Nicole Drake receives CDHS’s Public Service Recognition Award

Nicole Drake, County Intermediary Administrator in the Division of Child Welfare (Office of Children, Youth and Families) received the department’s Public Service Recognition Award. The award is for exceptional performance in state government and recipients from across state government were invited to an awards luncheon and recognition ceremony with Governor Polis at the Governor’s Residence Carriage House on May 6. 

“When you stay focused on your values they interact with and build on the values of your organization to really move change forward,” Nicole shared.  “If you can really value people and seek to engage them in an authentic way the possibilities of what your organization can do are really limitless.”

Nicole has worked in the Division of Child Welfare for six years and currently oversees and supports the division’s county intermediary work as the primary point of contact and supervisory lead for all 64 counties. In her role Nicole addresses county’s performance issues and seeks consistency in DCW’s processes in escalating issues and navigating the support of counties. Nicole works alongside counties to support their continuous quality improvement work and coaching programs. 

“I like being able to work with other agencies and enjoy my time in the field working with the counties. I get to support change in so many diverse communities by co-creating the change that is going to be meaningful to that community based on their values. I find getting to learn about different communities and getting to support them in doing really hard work really fulfilling for me,” said Nicole of what she likes most about her role.

Read what Nicole’s colleagues and team had to say about her:

Trevor Williams , Youth Services Unit Manager

Nicole is amazing. She cares so much about the youth and families we serve. She goes out of her way to make sure that counties have the support they need to provide meaningful services for the families they serve. It is a point of personal pride for her. 

Emilie Warr, Specialized Response County Intermediary

I’m one of four county intermediaries who work under Nicole. She is always one to have her hands in all the different areas of DCW. In terms of being a leader, she is incredibly supportive and is an advocate for growth. She is always very supportive of our professional development in becoming future leaders and is always looking for learning opportunities for us to develop our own skills and leadership. Nicole works hard to grow us as a team and support us as individuals. She is always curious about seeing what is possible when we voice an idea. Nicole was really intentional around how she crafted her team by being very mindful of our individual strengths and what we each bring to the table to create a well-balanced, strong team. 

Noelle Berg, Specialized Response County Intermediary

Nicole always elevates our team and those around her at DCW. She uses discretion when giving us negative feedback and encourages our career goals even if they don’t involve staying on this team forever. She impacts our entire agency and encourages her colleagues to push forward.

Korey Elger, Permanency Manager

Nicole is amazing and is always willing to jump in and help. She wants to make sure that caseworkers hear from the state that what they do matters and we see them. She started the caseworker recognition program out of her own sheer will and when she kept hitting road blocks she just moved them out of her way to get it done. This included fighting with procurement rules and pushing for counties to provide recognition letters. She is a powerhouse!

Dahlia Espeut-Mclean, Youth Services Administrator with the Youth Services Unit

When I started with DCW, Nicole was one of the first people I met. She explained how placement support worked and how I could partner with her in my role. She took time to meet with me directly over several months and showed me specific processes and best practices. She and I have also worked very closely together in partnering with counties to offer support. She is great about trying not to approach counties in a punitive way, instead trying to understand where they need support. She led the way on the specific escalation protocol for counties, trying to be clearer in our structured approach when it comes to support and bringing in subject-matter experts to work with county intermediaries and state leadership. Any time internal or external partners have a question, she tries to answer those questions in a helpful way. 

Sarah Cashion, Specialized Response County Intermediary

Nicole is a role model as a leader. She leads by integrity and has a vast knowledge base in all areas of child welfare practice, which informs the work we do and how we provide support to counties in times of need. I am always so impressed with how she shows up, how she leads and how she is able to inspire and challenge me in various ways within our work.