Bob Anderson, who has run Delaware County Job & Family Services since 2018, is leaving Aug. 14 to become director of Hamilton County's JFS department. The agency administers food assistance, Medicaid, child protection and childcare programs for Powell, Lewis Center and Liberty Township families.
Jeffrey Sell, a 27-year JFS veteran who served as the agency's protective services administrator, takes over as interim director. Sell told Delaware Source he intends to apply for the permanent position once the job posting goes live.
Anderson said he was not actively looking to leave but called the Hamilton County opportunity "the right place, right time." The Hamilton County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously on July 17 to hire him. He starts there Aug. 20.
Eight years leading JFS
Anderson has more than 30 years of county government experience, including stints as Seneca County's county administrator and assistant JFS director. In 2025, he received the Pacesetter Award from the Ohio Public Employer Labor Relations Association and its national counterpart.
He cited keeping staff turnover low during the COVID-19 pandemic and building a strong workplace culture as his proudest accomplishments.
"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," Anderson told Delaware Source on Aug. 10.
What's ahead for the agency
The next permanent director will oversee a major transition: moving JFS out of its current Hayes Building office at 145 N. Union St. in Delaware and into a new $35.8 million, 70,000-square-foot shared services building at 2104 State Route 521. That facility, part of the Byxbe Campus expansion, broke ground May 18 and is expected to open in late 2027. Commissioner Jeff Benton said at the May 18 groundbreaking that the project is being built without incurring county debt.
The building will house JFS alongside the Delaware County Board of Developmental Disabilities, the Delaware-Morrow Mental Health & Recovery Services Board and the Delaware County Veterans' Service Office. Roughly 225 employees will work under one roof.
Anderson said he hopes the next director will push forward transitional housing for 18-to-24-year-olds aging out of foster care in Delaware County, noting that United Way's Treehouse program exists but some youth have higher needs. He also urged prioritizing partnerships to expand affordable childcare.
Sell's background
Sell and Anderson previously worked together at Seneca County JFS before both came to Delaware County. Sell spent the past six years as protective services administrator, working closely with Anderson on child welfare cases. He wants the job permanently.
No timeline has been announced for posting the permanent director position. No public statement from the Delaware County Board of Commissioners on the transition was available as of Aug. 10.
