WILMINGTON, Del. – Governor John Carney on Wednesday announced Delaware was one of four states chosen by the National Governors Association to participate in a learning collaborative focused on recognizing and responding to adverse childhood experiences.

The State of Delaware will join teams from Pennsylvania, Virginia and Wyoming in the Improving Well-being and Success of Children and Families – Addressing Adverse Childhood Experiences Learning Collaborative through the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices. This initiative will provide Delaware with access to 10 months of technical assistance, engagement with trauma-informed mentor states and information about innovative and evidence-based policies and practices for responding to adverse childhood experiences.

Referred to as “ACEs”, adverse childhood experiences describe experiences in one’s home or community, which occur before the age of 18. ACEs include a range of events such as abuse and neglect, violence between household members, community violence, food insecurity and racism. Exposure to ACEs can cause prolonged stress impacting a child’s brain and nervous system development and negatively impact a person’s health and well-being across their lifetime. This learning collaborative will connect Delaware state agency leaders with national experts and provide opportunities to learn strategies to prevent and mitigate exposure to ACEs for children, their families and communities.

“When children experience trauma, we know it has the potential to impact their lives in a range of ways. That’s why we have made it a commitment in Delaware to take a look at the root causes of trauma and how we as a state help families cope with traumatic experiences,” said Governor John Carney. “The work of the Family Services Cabinet Council has aided our efforts and created a strong foundation for us to tackle this work. I thank the National Governors Association for recognizing our work and plans, and look forward to the being part of this important collaborative on adverse childhood experiences.”

The Governor’s commitment to trauma-informed practices, with the leadership of the Family Services Cabinet Council, provided a strong foundation for Delaware’s application to participate in the collaborative. In 2018, Governor Carney signed Executive Order 24, which launched efforts to make Delaware a trauma-informed state. The Family Services Cabinet Council has led this movement, developing training tools, creating action plans and finding ways to enhance services for children and families exposed to trauma.

For the Improving Well-being and Success of Children and Families – Addressing Adverse Childhood Experiences Learning Collaborative, Delaware’s application identified the following goals and objectives:

• Analyze and share robust Delaware ACEs data
• Develop a state-level dashboard for trauma-informed implementation and assessment across state agencies
• Implement a uniform initial training on ACEs, trauma and resilience for all state employees and offer additional training for those on the front line
• Expand work across state agencies and build a relationship between the public sector and private partners around addressing ACEs

“The term ‘resiliency’ isn’t a buzzword; in Delaware, it is the foundation of our work to help children and families live positive, productive and fulfilling lives. The Family Services Cabinet Council is taking a focused approach to lift up Delaware families and promote resiliency. That starts with embracing trauma-informed practices within our agencies and in our day-to-day work with families. Our participation in this National Governors Association initiative will help enhance planning and foster key strategies,” said Josette Manning, Secretary of the Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families. “We know that trauma can have life-long impacts on a child, and it’s on all of us to nurture and support interventions to allow children to thrive. I look forward to this important opportunity for Delaware.”

The Delaware team includes Aileen Fink (Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families), Loretto Collier (Division of Medicaid and Medical Assistance), Renee Beaman (Department of Health and Social Services), Trudy Mifflin (Department of Human Resources), Barbara Mccleary (Department of Human Resources), Teri Lawler (Department of Education), Kimberley Krzanowski (Department of Education), Louise Layton (Department of Correction), Marlena Gibson (Delaware State Housing Authority), Karryl Hubbard (Department of Labor), Lauren Vella (Department of Justice) and Jon Sheehan (Office of the Governor). The team is being supported by Social Contract.

To learn more about the Family Services Cabinet Council, click here.

Media Contact: Jen Rini, jen.rini@delaware.gov

 

Order will mitigate the impact of adverse childhood experiences, build resilience

WILMINGTON, Del. – Governor Carney on Wednesday signed Executive Order #24 making Delaware a trauma-informed state. This Order provides direction for the Family Services Cabinet Council to help mitigate the impact of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and build resilience in children, adults and communities.

ACEs can include physical, emotional, or sexual abuse; physical or emotional neglect; household dysfunction, including substance abuse, untreated mental illness, or incarceration of a household member; domestic violence; and separation/divorce involving household members.

“We have children and families in Delaware who are affected by trauma in their lives, and we need to do everything we can to support them,” said Governor John Carney. “Addressing these issues as a community will help Delaware become a stronger and healthier state. The Family Services Cabinet Council will remain vigilant about this issue and work with many partners across the state to create trauma-responsive communities.”

The Executive Order was motivated by the work of the Family Services Cabinet Council – a cabinet-level group reestablished by Governor Carney in February 2017 that coordinates public and private services for Delaware families. This Executive Order will direct the Family Services Cabinet Council to develop tools for training state employees and community partners on the impact of exposure to ACEs, to promote ACE awareness, and to improve services and interventions for children and families exposed to trauma.

The Family Services Cabinet Council will work to identify gaps in available services, or service capacity, along the prevention and early intervention-treatment continuum for children and their caregivers statewide. The members also are charged with developing a comprehensive plan focused on early intervention for children and their caregivers exposed to adverse childhood experiences in order to help prevent abuse and neglect, and remedy the impact of it.

First Lady Tracey Quillen Carney is also committed to creating an environment that gives Delaware children a chance to succeed, and was present for the signing.

“You know, the word ‘trauma’ sounds like bad news, but what we’ve learned about brain science, about the impacts of childhood experiences, is actually very good news – because now, we can do something about it,” said First Lady Tracey Quillen Carney. “We can act on what we know – to prevent and mitigate the effects of trauma, and to build on the strengths of every child, every family, and every community. Trauma-informed care is a pre-requisite, to any effective strength-based strategy.”

The Executive Order also will direct state agencies that provide services for children and adults to integrate trauma-informed best practices, including trauma-specific language in requests for proposals and in service contracts with the state, when appropriate.

“The executive order signed today by Governor Carney demonstrates his commitment to making Delaware a trauma informed state,” said Josette Manning, Secretary of the Delaware Department of Services for Children, Youth and their Families. “I, along with my fellow agency heads who serve on the Family Services Cabinet Council, welcome this opportunity to improve the quality of services we provide to all Delawareans. We know that many of the children and families in Delaware have experienced trauma and toxic stress in their lives. We also know, based on years of research, that exposure to toxic stress can actually impact a child’s brain development and has been linked to higher rates of physical, social and emotional issues in adulthood. By focusing, as a state, on minimizing trauma and by helping people who have experienced trauma build resilience, we will improve the physical, social and emotional health of our children and families.”

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