Jensen named director of social services

Marathon County Administrator Lance Leonhard announced Thursday that Christa Jensen has accepted the role of Director of Social Services for Marathon County effective March 1 following a competitive recruitment and selection process.

Jensen succeeds Vicki Tylka who left the agency in December to become the new Managing Director of Community Programs at North Central Health Care. “Marathon County is incredibly fortunate to have a strong, qualified, and humble leader such as Christa Jensen serve in the capacity of Director of Social Services,” shared Administrator Leonhard.

“I have great confidence in Christa’s abilities to successfully lead the Social Services team and positively impact the children and families we serve while moving us closer to our goal of becoming the healthiest, safest, and most prosperous county in Wisconsin.” Jensen joined the Marathon County Department of Social Services in 2015 as a Child Protective Services supervisor. Most recently she served as the agency’s Child Welfare Manager and accepted the additional duties of Interim Director following Tylka’s departure. In her new role, Jensen will be responsible for providing leadership to the Social Services team as it relates to the delivery of the following mandated services: child protective services, youth justice, child support and income maintenance.

Additionally, she will oversee the department’s administrative functions including strategic planning, work plans, annual budgets, policies, personnel development, and ensuring compliance with local, state, and federal rules, statutes and requirements that govern applicable programs.

“It is truly an honor to serve as the Director of Social Services in Marathon County. I remain committed to providing high quality services to our customers and ensuring we have the right people and programs in place to do so,” shared Jensen. “We have exciting opportunities ahead and I look forward to working collaboratively with our Social Services team and various County stakeholders in pursuit of our goals.”