Quick Take
Connie Moreno-Peraza's hire as HSA director comes amid a sea change that has taken shape in county leadership over the past year, from the sheriff to the county's top bureaucrat.
The county government’s largest agency has a new director.
On Thursday, Santa Cruz County announced it hired Connie Moreno-Peraza to head its Health Services Agency, overseeing the work of roughly 660 employees and a budget of more than $308 million.
Moreno-Peraza comes to Santa Cruz County after serving as the assistant director for behavioral health at Ventura County’s health care agency. Previously, she ran Madera County’s Department of Behavioral Health Services, and has held leadership positions in Marin, Napa, San Diego and Stanislaus counties.
Moreno-Peraza’s hire comes just over two months after former HSA director Monica Morales announced her departure from the agency. The agency was at the center of county budget tensions this spring, as Morales proposed 12 layoffs, a staffing reduction of more than 74 full-time equivalent employees, and cuts to services such as the county’s blood test and radiology labs. The supervisors were able to mitigate some, but not all, of the proposed cuts.
County Executive Officer Carlos Palacios said in a statement that Moreno-Peraza’s “leadership will be vital” for the county government, which administers much of the local health care safety net.
Moreno-Peraza’s hire comes as the county is navigating a sea change in executive leadership. In June, Palacios announced he would step down in December, leaving a hole at the top of the local bureaucracy.
In the last six months, the county also lost directors in the General Services Department and the Probation Department. Former auditor-controller Edith Driscoll stepped down in May, less than six months into her third elected four-year term. The county also recently lost, and replaced, its behavioral health division director.
“It’s an honor to serve the people of Santa Cruz County,” Moreno-Peraza said in a statement. “I look forward to building on the work already being done and partnering with staff and stakeholders to strengthen our systems of care and create an integrated Health Services Agency.”