Mr. Llewellyn Woolford, Jr.
Assistant Chief Counsel, Children, Families and Aging Division, Office of the General Counsel, Department of Health and Human Services
Llewellyn Woolford, Jr. has been an Assistant Chief Counsel with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), Office of the General Counsel (OGC), since 1997. His work has focused on the Faith-Based and Community Initiative, which creates equal opportunities for faith-based and secular groups to participate in Federally funded social service programs, since its inception in 2001. Mr. Woolford provides legal support on First Amendment religious issues across the Administration for Children and Families’ (ACF) programs, with a particular emphasis on new programs created during the initiative, such as Healthy Marriage and Responsible Fatherhood, Compassion Capital Fund and Mentoring Children of Prisoners.
He has advised ACF in developing several sets of regulations addressing issues of particular concern to faith-based groups, for which he received the Secretary’s Award for Distinguished Service, and has subsequently provided ACF with legal support to issue policies concerning the rules. He speaks regularly on First Amendment religious matters, and has conducted over 25 workshops, trainings and presentations on the laws and best practices of particular concern to faith-based grantees, including national conferences and web-based trainings attended by hundreds of grantees, grant reviewers and practitioners. Mr. Woolford also provides legal representation to HHS in defense of suits involving First Amendment religious issues, in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ), and participates in a DOJ administered committee designed to promote sustainable policies and practices on constitutional religious matters across the Federal government.
Prior to working for HHS, Mr. Woolford was an attorney with the Legal Aid Bureau, Inc., in Maryland, from 1994 to 1997, where he represented indigent citizens in public benefit claims, represented children in foster care proceedings, and served as chair of the Housing Task Force. Mr. Woolford received his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Maryland School of Law in 1993, and a B.A. in political science from The George Washington University in 1989.