BATON ROUGE, La. -- The head of Louisiana's social services department has resigned after receiving heavy criticism from Governor Bobby Jindal about her agency's response to Hurricane Gustav.

The governor's spokeswoman confirmed that Ann Williamson turned in her resignation Monday.

Williamson's resignation as secretary comes only days after Jindal promised he would make "significant changes" at the Department of Social Services. That led to questions about whether Williamson would be fired by Jindal.

Williamson's agency was publicly rebuked by the governor because of problems in handing out food stamps and setting up shelters for Gustav, which struck Louisiana on Labor Day.

Williamson took responsibility for the problems but also has said the department performed nobly in its response to the storm and the follow-up blow of Hurricane Ike.