Erin Dalton has taken charge of New York City's Department of Social Services, inheriting what she calls 'some of the country's hardest problems.' The agency manages 85,000 people in city shelters and faces a multibillion-dollar budget gap while federal benefit cuts threaten thousands of residents.

Dalton oversees the largest social services agency in the nation, with a combined budget exceeding $18 billion and 14,000 employees. Her portfolio includes the Human Resources Administration, which manages food stamps and Medicaid, and the Department of Homeless Services. The challenges intensified after Mayor Zohran Mamdani paused and then reinstated encampment sweeps, shifting leadership from police to social workers.

Dalton brings experience from Pittsburgh, where she led a 98 percent reduction in street encampments through housing-focused interventions. She emphasizes building relationships with homeless individuals and creating a feedback loop to improve services. The commissioner must now navigate federal changes to SNAP that remove work exemptions for veterans, young adults aging out of foster care, and seniors aged 55-64, potentially pushing more New Yorkers toward food pantries and emergency services.