Shannon Rushton

Shannon Rushton serves as the Deputy Administrator of Human Capital with the Mississippi Department of Child Protection Services.  She supervises the areas of Professional Development, Human Resources, Compliance, Workforce Wellbeing, Workforce Development, Investigations, and the Fingerprint and Background Unit. She strives to meet the employment needs of all MDCPS staff at every stage of their experience with the agency.  Shannon was born in Jackson and has lived in the Jackson Metro Area for most of her life, except for attending the University of Mississippi in Oxford, where she received her Bachelor’s in Psychology, and graduate school in Montgomery, AL, where she earned a Master’s in Psychology from Auburn University. Shannon is also a Certified Public Manager and a graduate of the Stennis Institute of Government, among many professional accomplishments. Shannon has been serving in state government for 25 years, beginning her career as a Psychological Associate at MS State Hospital and continued employment with the Department of Mental Health as Director of the Office of Constituency Services and the Director of Certification before coming to MDCPS. Shannon says it was her mother, a social worker, that helped her realize from a young age that she wanted to be involved in human services to serve people, her community, and her state. Her experience with the mental health system and the child welfare system has allowed her to serve some of Mississippi’s most vulnerable populations. She believes it takes the whole agency, as a team, to meet the agency’s mission of protecting children and strengthening families in Mississippi. As the hands and feet of the agency, the most incredible resource in fulfilling the agency’s mission is the employees. She takes great pride in knowing that although she is not on the front lines, every effort she makes to help employees with their day-to-day concerns will, in some small way, have a positive effect on the families and children served. Shannon gets the most enjoyment from the people of the agency and their passion for serving others. She loves helping others problem solve or work through difficult situations and having team members who can help her, in the same way, to learn and grow with MDCPS. Shannon’s goal for this next year is to significantly balance caseloads for workers by stabilizing the workforce, improving the workplace environment, and focusing on recruitment efforts.

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