Washington state Gov. Christine Gregoire has tapped Arnold-Williams to head up that state's Department of Social and Health Services. Pending state Senate approval of the appointment, the 48-year-old will start work March 15.

"I'm sad to leave Utah. But the Olympia area is very beautiful. And it's still in the West," said Arnold-Williams, who is selling her Park City home and moving as soon as possible with her husband, John Williams, and two Labrador retrievers, Jenny and Shadow.

Arnold-Williams was born in Flint, Mich., to "a General Motors family," the youngest of seven children. At 21, she enrolled at the University of Utah "without having ever set foot in the state."

While earning graduate degrees in social work and gerontology, she logged nearly 25 years climbing the state's human services ladder, ultimately serving as head of the department for almost eight years under Gov. Mike Leavitt. She voluntarily resigned soon after Utah's new Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. was inaugurated.

Respected nationally as a bright and energetic spokeswoman for her field, she was expected to land a post in the nation's capital with Leavitt, the new director of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

"I considered some positions there. But I'm a Westerner now," Arnold-Williams said. "This opportunity will allow me to continue to pursue my passion and work with the [Leavitt] administration."

Washington's governor has asked Arnold-Williams to focus on children's safety, access to affordable health care, and services for elderly.

"She will be a great advocate for our state in Washington, D.C., at a time when federal policy in areas such as Medicaid and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families will be critically important," said Gregoire.

Also likely to come in handy is Arnold-Williams' experience overseeing a revamp of Utah's child welfare system following a lawsuit that alleged the foster care system was so mismanaged it violated the constitutional rights of every child in state custody. Washington recently settled a similar lawsuit brought by the same organization, the Oakland-based National Center for Youth Law.

Arnold-Williams faces the challenge of starting in the middle of Washington's legislative budget-making cycle. Washington's agency, with its $7.9 billion and 17,700 employees, is more than triple the size of Utah's human services department, which is separate from the health department.

"The budget is about the size of Utah's entire state budget," said Arnold-Williams. "It's a different state and culture, but the issues are the same: how to meet growing demands with limited resources."

kstewart@sltrib.com