Posted on 03/07/2008 11:22:17 PM PST by NormsRevenge
SACRAMENTO - As the nation prepares to celebrate Problem Gambling Awareness Week, the head of California's small program is preparing to move on.
Steve Hedrick, director of the state's Office of Problem Gambling, will be joining the state Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation in its division of addiction and recovery services.
Hedrick presided over the formative years of an operation that has subsisted on a meager, $3 million budget and drawn persistent criticism for being ill-equipped to deal with a problem believed to afflict more than 1 million California adults and their families.
On Hedrick's watch, the office conducted the state's most extensive study of pathological gambling, although the Schwarzenegger administration sat on the troubling results for months while it negotiated and pushed for approval of big new Indian gaming agreements.
No immediate word on a successor to lead the office that faces a daunting challenge as the state's $10 billion gambling industry grows.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.