Wilmington, DE – In a guest weekly message, Department of Health and Social Services Secretary Rita Landgraf discusses the Markell Administration’s efforts to create employment opportunities for people of all abilities through initiatives like the Pathways to Employment program, and thanks employers who embrace the skills and talents of all of our people.

“Last week, Governor Markell and I joined young people with disabilities, their parents and advocates as we celebrated the success of Pathways to Employment. Pathways supports young people age 14 to 25 as they make their transition from school to the world of work,” Secretary Landgraf said. “As Governor Markell said last week, hiring people with disabilities isn’t about charity. It’s about maximizing everyone’s gifts and talents. That’s why you have our commitment to keep advancing employment opportunities for all individuals with disabilities as we keep Delaware moving forward.”

Every week, the Governor’s office releases a new Weekly Message in video, audio, and transcript form. The message is available on:

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Transcript of the Governor’s Weekly Message: Advancing Employment Opportunities for Individuals of All Abilities

Last week, Governor Markell and I joined young people with disabilities, their parents and advocates as we celebrated the success of Pathways to Employment. Pathways supports young people age 14 to 25 as they make their transition from school to the world of work.

Inspired by Governor Markell’s commitment to advancing employment opportunities for people of all abilities, the Department of Health and Social Services started Pathways about a year ago as the first program of its kind in the country. With financial support from our Medicaid program, we’re helping reduce the barriers to employment through such services as assistive technology, career exploration and personal care. We’re grateful for the strong support we’ve received from the Delaware Department of Labor’s Division for Vocational Rehabilitation and the Department of Education and, of course, from employers across our state who have recognized that their organizations are stronger when they embrace the skills and talents of all of our people.

Last week, we celebrated enrolling 248 young people in Pathways, including 21-year-old Jakai Walker. Jakai was hired in August by the Casino at Delaware Park to work in its Food and Beverage Department. Jakai’s mother said the kitchen is the one area he has loved since grade school. We know there are many more young people like Jakai who could benefit from the services of Pathways to Employment to fulfill their passions and reach their full potential.

To learn about eligibility, call 1-800-223-9074 or visit the DHSS website. As Governor Markell said last week, hiring people with disabilities isn’t about charity. It’s about maximizing everyone’s gifts and talents. That’s why you have our commitment to keep advancing employment opportunities for all individuals with disabilities as we keep Delaware moving forward.

DOVER, DE — School is in full swing but the official end of summer does not mean the end of mosquito season. Mosquitoes can breed and bite for another several weeks in Delaware. To prevent the spread of Zika and any mosquito-borne illness, the Division of Public Health (DPH) and Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) reminds you that stopping the mosquito bite is still the best protection against disease.

Delaware now has 15 Zika cases, including four not previously announced. All cases were caused by mosquito bites while traveling abroad. There is currently no evidence that local mosquitoes are transmitting the illness. All but one of the Delaware Zika cases are in adults and none are pregnant. One of the most recent cases is in an infant who got the illness while traveling abroad. All individuals have recovered well and are showing no long-term effects at this time. Of the 15 Delaware cases, nine are in New Castle County and three each are in Kent and Sussex counties.

It is possible that someone who is traveling abroad and gets bitten by a mosquito carrying Zika virus could bring the disease back to Delaware. A returning traveler carrying Zika could be bitten by a Delaware mosquito that picks up the virus, bites another person and transmits the disease as they feed on their blood. This is likely how Zika spread to south Florida and much of Latin America and the Caribbean. The mosquito of greatest concern in Delaware for possible local transmission of Zika is the Asian tiger mosquito, commonly found where people live, work, and play.

None of the 15 Delaware individuals confirmed with Zika could locally transmit the virus if bitten by a mosquito now. After about seven days of exposure, the virus clears from the blood so the individual can no longer transmit it to others through a mosquito bite. However, it is still possible for the adults to transmit the disease sexually, and DPH has instructed any provider treating a patient with a positive test on how to prevent sexual transmission.

“At Public Health, our biggest concern remains for pregnant women because we know that a fetus infected with Zika can have devastating consequences,” said DPH Director Dr. Karyl Rattay. “We are still telling pregnant women to avoid countries where Zika transmission is active and their sexual partners to be tested if they recently traveled to those areas. If the sexual partner has confirmed Zika, the couple should abstain from sex or use condoms and other barrier methods until the baby is born.”

Women who are trying to become pregnant and have been diagnosed with Zika virus or have symptoms of Zika, should wait at least eight weeks after symptoms first appeared before trying to conceive. Men who have been diagnosed with Zika virus or have symptoms are advised to wait at least six months after symptoms first appeared before having vaginal, oral, or anal unprotected sex.

To learn more about which countries have active Zika visit the CDC’s website here. Delaware Public Health and DNREC both provide fact sheets on the Zika virus, as found here.

“Most of us think that once the kids go back to school, we don’t need to worry about mosquito bites,” said DNREC Mosquito Control Administrator William Meredith. “But mosquitoes can continue to breed and bite until the first hard frost which can be as late as November. We still need to be vigilant in protecting against bites and reducing mosquito populations.”

To reduce the risk of mosquito bites, use Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) registered insect repellents; stay in places with air conditioning or that use window or door screens to keep mosquitoes outside; sleep under a mosquito bed net if you are outside and not able to protect yourself from mosquitoes; treat clothing and gear with permethrin available in pharmacies or purchase permethrin-treated items; and wear long-sleeved shirts and long pants. And, do not allow any standing water or puddles near your home.

To learn more about how to reduce mosquitoes around your home, two videos with information about Zika virus and backyard water sanitation tips also are available on DNREC’s YouTube Channel: Zika Virus, Mosquitoes and You, and Mosquito Control & Your Backyard.

To report intolerable numbers of biting mosquitoes and request local relief, residents are encouraged to call Mosquito Control’s field offices:
• Glasgow Office, 302-836-2555, serving New Castle County and the northern half of Kent County, including Dover
• Milford Office, 302-422-1512, serving the southern half of Kent County south of Dover and all of Sussex County
• For more information about Delaware’s Mosquito Control program, call the field offices or the main Dover office at 302-739-9917, or visit de.gov/mosquito.

Zika is a generally mild illness caused by a virus primarily transmitted through the bite of infected Aedes mosquitoes. About one in five people infected with the virus develop the disease, and most people who are infected do not develop symptoms. The most common symptoms of Zika virus infection are fever, rash, joint pain, and conjunctivitis (red eyes). However, while it is often mild, Zika has been linked to serious birth defects in infants whose mothers were infected during the pregnancy and rare but serious health complications in adults.

A person who is deaf, hard-of-hearing, deaf-blind or speech-disabled can call the DPH phone number above by using TTY services. Dial 7-1-1 or 800-232-5460 to type your conversation to a relay operator, who reads your conversation to a hearing person at DPH. The relay operator types the hearing person’s spoken words back to the TTY user. To learn more about TTY availability in Delaware, visit http://delawarerelay.com.

Delaware Health and Social Services is committed to improving the quality of the lives of Delaware’s citizens by promoting health and well-being, fostering self-sufficiency, and protecting vulnerable populations. DPH, a division of DHSS, urges Delawareans to make healthier choices with the 5-2-1 Almost None campaign: eat 5 or more fruits and vegetables each day, have no more than 2 hours of recreational screen time each day (includes TV, computer, gaming), get 1 or more hours of physical activity each day, and drink almost no sugary beverages.

Commissioner Stewart helps Baby Boomers and Gen Xers navigate empty nest reversal

 DOVER, DE — Nearly half of adults in their 40s and 50s have a parent age 65 or older and are either raising a young child or financially supporting an adult child.¹ These baby boomers and members of Generation X are feeling the pressure of empty nest reversal from boomerangs – adult children returning home to live – and live-in elders – seniors trading their current home for a loved one’s spare bedroom. In addition to negotiating cooking and cleaning responsibilities, Delaware Insurance Commissioner Karen Weldin Stewart encourages families to make sure everyone understands how a change in address might affect insurance needs.

“American households are experiencing a dramatic shift. Whether it’s aging parents moving in with their grown children or young adults moving back in with mom and dad — today’s households come in all shapes and sizes,” said Stewart. “As family dynamics evolve, the National Association of Insurance Commissioners and I urge consumers to understand the insurance implications of their unique living arrangements.”

Aging Relatives 

For seniors, moving in with an adult child can be uncomfortable. Before the first box is packed, parent and child need to talk about finances, including insurance.

Consider the following questions:

• Are you current on health, auto and life insurance premium payments?
• Are you covered by Medicare?
• Is long-term care insurance something we should look into?
• What are your end-of-life wishes?

This level of detail will help both parties decide what changes, if any, need to be made to existing coverage. Most importantly, seek to make your loved one feel cared about, not cared for. 

Boomerang Kids 

For the first time in more than 130 years, adults 18-34 years old are more likely to be living with their parents than in any other scenario — including living with a spouse or partner, other family or friends, or alone.² Experts say hosting an adult child can cost between $8,000 and $18,000 per year.³

Before welcoming an adult child back home, set clear expectations:

• How will health insurance be covered? Who will pay for what?
• Will we combine auto policies? How will driving records affect premiums?
• What belongings are you bringing? Will expensive items such as electronics or sporting equipment increase homeowner’s insurance premiums?

To avoid misunderstandings, the NAIC developed the Welcome Home contract. In addition to outlining basic rules of adult co-habitation, the document places under signature key insurance-related agreements between adult child and parent.

For insurance tips to help modern households of all shapes and sizes including baby boomers, same-sex couples, single parents, millennials and more, visit InsureUonline.org. Delawareans interested in state-specific insurance information can contact the Department of Insurance at 1-800-282-8611 or visit http://www.delawareinsurance.gov/.

Sources

¹ Pew Research Center

² Pew Research Center

³ The Wall Street Journal

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Commissioner Stewart Hails Director Kinion for Winning “Advocate of the Year” Honors

DOVER, DE –Insurance Commissioner Karen Weldin Stewart announced today that her captive insurance director, Steve Kinion, was recently selected as the 2016 Captive Insurance Industry Advocate of the Year.  Captive Review magazine recognized Kinion as its inaugural recipient for the award.  Over the past two years, Captive Review has also named Kinion as one of the top five influential people in captive insurance in the magazine’s annual Captive Power 50 rankings.

“When I brought Steve on board as my captive director in 2009, I knew that he had a unique set of skills to help me build and maintain a premier captive insurance program,” said Stewart. “Since then, captive insurance has provided tremendous value for Delaware.”

In August, the University of Delaware released an economic impact study which shows that the Department of Insurance’s captive insurance program contributes nearly $360 million to Delaware’s annual gross domestic product.  The study also found that the captive program directly and indirectly supports 2,537 Delaware jobs, creates almost $109 million in additional income, and generates over $5 million for the state in tax revenue. “I was glad to receive this third-party confirmation that our captive program is having a significant positive effect on Delaware’s economy,” said Stewart.

“I was also proud that captive insurance revenues provided the funding this year for programs that train Delaware’s future doctors and dentists,” Stewart added.  One of five states without an in-state medical or dental school, Delaware annually pays for 25 medical and 5 dental slots with medical and dental schools in Philadelphia so that state residents have the opportunity to become doctors and dentists and return to Delaware to establish their practices. Surplus revenue generated by the captive insurance program was used to fund the Delaware Institute for Medical Education and Research, known as DIMER, and the Delaware Institute for Dental Education and Research, or DIDER, which reserve positions for Delaware students at the Sidney Kimmel Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University, the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine, and the Temple University Kornberg School of Dentistry.

For more information about the Department’s Bureau of Captive & Financial Insurance Products, visit http://captive.delawareinsurance.gov/ or call 302.577.5281.

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