WILMINGTON – We are saddened by and angry about what happened at the New Castle County Courthouse this morning.  This is an active case, so although the Governor and I have both received regular briefings on the investigation, I will defer any comments on that to our law enforcement personnel.

I have spoken to both Capitol Police officers who were injured by gunfire today, and both of them are doing well.  I had a chance to check on one officer in person, along with his family, down at Christiana Hospital earlier today.  The other officer had already been released but I spoke to him on the phone.  The Governor has spoken to both officers by phone.  We are very grateful to them for their actions today.

And our thoughts, of course, are with the families of the victims who did not survive this senseless act of violence.

DOVER, Del., (February 6, 2013) – Today, Lieutenant Governor Matt Denn will visit Evelyn I. Morris Early Childhood Center in the Milford School District to present them with their banner for being a 2012 winner of the state’s Reward, Recognition and Distinguished Title I Schools and Schools of Continued Excellence Awards. Morris ECC is a Recognition School and a Title I Distinguished school awardee.

Evelyn I. Morris Early Childhood Center, along with John M. Clayton Elementary School in Frankford, were been selected as 2012 National Title I Distinguished Schools. Both schools were honored during the 2013 National Title I Conference in Nashville, TN, which was held January 21 -24, 2013. The conference attracted more than 3,000 Title I professionals from across the country who gathered to honor these schools as well as to share best practices and learn about innovative education programs.

Evelyn I. Morris Early Childhood Center was selected for its outstanding performance in closing the achievement gap between student groups. Lt. Governor Denn will be joined by Principal Elizabeth Conaway and representatives from the Delaware Department of Education.

These awards, created by legislation spearheaded by the Lt. Governor and passed by the Delaware General Assembly in 2009, formerly were called Academic Achievement Awards and annually gave five public schools $150,000 each for significantly closing the achievement gap and/or exceeding adequate yearly progress on state tests for two or more consecutive years.

This year, because of the state’s federal Race to the Top funding and the U.S. Department of Education’s approval of a new state school accountability system for Delaware, the Delaware Department of Education was able to expand the number of schools recognized from five to 19, in four categories.  A majority of the program is aligned with the former Academic Achievement Award program. The continuation of that program as provided by the RTTT grant funding.  The RTTT grant provides funding for this through 2014.

Morris ECC, along with most of the other schools, received $50,000.  As in years past, each school will appoint a committee (with administration, teacher, support staff and parent representation) to determine how the award will be used. Winners were selected based on 2011-12 data.

Background: Based on a combination of academic achievement of their students and the creative and innovative programs that contribute to their success, sixty-seven schools nationwide have been selected by their individual states as National Title I Distinguished Schools this year. They join hundreds of other distinguished schools making a difference for our nation’s Title I children. These schools demonstrate a wide array of strengths, including team approaches to teaching and learning, focused professional development opportunities for staff, individualized programs for student success and strong partnerships between the school, parents and the community. What makes National Title I Distinguished Schools’ stories especially powerful are the documented student achievement gains that have resulted from their innovations.

Title I is the largest federally funded, pre-collegiate education program in the country, providing more than $17 billion in federal aid to schools and districts serving students in poverty. The goal of Title I is to ensure that all children, especially those living in economically disadvantaged conditions, have the opportunity to receive a high quality education. Schools selected for national recognition must have a poverty rate of at least 35 percent for the selected year and have met or exceeded state standards for making adequate yearly progress for two or more consecutive years.

The National Title I Association has been selecting examples of superior Title I school programs for national recognition through the National Title I Distinguished Schools program since 1996. It is sponsored by the National Title I Association. To learn more about all National Title I Distinguished Schools and the other programs of the National Title I Association visit http://www.titlei.org/.

2:15 – 3:15pm    Evelyn I. Morris Early Childhood Center
8609 Third Street
Lincoln, DE 19960

Lt. Governor Denn to Head Effort, First Meeting Scheduled for February 8

DOVER – Governor Jack Markell announced this week that he has asked Lieutenant Governor Matt Denn to head the state’s new Workers’ Compensation Task Force created by HJR3, established by the General Assembly and Governor to address the 26% increase in average workers compensation rates over the last two years.

The Governor and General Assembly have also appointed a number of other task force members.  In all, 20 persons will serve on the task force.

Lieutenant Governor Denn, who worked with the General Assembly in 2006 and 2007 to enact workers compensation reforms that cut rates by over 40%, expressed confidence that the task force would be able to make recommendations that would stem the recent increase in rates.  “We know this problem can be addressed because we did it six years ago,” Denn said.  “The reforms we enacted worked.  We need to find out what changed during the last two years and fix it.”

Denn said that the task force would hold its first meeting at 9:00 a.m. on February 8, 2013, and that meetings would continue through early May.  All of the meetings will be open to the public, provide an opportunity for public comment, and will be audio-recorded and posted on the Lieutenant Governor’s website.  Additionally, all documents reviewed by the task force will be posted on the Lieutenant Governor’s website.

“As the state’s Insurance Commissioner, Lt. Governor Denn played an integral role in drafting the 2007 update of Delaware’s workers’ compensation statute,” said Rich Heffron, Interim President and Sr. Vice President Government Affairs for the Delaware State Chamber of Commerce.  “His experience and expertise will serve him well as the Chair of the Workers Compensation Task Force. I look forward to working with him and the other members of the task force.”

Lt. Governor Denn is looking forward to working with all members of the task force including the 4 representatives of the General Assembly appointed to serve.

“We all know that workers’ compensation rates play an important part in Delaware’s ability to keep jobs and compete for new ones,” said Senate President Pro Tem Patricia Blevins (D-Elsmere).  “It’s important to Delaware’s competitive position to take a hard look at how these rates are set and see what we can do lower them.”

“I am happy to serve as a member of the Workers’ Compensation Task Force. Being an independent businessman for more than 40 years, I know that workers’ compensation is one of our most costly expenses,” said Sen. Gerald Hocker (R-Ocean View). “I would like to see lower rates and it is my hope we can find a solution that is business-friendly.”

Rep. Bryon Short, who sponsored the resolution creating the task force, said he hopes to build upon a similar workers’ compensation task force that succeeded in updating state law in 2007.  “The 2007 workers’ compensation review and changes have resulted in benefits for Delaware’s small business community while ensuring that employees continue to receive the coverage they need to recover from workplace injuries,” said Rep. Short (D-Highland Woods). “As co-chair of the House Small Business Caucus and a small business owner, I have been following the significant workers’ compensation rate increases – nearly 26 percent – over the last two years. I believe this is a critical time to reconstitute the task force to assess what was done right and where we can further improve Delaware’s worker’s compensation system.”

State Representative Ruth Briggs King (R-Georgetown) stated, “I am looking forward to serving on this committee and addressing some of the significant concerns facing small business owners in Delaware as another increase in workers’ compensation premiums takes effect.  Over the last several years, our small business men and women in this state have continually been hit hard by a sluggish economy and the latest rate increase only compounds the problem.  It is my hope that this task force will offer real solutions when it comes to controlling workers’ comp costs for the many struggling small business owners in Delaware.”

Friday, February 8, 2013
9:00am – 10:00am

Carvel State Office Building
820 N. French St.
Governor’s Conference Room, 12th Floor
Wilmington, DE 19801

Secretary Schiliro spoke about our effort to expedite the creation of school safety plans.  I wanted to give you a few details about some requests we are making of the General Assembly this year that are also relevant to student safety.  Threats by outsiders to our schools are a major concern, but in addition to that concern, there are other elements of student safety involving lower level harm and disruption caused by other students that we are also seeking to address.

Our teachers and professionals who work in our schools have told us that one of our real unmet needs is mental health services for children.  A lot of behavioral issues in our schools – some of them subtle and resulting in behaviors that disrupt the learning environment, some of them more severe and resulting in intimidation of or harm against other students – could be addressed by skilled mental health professionals if they were able to intervene early and effectively.  Ultimately, of course, this also impacts adult mental health – many adults who have serious mental health problems first start displaying symptoms before they turn 18.

So finding kids with mental health needs and getting them help is of paramount importance. Our wellness centers in our public high schools help keep an eye on our high school aged children.  In fact, the mental health services at our high school wellness centers are the most requested service from our high school students.  And we have over fifty family crisis therapists in our elementary schools.  But right now, only three of our state’s middle schools have full-time professionals responsible for monitoring the mental health needs of children at that critical age.  So this year we will be asking you to join us in making a historic change in school-based mental health services: a ten-fold increase in the number of trained, front-line mental health personnel in our state’s middle schools, going from three schools with these personnel to thirty.  Depending on their workload, some of these thirty individuals may be able to provide help in multiple schools.

Placing trained mental health professionals in our middle schools will have two positive effects. In the short term, children with mental health needs will have trained professionals on-site to provide some services and direct those children to the right outside services. In the long term, having these professionals will help Delaware build a better private network of mental health providers. Child mental health has been a tough area for Delaware to recruit private providers, in part because many children with mental health needs miss appointments, fail to take prescribed medications, and fail to stick with treatment plans. Professionals who know that Delaware is serious about supporting these kids – about having someone in the schools who will make sure that families are doing follow-up work at home – are more likely to set up shop here and treat kids.

Doing a better job of screening kids with mental health needs, whether it is in a middle school or a pediatrician’s office, will also create a demand for more private mental health services. So we are also asking you to fund two new initiatives to help address this demand. First, an initiative in our Medicaid and CHIP programs to pay for child psychiatrists to do telephone consultations with pediatricians and family doctors. This will allow pediatricians to directly prescribe follow-up services, including medication if necessary, without a child having to wait weeks or months for an appointment with a psychiatrist. And second, an investment in long-distance mental health services provided by Delaware-licensed psychologists and psychiatrists who are located out of state, using technology such as Skype. This is not a perfect solution to our shortage of in-state mental health professionals, but until we can bridge that gap, it will provide many children with direct contact with child psychologists and psychiatrists who otherwise would go without.

Taken together, these initiatives will mark an extraordinary improvement in our ability to detect children with mental health challenges, provide many of them with in-school services, and provide others with the high-level professional help that they need.

The Governor also mentioned during his State of the State speech that we will be asking you to make a new investment this year in after-school and summer programs for kids.  There is solid evidence now that these programs not only improve students’ academic performance, but also reduce depression, drug use, and juvenile delinquency, all of which affect school safety.  We are proposing a competitive grant process, where schools and non-profits will be able to submit grant proposals under a set of criteria established by the state.  It is just a start – we expect demand for these grants to far exceed supply – but it is an important start.

These efforts go hand in hand with the school safety initiative that Secretary Schiliro discussed and with the gun safety efforts that we have previously discussed, in trying to provide a safer environment for our kids in schools.  It is an incredibly important issue, and I am glad that the committee is devoting time to it today.

Participates in Program Collecting Sleeping Bags for Homeless Children

Speaks to 3rd Graders at South Dover Elementary School

DOVER, Del., (Tuesday, January 22, 2013) – On Wednesday, January 23rd, Lt. Governor Matt Denn will join volunteers at a “Reception for Giving” to highlight the first statewide Sleeping Bag Drive launched earlier this month. The reception and press conference will highlight the Sleeping Bag Drive’s first distribution and a broad commitment to aiding homeless children throughout Delaware. The groups are working in conjunction with the Delaware Office of Volunteerism to support the Governor’s Week of Service.

Newark High School’s Jefferson Awards’ Students in Action team, partnering with the Governor’s Advisory Council for Exceptional Citizens (GACEC) have led the Sleeping Bag Drive, teaming with a wide array of partners representing state agencies, schools, businesses and individuals – all of whom are donating funds or sleeping bags, hosting drop-off sites or aiding with collection. The Sleeping Bag Drive continues through February 28th.

Lt. Governor Matt Denn will join Homeless Education Liaisons and case workers from the Delaware Division of Family Services and students from Newark High School.

Lt. Governor Denn will then speak to the 3rd grade students at South Dover Elementary School about citizenship in government.  The Lt. Governor will speak and take questions from students.

Wednesday, January 23, 2013

10:00am                      Sleeping Bag Drive Reception

George V. Massey Station

516 West Loockerman Street

Dover

10:45 – 11:45am        Speaks to 3rd Grade Students

South Dover Elementary School

955 S. State Street

Dover