ASHLAND – Ashland County Commissioners voted Thursday to reinstate an assistant director position at the county’s department of job and family services.
At the recommendation of new JFS director Peter Stefaniuk, the commissioners appointed Sarah Stika to the assistant director job, which had been unfilled for several years. She will be paid $31.25 per hour, effective May 18.
Stika previously served in a human resources role in the department and also worked as interim director before Stefaniuk was hired.
Commissioner Denny Bittle acknowledged what he described as a “revolving door” in the director’s position and said he and the other commissioners felt they needed to do more to support the new director than they had with past department heads.
Commissioner Jim Justice said Stika will fill a much-needed role as she supports the director and helps supervise operations.
“I know that when we went though and talked to all the employees and supervisors, one thing they said was when they director is gone, everything seemed to stop,” Justice said. “(Stefaniuk is) required to be at so many meetings in so many different places, so I really believe this is a valuable thing to keep the operation moving forward. She’ll be authorized to make certain decisions to keep things rolling.”
Bittle said he is excited about the appointment because Stika has done a tremendous job over the past several months as interim director.
“She’s taken the bull by the horns and made a lot of changes on her own that I think have been very positive,” he said.
Commissioner Mike Welch added that Stika is well-liked by the other staff in the department.
Stefaniuk said he has worked with Stika in his former job with the Ashland County Prosecutor’s Office and that he looked forward to working closely with Stika.
“I see this position supporting what I do there as director,” he said. “My focus is going to be working with partners we have in the community. I see the assistant director also participating in that, but also I see the assistant director more hands-on involved with day-to-day activities.”
Stefaniuk said Stika will be able to help the department work through compliance issues in various units, especially in the child welfare unit. The department’s compliance score for child welfare is “unacceptable,” he said, adding that the score is in the 30s when it should be at least 90.
Stefaniuk said while he is not aware of any particular safety issues driving down the score, data may not be entered into a database as quickly as it should be.
“Sometimes when case workers are as busy as they are here in Ashland County, sometimes they’re out doing things, responding to new matters, dealing with emergencies as they arise,” he said. “Sometimes entering information into a database is delayed.”
Children’s safety will remain the top priority for the child welfare unit, Stefaniuk said, but he would like to see the compliance score improve.
Commissioners also took action Thursday to hire two new employees to the department — a part-time social service worker and an eligibility referral specialist.
Commissioner Denny Bittle said he does not anticipate a budget increase associated with the series of staffing changes.
