Secretary of Corrections

Mr. Werholtz was appointed Acting Secretary of Corrections by Governor Bill Graves on September 30, 2002, and was appointed Secretary of Corrections by Governor Kathleen Sebelius on January 13, 2003. He served as Deputy Secretary of Corrections beginning in 1987 and has supervised all three divisions of the Kansas Department of Corrections: Community and Field Services, Programs and Staff Development, and Facilities Management. He joined the Department of Corrections in 1982 after serving as the first director of the Wyandotte County Community Corrections Program. Mr. Werholtz also has experience in community mental health, child protective services, and substance abuse treatment and prevention. He has served as a graduate-level instructor in the University of Kansas School of Social Welfare. 
 
Mr. Werholtz chairs the Kansas Criminal Justice Coordinating Council; is a member of the Kansas Sentencing Commission; the Kansas Re-entry Policy Council; the Kansas Sex Offender Policy Board; the Criminal Justice Recodification, Rehabilitation and Restoration Committee; and the Information Technology Executive Council. He has been a member of the Governor’s Mental Health Services Planning Council, the Governor’s Substance Abuse Prevention Council, and chaired that State Community Corrections Board.

Mr. Werholtz is a past recipient of the Garvey Memorial Scholarship and a Charlotte Leavitt Scholarship. In 1998, he was recognized as the outstanding alumnus of the University of Kansas School of Social Welfare and is a member of the school’s advisory board. In 2005, he was named a Toll Fellow by the Council of State Governments. He serves as the Midwest Regional Representative on the executive committee of the Association of State Correctional Administrators. He also has been a volunteer in scouting and youth athletics.
 
Mr. Werholtz holds a master's degree in social work from the University of Kansas and graduated cum laude with a bachelor of arts degree from Washburn University.

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