Alvin C. Collins became the Secretary of the Maryland Department of Human Resources (DHR) in March of 1995.  Prior to his appointment at DHR, Secretary Collins served as the director of the Baltimore City Department of Social Services.  He began his career as an educator for the public schools in New Haven, Connecticut.  His first experience in the private sector began as he became the first executive director of Diswell Opposes Alcoholism, Inc., a neighborhood based nonprofit organization in Connecticut.  That position provided Secretary Collins with the foundation for program development, interacting with comunity groups, and obtaining public and private funding for social service programs.  He has also served as the director of Human Services for the city of New Haven, Connecticut; business manager for the Baltimore City Department of Social Services, and division chief for Administrative Services for the Arlington County, Virginia Department of Human Services.

As the Secretary of DHR, Collins has led Maryland's welfare reform efforts, which have received national recognition for their innovation and creativity.  In addition to welfare, DHR is responsible for administering child support enforcement; child care licensing and regulation; child welfare; and adult services programs, and other activities designed to strengthen families and foster independence.  Nearly 6,800 DHR employees carry out these programs unser Secretary Collins' leadership.  Also, he currently manages DHR's budget of more than a billion dollars.

Throughout his career, Secretary Collins has recognized the role technology can play delivering social services.  As director of the Baltimore City Department of Social Services, and before that as its business manager, he introduced automated systems for managing cases and the Department's fiscal operations.  At DHR, he has overseen the process of integrating computer systems that track and manage Maryland's social service system.  Additionally, DHR was the first state agency to develop a web page and use it as an information tool and to promote such programs as adoption and child support collection.