Livingston County Department of Social Services (DSS) Commissioner Diane Deane is retiring after more than 30 years in public service, effective Feb. 27, 2022.
Deane first began working with the County in 1988 as the Director of Administrative Services at DSS. She became Social Services Commissioner in June of 2011, working to establish the department’s vision and philosophy, while planning for its future. Deane said fulfilling the department’s mission statement of providing quality services with fairness, respect and compassion in order to promote self-sufficiency and protect the vulnerable is the most important and significant duty DSS undertakes. She credits the professional and talented staff at DSS for helping to fulfill those goals over the past decade, especially during the social and economic disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I have been proud to serve the citizens of Livingston County and work for the County Board of Supervisors,” said Deane. “I have learned so much from all those I have worked with over the past 33 years. I hope I have had a positive effect on the agency and leave it a bit better than I found it.”
During her time with the County, Deane also oversaw the modernization of her department through the introduction of electronic case records and the use of mobile technology to improve overall efficiency. She lists collaboration with other agencies whose mission is to improve the situations for Livingston County residents and working with the capable and experienced people at DSS as those aspects of the job she will miss the most. Her impact was felt well beyond the halls of DSS, as she also actively served on several committees, including the Youth Board, Compliance Committee, Homelessness and Housing Task Force, Livingston County Children’s Protective Association, Finger Lakes-Southern Tier RTA Coalition LDC, Genesee Valley Health Partnership and COMPAK.
“I am so very happy for Diane,” said Livingston County Administrator Ian M. Coyle. “I thoroughly enjoyed working with her for the last 13 plus years. She’s really excelled as a leader and as a manager and as a careful, committed steward of the services and finances of the Social Services Department. The intensity of her effort is second to none. I remain proud to say she was one of my first department head hires and she was a great one. I wish her and her family nothing but the best in retirement.”
Succeeding Deane will be Tracy McCaughey, who was recently confirmed as the next Livingston County Commissioner of Social Services by the County’s Board of Supervisors. Her appointment to the position begins on Feb. 28, 2022. McCaughey currently serves as the County’s Social Services Division Director, specifically overseeing the program areas of Child Welfare and Adult Protective Services. McCaughey began her career with DSS in the Child Welfare Division in 1994.
For more information on the Livingston County Department of Social Services, please visit them online at https://www.livingstoncounty.us/274/Social-Services.
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