
A Review of the Mississippi Department of Human Services'
Administration of Project LEAP, a JOBS Educational Component
Ethics Issue
After terminating his employment as MDHS Executive Director, Gregg Phillips immediately contracted with Synesis, a subcontractor of the LEAP program, which creates the appearance of impropriety and could constitute a violation of state ethics laws. (See page 26.)
Gregg Phillips, former Executive Director for the Department of Human Services, signed a contract modification in 1993 which added two mobile learning labs to the LEAP program. Centec Learning entered into a contract with University of Mississippi to convert two vehicles into these mobile learning labs, while also maintaining and operating them for the term of the contract.
On April 26, 1995, Gregg Phillips resigned his position as Executive Director of MDHS and on the same day entered into a contract with Synesis Corporation, of which Centec is a division. Contract terms called for Mr. Phillips to be paid $84,000 per year to make industry contacts and market Synesis products and services.
Mr. Phillips's actions create the appearance of impropriety, facilitating an erosion of the public trust.
Source: https://web.archive.org/web/20030420212632/http://www.peer.state.ms.us/330.html
Archive Copy: https://archive.ph/WGFah