First Chance Delaware

First Lady Tracey Quillen Carney’s remarks as prepared for delivery at the announcement of First Chance Delaware — an initiative led by the First Lady to recognize and facilitate effective partnerships, to share research and best practices, and to promote opportunities to collaborate in support of Delaware’s children.

But then Paul DiLorenzo from Casey asked us to think bigger, more in terms of promotion than response; and of course, that instantly made sense.When Jackie Mette first suggested that we apply to Casey Family Programs for a First Spouse Initiative Grant, I knew I wanted it to be about giving kids a chance to succeed, a chance to recognize and work toward their potential. So we started to think about specific programs that would do that in targeted ways – a kind of traditional approach for a first spouse; identify a need, a way to respond, and focus on it for as long as you’re here.

If our goal is, in a foundational way, to give Delaware’s children a chance to succeed, we can’t do that with one program; and we can’t do it by responding just to how kids suffer when they crash into obstacles; we have to deal with the obstacles themselves.

That’s the reality John recognized when, in his one of his first initiatives as Governor, he re-established the Family Services Cabinet Council. When families face foundational challenges, like access to stable housing and nutritious food, each adversity deepens all of the others, in a geometric – and generational – erosion of opportunity. So to be effective – and certainly, to be efficient – the efforts to alleviate those challenges must also be inter-connected and mutually reinforcing.

Our First Chance Initiative, with a founding grant from Casey Family Programs, seeks to encourage a coordinated, intentional, and evolving culture of commitment to Delaware’s children – to make the First State a place where every child has a First Chance to succeed.

The why of the First Chance Initiative is pretty obvious:

  • It’s our shared interest in public health, educational excellence and workforce development; in attracting businesses and talented employees, based on the skills of Delawareans and on the quality of life in our state;
  • it’s our interest in saving on emergency medical costs and other crisis interventions;
  • it’s our interest in parent-employee productivity and retention, and in supporting community safety and sustainability, by building on the fundamental strength of families.
  • And, even more obviously, it’s our moral obligation – to give kids a chance, a First Chance, to succeed.

As for the how of the First Chance Initiative:

First, we want to recognize cross-sector collaborations that are working, to promote awareness of what’s out there – both for families who might benefit and for prospective partners, who share an interest and want to get involved.

Second, we want to take that intentional, coordinated approach to expanding successful programs, especially where parents, children, and teens are engaged in partnerships and settings that they trust – partnerships like our evidence-based home visiting programs for newborns and moms; settings like our Boys & Girls Clubs, community centers, Y’s, libraries, faith-based settings, and public schools where adults invest in building strong relationships with students. While we have kids and families in these trusted programs and settings, how can we better coordinate a mutually reinforcing First Chance web of support and opportunity?

In our year of groundwork for the First Chance Initiative, we’ve focused on partnerships in three areas –
1. Addressing childhood hunger,
2. Promoting early literacy, and
3. Expanding trauma-informed care.

Good things are happening, and again, we want to build on those successes.

Good things like the program to help struggling readers, a program I had a chance to see in action at Manor Elementary School. The program is a partnership among the Reading Assist Institute and its private and public supporters, the Colonial School District, and AmeriCorps. We’re going to celebrate three years of that partnership at an end-of-year bash on April 26th, with food provided by the culinary arts students at William Penn.

First Lady Tracey Quillen Carney visits Wilmington Manor Elementary.
First Lady Tracey Quillen Carney visits Wilmington Manor Elementary in New Castle.

Good things are happening.

Good things like Compassionate Connections, a partnership I’ve been privileged to join.

The work started when Compassionate Schools, a national program, joined with Delaware’s Department of Education – with early involvement from the University of Delaware, and, once again, lead funding from Casey Family Programs. The Compassionate Schools work expanded, with deepening commitment from those early partners, and inspired by a grassroots push from members of the Delaware State Education Association. DSEA earned a National Education Association grant to form Compassionate Connections and to launch a three-year pilot program in five schools.

Compassionate Connections, again, involves all of the original Compassionate Schools partners, including Casey – and also:

  • Children and Families First,
  •  the Office of the Child Advocate,
  • the Parents Advisory Council for Education,
  • the Red Clay and Christina School Districts,
  • the Wilmington Advisory Council,
  • the Family Services Cabinet Council’s ACEs Subcommittee,
  • the ACLU,
  • the Rodel Foundation,
  • and the Department of Services for Children, Youth, and their Families – aka, Secretary Manning’s “Kids Department.”

In addition to that collaboration, many schools apply the new Opportunity Grants toward trauma-informed work. A shoutout, too, to Wilmington University, which now offers a certificate in Trauma Informed Approaches, as a complement to degrees in six different majors.

This isn’t touchy-feely stuff; as we now know, this is brain science and biology – with implications for every family, school, work place, and neighborhood.

Good things are happening, like the collaboration I am proud to introduce as our inaugural First Chance Program – our state task force on childhood hunger. I want to thank Charlotte McGarry, from the Food Bank of Delaware; Ray Fitzgerald, Director of Social Services at DHSS; and Aimee Beam, from the Department of Education – as well as the task force’s partners, which include:

  • the Harry K Foundation,
  • Secretary Bunting, superintendents, principals, and members of the Delaware School Nutrition Association,
  • the Department of Agriculture and Delaware farmers,
  • all of our Summer Food Service and after-school partners,
  • and the regional office of the USDA.

If we’re going to give kids a First Chance to succeed, what better place to start, than fighting childhood hunger.

It doesn’t take a lot of data to figure it out – have you ever been at your best when you were hungry? I’ve had the misfortune, on occasion, to be with our Governor when he’s hungry – it’s not something you want to see.

Our task force on childhood hunger has set specific goals to:

  • increase participation in school breakfast,
  • improve our effectiveness in serving summer meals,
  • expand opportunities for after-school meals and snacks,
  • and, with the help of the Harry K Foundation, to make sure that every school with a basic needs closet, also has a food pantry.

The goals of the task force are aggregate; not one for the Food Bank, one for DHSS, and one for DOE, not one for philanthropy and one for reimbursable programs.

We have shared goals – because we have shared goals, and a common interest in achieving them – again, whether you look at it from an economic, quality of life, or moral point of view.

In building a statewide culture of commitment to children – as we review budgets, policies, and programs – let’s ask what each of us can do, what each of our agencies, businesses, and funding sources can do, to break down silos in support of shared goals, to engage in creative, common-sense collaborations, to give kids a First Chance to succeed.

I am privileged to have the opportunity to invest the convening power and platform of the First Lady’s role toward the First Chance Initiative.


Delawareans can learn more about First Lady Tracey Quillen Carney’s “First Chance Delaware” initiative, and sign up to help, at de.gov/firstchance.


Governor Carney’s Statement on Diamond State Port Corporation Board Approval of Gulftainer Agreement

WILMINGTON, Del. – Governor John Carney on Friday issued the following statement on the Diamond State Port Corporation Board of Directors vote to approve an agreement with Gulftainer Group to expand the Port of Wilmington:

“Thank you to members of the Diamond State Port Corporation Board for their vote on Friday to approve this agreement with Gulftainer to expand the Port of Wilmington. We believe this agreement will protect and expand access to good-paying, blue-collar jobs at the Port, and will result in significant new investment in one of Delaware’s most important employment centers. Members of the General Assembly still must approve the agreement for it to take effect, and I look forward to continued discussions with legislators. As we all know, the Port of Wilmington has long been a center of good-paying jobs that stabilize families and the neighborhoods where they live. Creating even more of those jobs is central to Delaware’s economic success.”

Governor Carney last week announced the preliminary agreement with Gulftainer to lease the Port of Wilmington from the State, construct a new container shipping facility on the Delaware River, and significantly expand jobs at the Port over the next decade. Under terms of the preliminary agreement, Gulftainer’s subsidiary GT USA would make annual royalty payments to the State of Delaware reaching an estimated $13 million over the next decade. The company also would agree to invest more than $580 million in the port over the next nine years, including approximately $410 million for a new container facility at DuPont’s former Edgemoor site, which was acquired by the Diamond State Port Corporation in 2016.

The agreement still must be approved by members of the General Assembly.

Related news:
Governor Carney Announces Preliminary Agreement with Gulftainer to Expand Port of Wilmington


Governor Carney, First Lady, Casey Family Programs Announce “First Chance Delaware”

New initiative promotes culture of commitment to Delaware children through cross-sector partnerships

WILMINGTON, Del. – Joined by members of his Cabinet, representatives from Casey Family Programs and child advocates, Governor John Carney joined First Lady Tracey Quillen Carney on Thursday to announce First Chance Delaware – an initiative led by the First Lady to recognize and facilitate effective partnerships, to share research and best practices, and to promote opportunities to collaborate in support of Delaware’s children.

Casey Family Programs provided the founding grant for First Chance Delaware, and will continue to provide technical and operational support through Casey’s First Spouse Initiative program.

Delawareans can learn more about First Lady Tracey Quillen Carney’s “First Chance Delaware” initiative, and sign up to help, at de.gov/firstchance.

“First Chance is not a new program. It is a framework, in coordination with the Family Services Cabinet Council, to promote a statewide culture of commitment to Delaware’s children,” said First Lady Tracey Quillen Carney. “In advancing that culture, we recognize our shared interest, as well as our shared moral obligation, to give all children an opportunity to realize their potential – in learning, work, and citizenship. We also recognize that, working in isolation, not even the most well intentioned – or even the most well-funded – organizations or individuals can address the obstacles to success that too many of our children confront in the 21st Century. The challenges are intertwined; each deepens the others, in a geometric – and often generational – erosion of opportunity. So to be effective, the efforts to alleviate those challenges must be coordinated and mutually reinforcing. Everyone concerned with Delaware’s future needs to be involved.”

First Chance Delaware will focus its work on:

  • Ending childhood hunger and expanding access to nutritious food for low-income children;
  • Promoting learning readiness through literacy, health and parent-child engagement programs; and
  • Advancing the recognition of – and effective responses to – adverse childhood experiences.

“First Chance Delaware encourages partners from across government, the nonprofit sector, and private business to work together on behalf of Delaware’s children,” said Governor Carney. “This initiative is already helping to confront childhood hunger across our state, and will bring partners together to take on challenges surrounding trauma, learning readiness, and childhood literacy. Thank you to Tracey for her leadership, and we look forward to bringing more voices and resources to the table with the goal of finding solutions to critical issues facing Delaware’s children.”

The statewide Task Force to End Childhood Hunger is the first model partnership to be recognized as a First Chance Delaware program.

“Making sure our children and families have the tools they need to thrive and be successful is vital,” said Lieutenant Governor Bethany Hall-Long. “The partnerships created by First Chance Delaware will help us identify gaps so that we can assist and provide for our children in so many areas. I look forward to working with Governor Carney and First Lady Tracey Quillen Carney, as well as the Family Services Cabinet Council, to help make our children and families stronger and healthier.”

“As a member of the Governor’s Family Services Cabinet Council, I have seen firsthand the Governor’s commitment to improving the lives of Delaware’s children and families; however, state government alone cannot address all of the needs of Delawareans, which is why we are all very grateful to First Lady Tracey Quillen Carney for creating First Chance Delaware,” said Josette Manning, Secretary of Department of Services for Children, Youth and their Families. “First Chance Delaware will break down the barriers between state agencies and all other individuals and organizations to encourage collaboration and creative solutions to some of the most complex issues facing our children and families.”

Related News
Summer Food Service Program Provides Nutritious Meals for Needy Children
First Lady Tracey Quillen Carney Attends Learning Lab on State Strategies to Reduce Childhood Hunger

Related Background Information
The statewide Task Force to End Childhood Hunger, with a central team convened by the First Lady, includes representatives from the Food Bank of Delaware, the Department of Education, and the Department of Health and Social Services. This task force’s specific goals include increasing participation and building partnerships in support of the Summer Food Service Program and alternative model school breakfasts. The task force also seeks to promote awareness of all programs, public and private, available to Delawareans experiencing food insecurity. Other task force partners include the Harry K Foundation; superintendents, principals, and members of the Delaware School Nutrition Association; the Department of Agriculture and Delaware farmers; Summer Food Service Program sponsors and partners; and the regional office of the USDA.


Governor Carney Urges U.S. EPA to Reconsider Rollback of Vehicle Emission Standards

Rollback is detrimental to Delaware’s environment, economy and public health, Governor says

WILMINGTON, Del. – Governor John Carney on Wednesday urged the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to reconsider the agency’s planned revision of Light Duty Vehicle Standards for auto emissions because of adverse environmental, economic and health impacts for Delaware.

EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt announced Monday his intention to roll back Light Duty Vehicle Standards, which in conjunction with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) fuel economy standards, require automakers to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and improve the fuel economy of cars and pickup trucks. As currently drafted, these regulations create fuel savings for drivers, promote a healthier environment, reduce dependence on imported oil, and also have led to a greater selection of clean-energy vehicle technologies for Delawareans to choose from.

“In Delaware, almost 30 percent of greenhouse gas emissions come from the transportation sector, and the reduction of emissions in this sector has become an important strategy for the state to mitigate the effects of climate change and to improve air quality,” said Governor Carney. “I am urging the Trump administration to reconsider their plan to roll back the Light Duty Vehicle regulations. Taking this action will be detrimental to the public’s health and quality of life, especially vulnerable populations such as children and the elderly.”

California has a Clean Air Act waiver from EPA that allows it to set more stringent emissions standards. Delaware, along with 12 other states and the District of Columbia, has adopted the California standards for helping to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve air quality, and mitigate the effects of climate change. The California waiver is being reexamined by EPA for possible elimination. Governor Carney said Delaware supports the continuation of the California waiver under the Clean Air Act.

“Greenhouse gas emissions are not only detrimental to public health, but they also speed up climate change impacts including sea level rise. Since Delaware is the lowest lying State, the effects of climate change and sea level rise will also negatively affect Delaware’s economy and the tourism industry,” said Shawn Garvin, Secretary of the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control. “However, despite EPA’s plan to revise light duty vehicle standards, the State will continue to manage programs and create policies that help with transportation innovation and further reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.”

DNREC’s Division of Energy & Climate and Coastal Programs manages the state’s Clean Transportation Incentive Program, which provides rebates for electric and other clean vehicles. Since the start of this program in 2015, over 660 Delawareans and Delaware businesses have received rebates for electric vehicles, which reduce CO2 emissions in the state by approximately 2,000 tons annually.

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Governor Carney Announces Preliminary Agreement with Gulftainer to Expand Port of Wilmington

Terms of the agreement must be approved by Diamond State Port Corporation Board and the Delaware General Assembly

WILMINGTON, Del. – Governor John Carney and Secretary of State Jeffrey Bullock on Thursday announced that the State of Delaware has reached a preliminary agreement with the Gulftainer Group to lease the Port of Wilmington from the State, construct a new container shipping facility on the Delaware River, and significantly expand jobs at the Port over the next decade.

The Gulftainer Group is the largest independent, privately-owned port operator in the world. The company currently operates 15 ports and logistics facilities across four continents, including North America. Gulftainer has operated the Port of Canaveral, Fla. for nearly four years, establishing the Canaveral Cargo Terminal as a significant new port gateway. The introduction of new container and containerized cargo services at Canaveral contributed to an increase in cargo volume of more than 150% in 2017.

“The Port of Wilmington has long been a center of good-paying jobs in Delaware that stabilize families and the neighborhoods where they live,” said Governor Carney. “Creating more of those jobs is central to the economic success of our state, and the preliminary agreement we have on the table holds the promise of significant new investment at the Port that will expand job opportunities for years to come.”

Under terms of the preliminary agreement, Gulftainer’s subsidiary GT USA would make annual royalty payments to the State of Delaware reaching an estimated $13 million over the next decade. The company also would agree to invest more than $580 million in the port over the next nine years, including approximately $410 million for a new container facility at DuPont’s former Edgemoor site, which was acquired by the Diamond State Port Corporation in 2016.

GT USA would also establish a training facility at the Edgemoor site for jobs in the ports and logistics industries, with a goal of training 1,000 aspiring workers each year for high-quality jobs in Wilmington and beyond.

“Delaware has a unique opportunity to partner with an operator that can transition our port into a significant economic driver for the state,” said Secretary of State Bullock, Chairman of the Diamond State Port Corporation. “A proposal like this does not come along very often, and Delaware should take advantage of it.”

The Board of Directors of the Diamond State Port Corporation (DSPC), the public entity that owns and operates the Port of Wilmington, must approve terms of the agreement. Members of the Delaware General Assembly also must approve the agreement. The Board is scheduled to consider the agreement on April 6. If the Board consents to the terms, the agreement would be presented to the Joint Committee on Capital Improvement of the General Assembly, as required by Delaware law.

“We see enormous opportunity at the Port of Wilmington and are gratified by the support for GT’s plans from Delaware unions, business, and broader community,” said Gulftainer CEO Peter Richards. “We want to restore the Port as an important national cargo gateway, doubling cargoes, doubling revenue to the State, investing hundreds of millions of dollars and adding thousands of workers over the next decade. We see only upside in the US and the Port of Wilmington is poised to become one of the biggest success stories in the US ports and logistics sector.”

Under terms of the agreement:

  •  GT USA would lease the Port of Wilmington for a term of 50 years.
  • The company would make royalty payments to the State of Delaware according to the volume of cargo that passes through the port.
  • Annual royalty payments would be expected to grow from approximately $6 million in 2018 to $13 million by 2027.
  • GT USA would agree to invest more than $580 million in the port through 2027, including approximately $410 million for a new container facility at the Edgemoor site.
  • Construction at the Edgemoor site would begin by 2022.
  • GT USA would guarantee that the number of jobs held at the port by members of the International Longshoremen’s Association would not fall below current levels.

“I have been pleased with the tremendous amount of effort and work that has gone into finding a port operator that will be the best fit for Delaware,” said Representative Quinn Johnson, co-chair of the Joint Committee on Capital Improvement and a member of the DSPC Board of Directors. “The port is a tremendous asset to the entire state and has a tremendous amount of economic potential. It is clear that the time has come for a solid public/private partnership that will make the necessary investments to grow port activity and increase the number of jobs the port supports throughout Delaware.”

“All of us are focused on seeing the state’s investment in Edgemoor pay off,” said Senator David Sokola, co-chair of the Joint Committee on Capital Improvement and a member of the DSPC Board of Directors. “The former DuPont site is the right location – with pre-existing rail and highway links in one of the nation’s most strategic areas – and Gulftainer may turn out to be just the right investor to transform it into a global shipping destination and a major asset for Delaware’s economy. I hope to review a finalized proposal in our board meeting next week and, if it is the right deal for Delaware, I look forward to supporting the plan in the Senate.”

“This could be a big win for Delaware and a significant boost to our economy. I’m very supportive and we should do whatever we can to try to get this deal done,” said Senator Colin Bonini, the senior Republican member of the Joint Committee on Capital Improvement. “The Governor and his team deserve a lot of credit for persevering on this and I really hope we can get this done soon.”

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