Alison McGonigal is a graduate of the University of Delaware receiving her Bachelors of Science in Human Services with a concentration in Family and Community Services.  Ms. McGonigal has over 20 years of experience in the juvenile justice field including frontline case management, program development, implementation and evaluation, strategic planning, and administration. 

Ms. McGonigal began working for the State of Delaware’s Division of Youth Rehabilitative Services (DYRS) in 1997 as a case manager at the New Castle County Detention Center and became supervisor of the case management unit in 2001. In 2006, Ms. McGonigal was promoted as an Administrator for DYRS in the Office of the Director where her primary responsibility was to lead a system-wide effort to create broad-based policy and reform of Delaware’s juvenile justice system.  In 2009, Ms. McGonigal assumed the additional role of Superintendent of the DYRS Residential Cottages, where she was responsible for initiating an aggressive program and facility improvement plan aimed at implementing effective treatment and transition services for youth in custody. Ms. McGonigal was appointed Deputy Director of DYRS in March 2013.

In May 2015, Ms. McGonigal transitioned to Deputy Director of the Division of Management Support Services (DMSS) and was appointed to Division Director in 2017.  Alison and her DMSS team provide support services to DSCYF employees including human resources, fiscal services, facilities maintenance, information technology, as well as education services for youth in residential care.