DSS worker who assists growing homeless population named county ‘employee of the year’
Photos by Tom Rivers: Jennifer Szalay, center, is congratulated as the Orleans County Employee of the Year on Tuesday by Katie Harvey, director of Personnel and Self Insurance, and County Legislator John Fitzak.
ALBION – A Department of Social Services worker who has helped homeless residents find temporary shelter has been named the Orleans County Employee of the Year.
Jennifer Szalay, a principal social welfare examiner, was recognized during the Orleans County Legislature meeting on Tuesday as the employee of the year. She was commended for her work in assisting the local homeless population, which has soared in the past year to the current level of 90 placements.
Many of the local motels are full so Szalay and the DSS have had to secure rooms in out-of-county motels.
Szalay and the DSS have been short-staffed for much of the year, and Szalay has often come in early and stayed late to get the work done and support her co-workers, said Katie Harvey, director of personnel and self insurance for the county.
“This employee has grown as a leader and become such a valued asset to the Department of Social Services and Orleans County,” Harvey said. “Due to multiple vacancies within the unit, (Szalay) has shown her dedication continuing to manage vacant caseloads, train newer staff and support her entire team through a very difficult year.”
Szalay of Medina said she shows empathy to people in crisis and tries to connect them to services to help them long-term to be self-sufficient.
She often tries to assist people facing eviction of utility shut-offs so they can not be forced out of their residence and become homeless.
“We’re trying to help people through some of these hard problems,” she said. “These are difficult challenges. I try to be empathetic to their circumstances.”
Some of the people who are homeless have mental health issues, disabilities and drug and alcohol addictions that can make it harder to be self sufficient, she said.
Jennifer Szalay accepts a plaque as employee of the year from Katie Harvey and John Fitzak during the Orleans County Legislature meeting on Tuesday. Legislator Bill Eick is in back.
Szalay started with DSS in 2009 as a keyboard specialist. At the time, she was “shy and quiet,” Harvey said.
But Szalay’s confidence and skills grew and she has been promoted several times, to social welfare examiner, then to senior social welfare examiner overseeing public assistance and HEAP programs before being promoted last year to principal social welfare examiner.
The county’s Employee Assistance Program recognizes an employee of the month in the county government, taking nominations from employees and department heads.
The employees of the month for the past year include:
- October 2022: James White from Sheriff’s Office
- November 2022: Jennifer Gonzalez from DSS
- December 2022: Martin Stirk from Sheriff’s Office
- January 2023: Justin Niederhofer from Emergency Management
- February 2023: David Foeller from Sheriff’s Office
- March 2023: Tisha Dought, Taylor Tinkous and Patricia Urquhart from Mental Health
- April 2023: Cory Martindale from Sheriff’s Office
- May 2023: Ariel Ambrose from Sheriff’s Office
- June 2023: Jennifer Leverenz from District Attorney’s Office
- July 2023: Mark Tucker from Mental Health
- August 2023: Jennifer Szalay from DSS
- September 2023: Devon Pahuta, Brian Marsceill and Kevin Colonna from Sheriff’s Office
From this pool of candidates, a department head makes a recommendation to a separate committee which then considers the service the employee has performed, Harvey said.
