Annemarie Nichols began employment with Delaware County in 1998 as a temporary Typist for the Department of Social Services Legal Unit.  She quickly proved herself to be a valuable clerical team member capable of producing excellent work in short periods of time with minor supervision.  As a result, before her temporary appointment was concluded she was relocated to the Services Division into a permanent appointment as a Typist.  In 2003, Annemarie was promoted to Senior Typist and has continued to be a self-directed member of the DSS clerical team in the Services Division.

Annemarie assists Services Caseworkers with foster care, preventive and protective cases.  She monitors the movements of Caseworkers in the field, making contact with them by other staff or the public relatively simple.  She helps the Department meet very strict regulatory standards regarding case files, which are legally classified as business records under New York State law.  She does extensive filing, case research for documents and performs a wide range of  transactions with the two major database systems, the Welfare Management Systems (WMS) and Connections—the electronic case filing system for preventive, protective and foster care cases.  One of her most valuable roles is that of telephone manager wherein she is the voice of the Services Division.  She provides comfort to the clients in distress, information to the clients needing a question answered, and direction to the clients seeking to find their Caseworker.  In this role, Annemarie excels in her ability to remain calm, unflappable and always engaging.

Annemarie says that the staff she works with makes her days!  The sense of belonging to a team and having a number of goals a day to achieve helps bring out the best in her.  She also enjoys the contact with the clients, although a bit less stress and pressure would be fine.

Annemarie has been married for 31 years and has three children.  She looks forward to being a first time grandparent this coming summer.  She loves to walk and only drives to work on really inclement days.   She also loves a good book and is an extensive reader.  When time permits, she also likes to sew.

Annemarie’s engaging personality rubs off on staff and clients alike.  She always seems to be upbeat and looks for the positive rather than the negative.  Her steady and calm approach to work translates into instant support for staff feeling too much pressure or those clients having a really bad day and needing help to turn things around.

Annemarie, thank you for all you do and congratulations!