New director hired upon Ainsworth retirement
The county commissioners have named a new director of human services, but said they will miss the current director, who has served the county for 30 years.
Brandon Savochka has accepted the position of human services director and mental health, intellectual disabilities and early intervention administrator offered to him by the commissioners.
Savochka will replace Joyce Ainsworth, who began her career with the county in 1989 as a mental health specialist before climbing the ladder to director.
She was named director in 2014.
“I'm ready, but I will miss the people who I've worked with because they've been exceptional and I've been very blessed,” Ainsworth said of her retirement on Oct. 25.
While she is proud to say such programs as the Center for Community Resources, Butler County Alliance for Children and the transitional care center at Sergeant Joseph George Kusick VA Community Living Center have occurred during her tenure with the county, she is prouder of her workplace.
“We started a lot of new programs, but the biggest thing is having everyone working together and bringing that collaborative nature to the job,” Ainsworth said of her achievements. “It's so important that we work together because we are all serving the same families and we can all do a much better job if we work together.”
She said she has complete confidence in Savochka, with whom she will work for a month before leaving.“He's bright. He's talented. He'll do a fine job,” Ainsworth said. “I think he will carry on the traditions of what this office has done as far as collaboration.”Regarding changes in her job since she started 30 years ago, Ainsworth said the needs keep coming and continue to evolve. She named housing and the opioid epidemic as two societal challenges facing the Human Services Department today.“You have to really be able to adjust and be flexible and redirect your focus,” she said of the job.Ainsworth plans to spend more time with her husband, Bill, two daughters and one granddaughter.“The Butler County Commissioners and county workforce wish Ms. Ainsworth the best on her retirement,” said a news release from the commissioners.Savochka came to the county in 2013 as a program specialist at Children and Youth Services. He was promoted in 2015 to a casework manager and recently worked as mental health director in the Human Services Department.He earned a master's degree in clinical mental health counseling from Waynesburg University, and holds continuing credits and certification in the therapeutic crisis intervention field.Savochka will begin his new position Sept. 30.
