Suffolk social services shake-up: Commissioner John Imhof and chief deputy announce exits amid CPS scrutiny

The top two officials in Suffolk's Department of Social Services announced their departures on Friday, signaling an immediate overhaul for a department that has faced consistent criticism over how it handles cases of child abuse and neglect.

John Imhof, the department's commissioner for the last two years, announced his resignation in an email to social services employees Friday morning. The 81-year-old cited "personal health reasons," and said his last day would be July 3.

"It has truly been one of the greatest privileges of my professional life to serve alongside each of you, the more than 1300 exceptional and dedicated [department] staff," Imhof wrote, copying his boss, Suffolk County Executive Edward P. Romaine.

Michael Martino, a Romaine spokesman, also confirmed Friday that Anne Marie Sexton, Imhof's chief deputy commissioner, announced her retirement effective July 24. She has worked for the county since 1997.

Martino declined Newsday's request to interview Romaine and did not respond to specific questions about the departures, including whether the administration sought to reshape the department and who will lead it going forward. 

Romaine did not answer a call to his cellphone Friday afternoon.

Imhof earned $205,471 in 2025, according to county payroll records. His salary was on top of an annual pension he collected. Sexton earned $186,525 last year. 

Neither returned requests for comment on Friday. It was unclear what health concerns Imhof was referring to in his email. The reasons behind the timing of the two departures was also unclear. 

"We thank John for his service and wish him the best in his future endeavors," Romaine said in a statement.

The Department of Social Services, with a $726 million annual budget, handles the county’s homelessness services, Medicaid, SNAP and Child Protective Services, among other functions.

Romaine's April 2024 appointment of Imhof — previously Nassau's social services commissioner — came with promises to reform Suffolk social services and its CPS operation amid controversy over its handling of the 2020 freezing death of 8-year-old Thomas Valva in the garage belonging to his father and his fiancee.

Romaine at the time called Imhof, a longtime Nassau County social services chief, a "consummate professional" and said he would usher in a "new era."

"He's someone that I believe will bring order to social services and implement the changes that are needed to make it more effective," Romaine said then.

Under Imhof, the department instituted a "blind removal policy" meant to eliminate bias in decisions on whether or not to remove children from their homes. It also beefed up its ranks of CPS caseworkers.

Newsday reported in May that Suffolk CPS had faced challenges in its efforts to reform, with the county in 2024 seeing a 10-year-high in the deaths of children whose guardians had prior contact with the child welfare system and experienced some form of maltreatment.

Martino said at the time that the figure, primarily made up of accidental drownings and cases involving unsafe sleep, reflected "increased public awareness of child abuse and neglect" and increased complaints filed with the state.

Suffolk social services administrators had told the state that some of their reforms efforts were slowed by having a large number of inexperienced staff, a side effect of the attempts to hire more caseworkers.

The department has also faced renewed scrutiny following the death of 7-year-old Jor'Dynn Duncan in Bayport. Duncan died in December 2025, but prosecutors announced last month that they were charging her primary guardian, Emily Kelly, the fiancee of Jor'Dynn's father, as well as Kelly's mother and daughter, in the torture and killing of the little girl.

According to Kelly's attorney, however, Suffolk CPS had received no complaints about her care in the months before Jor'Dynn's death, and Romaine, in comments to News 12 Long Island, has said that Suffolk CPS is not at fault in the tragedy.   

Union and lawmakers react

County lawmakers reached by Newsday Friday declined to speak at length on the departures of Imhof and Sexton. 

Suffolk County Legislature Presiding Officer Anthony Piccirillo (R-Holtsville) said he wished them "the best of luck."

A spokesperson for Minority Leader Legis. Jason Richberg (D-West Babylon) said that the lawmaker wishes Imhof well and is looking forward to seeing who will replace him. 

Suffolk Legis. Rebecca Sanin (D-Huntington Station) said in a statement that she hoped to take part in a "thoughtful and collaborative process to bring fresh leadership and new ideas" to the agency. 

"I have been open about my concerns regarding the direction of DSS and the longstanding lack of a contract for its workforce, but the mission of this agency and the people it serves are simply too important not to get this right," Sanin said. 

Terry Maccarrone, president of the Suffolk Association of Municipal Employees, which represents a large portion of social services employees, said "we look forward to working with whomever is put in place to take that position."

He declined to discuss specifics of Imhof’s tenure, saying, "We’re set to move forward."