DOVER (April 26, 2018) – The Governor’s Welfare Employment Committee announced the winners of its 2018 TANF Employment Awards of Excellence this week as it recognized 33 employers in Delaware who hire, train and maintain positive working relationships with employees who receive Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) benefits, and 33 TANF clients who have succeeded in the workplace despite the challenges they have faced.
Nominations for the awards were submitted by individuals and organizations from communities across the state, and winners were selected by members of the Governor’s Welfare Employment Committee. One award is presented to an employer and an employee from each county, as well as one statewide winner from the employer and employee categories.
“People want jobs,” First Lady Tracey Quillen Carney told the 150 people gathered April 25 for the event at Dover Downs Hotel & Casino. “And the second thing is people want to be good parents.” She thanked employers for giving their new employees a chance to succeed.
The number of TANF cases, in which eligible parents receive a time-limited monthly grant, continues to decline in Delaware and across the country. In Fiscal Year 2017, there were 4,884 cases in the state, representing almost 2,000 adults and a little more than 8,000 children. The average grant was $269 a month. To get a monthly TANF benefit, most clients must work or participate in work-related activities for 20 to 40 hours per week, depending on the number of parents in the household and the age of their children.
The employee winners of the 2018 TANF Employment Awards of Excellence are:
• Sussex County: Letitia Bessicks
• Kent County: Marita Garcia
• New Castle County: Tanya Bayard
• Statewide: Leona Delli
The employer winners of the 2018 TANF Employment Awards of Excellence are:
• Sussex County: AutoZone
• Kent County: Fairfield Inn
• New Castle County: Goodwill Industries
• Statewide: United Parcel Service (UPS)
The event was hosted by the Governor’s Welfare Employment Committee, the Department of Health and Social Services, the Department of Labor and DART. All nominees were invited to the ceremony.
“The collaboration between state agencies, employers and clients led to the successes we honored, but, more importantly, it helped to foster self-sufficiency for our clients,” DHSS Secretary Dr. Kara Odom Walker said. “There can be no greater success than that.”
“Creating conditions in which businesses can be successful is Governor John Carney’s highest priority,” Labor Secretary Cerron Cade said. “He knows if businesses are successful, our families and our communities will be successful, too. Today, we recognized employers who have gone above and beyond what they are supposed to do by hiring, training and maintaining positive relationships with clients who needed that opportunity.”
In addition to the First Lady and Secretaries Walker and Cade, attendees also heard personal success stories from Nancy Tellado, a former TANF client who now works as a management analyst for DHSS’ Division of Social Services near New Castle, and Lindsey DiCarolis, who works as a senior social worker for the Division of Social Services at the Adams State Service Center in Georgetown. Hill credited a DHSS

staff person at the Porter State Service Center in Wilmington who helped her apply for TANF and other benefits after she was and her children became homeless. Now as a DHSS employee, “I encourage you to never give up.” DiCarolis said taking her three sons and leaving an abusive relationship so she could start over was difficult. “There were a lot of rough times, but I told myself I had to do it for them.”
The Twin Poets, Nnamdi Chukwuocha and Al Mills who are the poets laureate of Delaware, performed a series of poems, including “America Needs You.” “It’s very hard for a child to separate my hard time from mom’s hard time,” Mills said in praising the employers for the support they provide parents. Chukwuocha said their mother worked two jobs when he and his brother were kids, and they would live with other relatives when she didn’t have enough money to pay the electric bill. He thanked businesses for hiring TANF clients “because government alone can’t do this.”
A total of 33 employees were nominated:
• Sussex County (six nominees): Leona Delli, Letitia Bessicks, Theresa Chacon, Shane Sellers, Candace James-Waples and Heather Weist.
• Kent County (eight nominees): Victoria I. Boyd, Latisha Smith, Katie Duncan, Marita Garcia, Deja Givens, Shandora Lyles, Katrina West and Phylicia Young.
• New Castle County (19 nominees): Alicia Wilson, Tony Martinez, Chalese Smith, Darnice Howard, Samantha Plymale, Naomi Frye, Tanya Bayard, John Smith Ashura, Al-Tyreek Adams-Beach, Rosa Cortez, Leakita Millner, Amber Ross, Roxanne Spencer, Jennifer Treen, Odessa Goins, Adriana Hughes, Tanya Sharper, Erica Rivera and Jaelynn Craighead.

A total of 33 employers were nominated:
• Sussex County (11 nominees): Addus Health Care, Burger King, Mountaire Farms, IHOP, Premier Staffing Solutions, The Curiosity Shop, AutoZone, Royal Farms, Perdue, QSI and Laurel Senior Center.
• Kent County (six nominees): Addus Health Care, Boys and Girls Club, Shore Stop, Americare Home Solutions, Fairfield Inn and Wawa, Inc.,
• New Castle County (16 nominees): AAA Mid-Atlantic, UPS, Performance Staffing Solutions, Securitas Security Services, DePaul Industries, Gabriel Brothers, Inc., Always Best Care, Dust Away Cleaning, Courtyard by Marriott, Goodwill Industries, Little Hearts Childcare, Staffmark Temp to Permanent Staffing, Joe’s Crab Shack, Wawa, Inc., Integrity Staffing Solutions and Little Friends Learning Academy.

To hire a Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) recipient or to learn more about the TANF employment initiative, contact the Delaware Department of Labor, at 302-761-8085.

TANF is a time-limited program, and work-mandatory clients can receive TANF benefits for a maximum of 36 total months in their lifetimes. To learn more about Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) in Delaware, go to the DHSS website.

TO THE MEDIA: Photos of the statewide employee and employer honorees can be downloaded from DHSS’ flick site:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/deldhss/albums/72157692957138532

(Smyrna, DE) — Fourteen area children from seven schools have been selected to receive awards for producing art work to be included in the 2018-2019 PSEG Nuclear Emergency Plan Information Calendar for Delaware and New Jersey.

The honorees were chosen from among elementary school students who submitted art work.  All of the participating schools are in the Emergency Planning Zone (EPZ), which is the area within a 10 mile radius of the Salem/Hope Creek Generating Stations in New Jersey.  The calendar will be mailed to residents of the EPZ later in the year.  Artwork will be posted to the Delaware Emergency Management Agency’s (DEMA) website in the near future.

WINNERS and SCHOOLS are listed:

Ethan Egloff, Sophia Nguyen – Brick Mill Elementary School

Damien Frezza, Yutika Kedia – Cedar Lane Elementary School

Aziza Prince, Yasmine Wright – Kathleen H. Wilbur Elementary School

Ruby Jordan, Gabrielle Baran – Old State Elementary School

Makenzie Tyson, Samantha Klein – Silver Lake Elementary School

Paige Romone, Riley Truver – Southern Elementary School

Lincoln Latagne, Ethan Fink – Townsend Elementary School

DEMA Director A.J. Schall, and David Burgin, Corporate Manager-Emergency Preparedness at PSEG, presented the winning students  with gifts and certificates during a ceremony Thursday, April 26 at the Delaware National Guard Smyrna Readiness Center.

The Delaware Department of Education has awarded five new grants for afterschool and summer programs under the federal Every Student Succeeds Act.

The 21st Century Community Learning Center (CCLC) program grants are designed to provide students with enrichment activities to improve the academic success of students from Title I schools. Schools are designated as Title I based on high percentage of students who come from low-income families. The money comes from federal funds.

“These programs are possible because of collaboration between our schools and community partners,” Secretary of Education Susan Bunting said. “They are great examples of how we all can work together to provide fun, engaging and enriching learning activities for students outside of the regular school day.”

The 21st CCLC programs must serve students who attend schools that are eligible as Title I schoolwide programs. Subgrantees must offer opportunities for families to actively and meaningfully engage in their children’s education. Funding for 21st CCLCs is awarded through a competitive process. Applicants propose a program and budget based on the activities designed to meet the needs of their students. These grants are renewable for up to five years.

The new programs awarded this year are listed below.

• WHMS 21st WIN (What I Need) Program at William Henry Middle School in the Capital School District will provide an afterschool and summer program for 100 students in grades 5 and 6. The program collaborates with Delaware State University, Wesley College, Junior Achievement, Kent County Community School, Kent County Parks & Recreation, Dover Police Athletic League, UD-4-H, Dover YMCA, and the Delaware Department of Transportation TRAC Program. Activities such as sports, health, fitness, leadership, teamwork, goal setting, community service, financial literacy, the arts, theatre, bilingual, and Spanish language acquisition are incorporated into the program ($320,000).
• The Charter School of New Castle Mind and Body (MAB) Program will provide an afterschool and summer program for 125 students in grades K – 8. Program partners include the New Castle County government and its Route 9 Library and Innovation Center (R9LIC), and the YMCA. The program will include math league, chess club, interscholastic basketball, computer training, flag-football, step team, interscholastic volleyball, kung fu lessons, cheerleading, interscholastic soccer, music club, organized play (for younger students) and character development ($400,000).
• Great Oaks Charter School Afterschool and Summer Gladiators program will provide afterschool, summer, and Saturday programing for 300 students in grades 6 – 9, including high school sports, a comprehensive music program, and specialized math and English language arts tutoring. Students also will engage in science, technology, arts, mathematics, and engineering projects, as well as leadership and character development ($400,000).
• The University of Delaware Cooperative Extension 4-H at Milford Central Academy and Milford High School will provide an afterschool and summer program for 75 students in grades 6 – 12 in Milford School District. Activities will focus on leadership, healthy living, college and career readiness, independent living skills, service learning opportunities, homework help, tutoring, and hands-on enrichment activities ($240,000).
• Woodbridge School District’s Woodbridge Middle School’s 21st Century Community Learning Centers program will provide an afterschool and summer program for 75 students in grades 6-8. Students will receive focused homework assistance from certified teachers to ensure that work is not only being completed but also understood. Self-selected clubs focus on areas of student interest such as the arts, leadership, and music. The program will have partnerships with the University of Delaware, the Bridgeville Public Library, Nanticoke Memorial Hospital, the Freeman Foundation, and Heritage Shores. There will be mentoring opportunities from community members, as well ($230,000).

These new grant winners join Delaware 21st CCLC programs funded in previous cohorts:

• Delaware Technical Community College at Stanton Middle and McKean High Schools in Red Clay Consolidated School District
• Delaware Futures, Inc. at Bayard Middle School in Christina School District
• University of Delaware Cooperative Extension at Shue-Medill Middle School in Christina School District
• University of Delaware’s Delaware Academy of School Leadership at McIllvaine Early Childhood Center and Stokes and Brown Elementary Schools in Caesar Rodney School District
• Capital School District at East Dover Elementary School
• Cape Henlopen School District at Milton Elementary School
• Cape Henlopen School District at Rehoboth Elementary School
• Cape Henlopen School District at Brittingham Elementary School
• Sussex Technical School District at Wheatley Elementary in Woodbridge School District
• Red Clay Consolidated School District at Lewis Dual Language, Richardson Park and Warner Elementary Schools
• East Side Charter School
• Capital School District at Dover High
• University of Delaware Cooperative Extension at Lake Forest South Elementary in Lake Forest School District
• University of Delaware Cooperative Extension at Showell Elementary, Selbyville Middle and Clayton Elementary in Indian River School District
• Capital School District at Central Middle School
• Freire Charter School
• Thomas Edison Charter School
• Kuumba Charter School

Media Contact: Alison May, alison.may@doe.k12.de.us, 302-735-4006

Key Initiative of Historic Anti-Gun Violence Multi-State Agreement Between Delaware, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Puerto Rico

Partnership Will Collect and Analyze Data Across Multiple Disciplines on Public Efforts to Reduce Gun Violence to Better Inform Policymakers Nationwide

Fills Void Left by Federal Government’s 1996 Ban on Federally-Funded Gun Violence Research

DOVER, Del. – Governor John Carney, New York Governor Andrew M. Cuomo, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, Connecticut Governor Dannel P. Malloy, Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker, and Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rosselló today announced the nation’s first Regional Gun Violence Research Consortium, a key initiative of the historic “States for Gun Safety” coalition between Delaware, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, and Puerto Rico.

The consortium brings the thought leaders and top researchers from partner states together to undertake significant new research on all manners of gun violence, data collection and analysis across multiple disciplines. This unprecedented effort will provide the public, including policymakers, with new information to ultimately reduce the scourge of gun violence. This groundbreaking consortium fills the void left by the federal government’s 1996 ban on the use of federal funds to study gun violence, which has obstructed research efforts across the nation, including at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health.

“Working together, states can and should directly confront the threat of gun violence. This new consortium will provide new information and research about gun violence to inform policy discussions at the state and federal levels,” said Governor John Carney. “Better information will help us enforce laws already on the books, intercept the flow of illegal weapons across state borders, and take additional action that will make a real difference. Delaware is proud to be a part of this coalition, and I thank my fellow Governors for their leadership on this issue.”

Governor Andrew Cuomo said, “New York is proud to have the nation’s strongest gun safety laws. The federal government’s continued inaction on this issue has not only allowed the epidemic of gun violence to spread, but it has left it to the states to provide the leadership needed to confront this problem head on. The consortium is a major step in our multi-state partnership to research responsible gun safety legislation and take new steps to prevent illegal guns from crossing state lines.”

Governor Phil Murphy said, “Despite having some the toughest gun laws in the nation, New Jersey has suffered from roughly 80 percent of our gun crimes being committed with a gun trafficked across our borders. We’re losing young people across our state to the senseless epidemic of gun violence as Congress sits idly by on this issue. Those of us at the state and local level are taking matters into our hands to curb violence in our communities. That’s why I’m proud to join my fellow governors in creating the nation’s first regional gun violence research consortium.”

Governor Dannel P. Malloy said, “Gun violence is a public health emergency, and it should be treated as such. Connecticut has been a national leader in addressing this epidemic. By working together with like-minded states, we can take strides toward understanding the root causes of violence and determine the most effective prevention strategies. Connecticut has reduced violent crime at a faster rate than any state in the nation since we passed our commonsense gun legislation in 2013. This coalition is a critical step to building upon this progress.”

Governor Gina M. Raimondo said, “While Washington continues to drag its feet, in Rhode Island we’re stepping up and taking decisive action to keep our communities safe. This week I was proud to take part in the first meeting of Rhode Island’s new Gun Safety Working Group, which will help create an action plan for gun reform. The efforts of this new multi-state consortium will further bolster our work with meaningful research to help guide action on reforms across all of our states. I thank my fellow governors for their efforts and look forward to seeing the research developed by the consortium.”

Governor Charlie Baker said, “Massachusetts is pleased to have some of the nation’s strongest gun control laws and looks forward to working with other states to enhance information sharing across state lines to provide state officials and law enforcement with more resources to keep our communities safe.”

Puerto Rico Governor Ricardo Rosselló said, “Puerto Rico is proud to have some of the strongest regulations of permits to possess guns in the United States. At the same time, we are fighting against illegal guns in the Island. I believe this consortium of states to promote shared knowledge will go a long way towards raising awareness about the direct relationship between uncontrolled access to guns and acts of violence. This is an important step towards ending in the senseless massacres that have claimed the lives of innocent people in public institutions and schools.”

The consortium will operate between the multiple states involved, harnessing the collective research and expertise for collaborative activities among individual universities and departments. In addition to new research, the consortium will also create a central clearinghouse of existing data from institutional, federal, and multi-state sources for public use.

This month marks the anniversary ‎of two of our country’s most tragic mass shootings that are etched into the history of our society; it was eleven years ago this week that 32 people lost their lives on the campus of Virginia Tech University, and 19 years ago, 13 people were tragically killed at Columbine High school.

Listed below are the scholars from the states who are leading the consortium. A full link with their biographies is available here.

• Romain L. Alexander Policy Advisor, Office of Governor John Carney
• Eric F. Bronson, Dean of the School of Criminal Justice at Roger Williams University
• Rod K. Brunson, Dean of the School of Criminal Justice at Rutgers University
• Joel Capellan, Assistant Professor of Law & Justice Studies at Rowan University
• Michaela Dunne, Manager of Law Enforcement & Justice Services at Massachusetts Department of Criminal Justice Information Services (DCJIS)
• Ayman El-Mohandes, Dean, CUNY Graduate School of Public Health & Health Policy
• Sandro Galea, Dean and Robert A. Knox Professor at Boston University School of Public Health
• Anna Harvey, Professor of Politics and Director of the Public Safety Lab at New York University
• David Hemenway, Professor at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
• Christopher Herrmann, Assistant Professor in the Law and Police Science Department at CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice
• Heather Howard, Lecturer in Public Affairs at Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs
• Margaret K. Formica, Assistant Professor of Public Health and Preventive Medicine at SUNY Upstate Medical University
• Allan Jiao, Professor of Law & Justice Studies at Rowan University
• Craig H. Kennedy, Provost at the University of Connecticut (UCONN)
• David M. Kennedy, Professor of Criminal Justice at CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice (NYC)
• Chris Kervick, Executive Director, State of Delaware Criminal Justice Council
• John M. Klofas, Professor and Director of the Center for Public Safety Initiative at the Rochester Institute of Technology
• Mike Lawlor, Undersecretary for Criminal Justice Policy and Planning, CT Office of Policy & Management and Associate Professor of Criminal Justice in the Henry C. Lee College of Criminal Justice and Forensic Sciences at the University of New Haven (on leave)
• Alan Lizotte, Distinguished Professor and former Dean at the School of Criminal Justice at the University at Albany
• Matthew J. Miller, Professor of Health Sciences and Epidemiology at Northeastern University
• Daniel J. O’Connell, Ph.D, Senior Scientist, Center for Drug and Health Studies, University of Delaware
• James Peyser, Massachusetts Secretary of Education
• Jennifer L. Pomeranz, Assistant Professor, College of Global Public Health at New York University
• Jeremy Porter, Professor of Sociology at CUNY Brooklyn College and the CUNY Graduate Center
• William Pridemore, Distinguished Professor and Dean of the School of Criminal Justice at the University at Albany
• Dermot Quinn, Lieutenant Colonel, Massachusetts State Police
• Sonali Rajan, Assistant Professor of Health Education at Teachers College, Columbia University
• Megan L. Ranney, Emergency Physician and Associate Professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine at Rhode Island Hospital/ Alpert Medical School of Brown University
• Jaclyn Schildkraut, Assistant Professor of Public Justice and National Expert on Mass Shootings
• Donald H. Sebastian, Senior Vice-President of Technology & Business Development at New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT)
• Michael Siegel, Professor, Department of Community Health Sciences at Boston University School of Public Health
• Nick Simmons, Project Coordinator at the Rockefeller Institute of Government
• Robert J. Spitzer, Distinguished Service Professor and Chair of the Political Science Department at SUNY Cortland
• Sean P. Varano, Professor of Criminal Justice at Roger Williams University

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An undercover investigation by the Delaware Child Predator Task Force into the online sharing of child pornography resulted in the arrest of 35-year-old Cesar M. Rios Martinez of Laurel for 25 counts of Dealing in Child Pornography.

The investigation revealed that Martinez downloaded and shared multiple files of child pornography via the internet over an extended period of time. A search warrant was executed at Martinez’ residence on April 25, 2018 at which time detectives seized multiple electronic devices and other related evidence. A forensic preview of those devices revealed over 25 files of child pornography as defined by Delaware law. This investigation is ongoing and additional charges may be filed upon further examination.

At the time of his arrest, Martinez was employed as a Pastor at Iglesia El Espiritu Santo, 906 Eastern Shore Drive, Salisbury, MD. Any concerns about Martinez can be directed to the Child Predator Task Force at 302-739-2030.

Martinez was arraigned by Justice of the Peace Court 2 and ordered held at the Sussex Correctional Institution on $250,000 secured bail.

In all cases, defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.