Hayes was appointed as the director of the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services (ODJFS), Ohio's largest agency, and a member of the Ohio Governor's Cabinet, by Governor Bob Taft on September 4, 2001.
[1] During his time as director of ODJFS, Hayes oversaw a department that employed 3,700 employees and had an annual budget of more than $15 billion.
[1] As director, Hayes created a performance center for the department, federally certified a child support computer system, and started an online job-matching system.
[1] In 2002, Hayes argued with Hamilton County over the ownership of $8 million of welfare money.
[2] In response to the Controversial Ohio database searches of Joe Wurzelbacher, Hayes stated that the ODJFS, during his tenure as director, did not conduct searches due to an individual's status being raised to "celebrity.