She began working for DJFS in October 1991 as its personnel director.
She has also served as the child support director and assistant DJFS director.
“We know that Tom will continue to lead with quality and integrity and will face the current challenges facing CCDJFS with wisdom and grace,” Assistant Clark County Administrator Michelle Noble said in a news release.
McGrath has more than 22 years experience between Clark and Montgomery counties. He began his career in 2000 at Montgomery County Child Support Enforcement Agency.
In May 2014, he began working at Clark County DJFS and was named deputy director to the Child Support Enforcement Agency (CSEA). In October 2024, he became the assistant director of DJFS.
He was selected as director after a “comprehensive search,” according to the county.
Since he started at Clark County, McGrath said child support cases have reduced from around 16,000 to 12,000.
Some of the biggest recent changes to DJFS have been the increased non-English speaking population and shifting to a hybrid work environment.
“The thought of working from home when I first started here sounded ridiculous, but we managed to do it, and now we know that it’s capable; I think it’s opened up a lot more avenues for us,” McGrath said.
McGrath said as long as that work flow continues to be effective and lead to productivity, he does not plan to require full-time in-office work. But he’ll play it by ear.
With major changes to Medicaid and immigration policy, McGrath could oversee a tumultuous time in the public assistance sector.
“We’re going to continue to do whatever we can do legally to help out people,” he said.
Federal law will soon include more work requirements and increased frequency of Medicaid redetermination or checks to ensure an individual still qualifies for the program.
With the expected upcoming end of Temporary Protected Status for several groups of immigrants including Haitians, there could be a massive impact to DJFS. Some individuals currently receive Medicaid and SNAP benefits. As their legal status expires, so will their work permits, which could lead to more people in need of public assistance before deportation.
McGrath sees collaboration and openness with the public as highly important.
“We have a community here in Clark County that is very passionate about trying to help out the community where we can,” McGrath said. “One thing I really enjoyed when I came in here was the amount of different programs, organizations and people that have a real desire to help out people.”
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