DELAWARE — Delaware County Jobs and Family Services Director Bob Anderson is resigning from his role after eight years with the agency.
Anderson officially leaves the role on Aug. 14. Six days later, he starts his new role as director of the Hamilton County Jobs and Family Services on Aug. 20.
He said he was not actively seeking to leave the department, but the Hamilton County role was “the right place, right time.”
Jobs and Family Services (JFS) directors are in charge of setting policies, maintaining community partnerships, recruitment, and coordinating policy changes from state legislation.
Delaware County JFS has programs and services related to child protection, adult protection, workforce assistance and training, food assistance, medicaid and more.
Anderson said during his time in the role, he considers his greatest accomplishments to be his ability to keep staff turnover low during the COVID-19 pandemic, and creating a good workplace culture.
“We have a lot of things thrown at us that we don’t control— policy, federal, state, those kind of things— and we’re just really good at working together and making it happen and making it work for our community,” he said.
Anderson’s advice to the next JFS director? Maintain all the relationships JFS has with county officials, state officials, and community partners, such as the Board of Developmental Disabilities and others.
“The commissioners and administration have been great and very supportive. I’ve learned a lot in this role from them. So that would be one: keep that relationship, have an open line of communication and transparency,” he said.
Jeffrey Sell to lead JFS in interim position
Applications for the next full-time director will be posted soon, but in the meantime, Anderson tapped Jeffrey Sell to be the interim director.
“With me leaving here in the next week and a half, they wanted someone to take my place. They’ve worked with Jeff, they know Jeff, they trust his judgment to take over, so that just kind of progressed through,” Anderson said.
Sell was the protective services administrator, working closely with Anderson for the last six years at the Delaware County JFS, and before that when they both worked at the Seneca County JFS.
He worked various roles at the Seneca County JFS before coming to Delaware, giving him a total of 27 years of experience.
Sell said he intends to apply to be the permanent director once the job posting is uploaded.
Anderson said the next director will oversee JFS’s transition from its Hayes Building office to the new space at the under-construction Byxbe Campus extension.
He also hopes to see the next director build upon his, and Sell’s, work to establish a transitional living space for 18-24 year-olds in Delaware County.
“United Way has the Treehouse, but sometimes youth coming out of our care emancipating have higher needs that maybe can’t be fit in a traditional setting like that,” Anderson said.
“So having that transitional housing where we can coordinate the services and help youth when they hit 18, they’re not just put back out, that they have someone to turn to work on education and work on just being an adult.”
He also hopes the next JFS worker prioritizes partnering with county entities to establish more affordable childcare.
