DNREC’s Division of Parks & Recreation holds second annual Delaware Capital Campout at three state parks

Dramatic increase in number of participants from first event held year ago

WILMINGTON – Governor Jack Markell, DNREC Secretary David Small and Deputy Secretary Kara Coats, and Delaware State Parks Director Ray Bivens welcomed more than 100 first-time campers to the second annual Delaware Capital Campout being held simultaneously at Bellevue State Park, Killens Pond State Park and Cape Henlopen State Park. The two-day, free-of-charge campout introduces young people and their families to the benefits and fun of being outside.

“This two-day campout offers new ways to enjoy Delaware’s great outdoors,” Gov. Markell said. “Our goal is to encourage appreciation of the environment and get families into nature. During this campout, children and their families can learn how to fish, set up a tent, and observe wildlife – just some of the benefits and fun for visitors to the state parks that are rated the best in the nation.”

Over two days, young people and their families will participate in all kinds of activities from learning how to set up a tent and build a campfire, to hiking, fishing and canoeing. Three state parks are serving as “host partners” for the event, which is sponsored by Coleman and the Boys and Girls Club of Delaware. Walmart and Chick-fil-A are contributing food to the events.

“The Capital Campout has been a huge success,” said DNREC Secretary Small. “The number of new campers has increased dramatically, from 27 participants last year to 108 this year, so we were delighted to expand the program from one park to three. This is a great way for children and families to explore outdoor recreation opportunities, to have fun and learn about nature. Enjoying our parks, trails and other amenities can help people stay active and healthy and create an appreciation for special outdoor places to help new generations be wise stewards of our natural resources.”

The Delaware Capital Campout is part of a national effort to get young people and their families, who may not usually experience the outdoors, outside and enjoying the activities parks have to offer. The campouts are part of the National Wildlife Federation’s Great American Campout.

Contact: Beth Shockley, DNREC Public Affairs, 302-739-9902

Vol. 46, No. 230


Open Houses Honor 20th Anniversary of Delaware’s Family Visitation Program

Open Houses Honor 20th Anniversary of Delaware’s Family Visitation Program

NEWS FROM THE DELAWARE DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND SOCIAL SERVICES

NEW CASTLE – Delaware’s Family Visitation Centers Program, which provides safe visitation and monitored child exchanges for hundreds of families that may not otherwise have access to their children, is marking its 20th anniversary this year with open houses in Milford and Newark.

The Department of Health and Social Services and its Division of State Service Centers, including key Family Visitation program partners Child Inc. and People’s Place, are joining members of the Domestic Violence Coordinating Council (DVCC), Delaware Coalition Against Domestic Violence (DCADV), legislators, courts, policy-level officials and other community leaders in marking 20 years of the Family Visitation Program in Delaware. This anniversary is being marked with two Family Visitation Program open houses during the month of October, which is also National Domestic Violence Awareness Month. National Domestic Awareness Month reaffirms and recommits the nation’s dedication to building communities where no one suffers the hurt and hardship that domestic violence causes, while upholding the basic human right to be free from violence and abuse.

Family Visitation Program provides a safe, structured, and nurturing environment where children can maintain or re-establish a relationship with a non-custodial parent, and helps to keep children, adult victims and other parties, in cases of intimate partner violence, safe during exchanges and visitation. During Fiscal Year 2015, 277 families were served statewide, with the state’s five Family Visitation Centers facilitating 1,382 monitored exchanges, 1,550 individual supervised visits, and 1,315 group supervised visits.

The first open house, hosted by People’s Place, was held Oct. 23 at the Milford Family Visitation Center at the Milford State Service Center, 13 S.W. Front St. The second, which will include remarks from Department of Health and Social Services Secretary Rita Landgraf and Senate President Pro Tempore Patricia Blevins will be held from 9:30-11:30 a.m. Oct. 26 at the Newark Family Visitation Center at the Hudson State Service Center, 501 Ogletown Road. Newark. That event will hosted by CHILD, Inc.

The Family Visitation program was established in 1995 due to concerns about an increasing number of deaths related to domestic violence in Delaware and related crimes. In 1992, there were 11 homicides connected to domestic violence, 372 domestic violence-related rapes and sexual assaults, and 7,955 domestic violence assaults. Two of the murders occurred while parents were meeting to exchange their children for visitation. In 1993, Sen. Blevins attended a national conference where she learned about family visitation and exchange programs. She brought back to Delaware the idea to establish a task force, including leaders from domestic violence advocacy programs, the Department of Health and Social Services, the Domestic Violence Coordinating Council and the Family Court.

“For 20 years, Delaware has helped to provide a safe visitation process for children and their parents, and a secure way for the exchange of children to be made,” Sen. Blevins said. “It is a difficult and challenging time for families when parents decide to separate or divorce, especially when domestic violence is involved. The Family Visitation Program offers that added measure of structure and security to help many Delaware families move forward safely.”

In 1995, with funding through the Criminal Justice Council, and additional funding from the Department of Services for Children, Youth and their Families, the Department of Health and Social Services opened two visitation centers for Delaware families. These Family Visitation Centers were created to keep victims of intimate partner violence and their children safe during visitation and exchange. In partnership with CHILD, Inc. and People’s Place, these important services were made available by both agencies and housed at the Hudson State Service Center in Newark and Milford State Service Center respectively.

Today, there are five Family Visitation Centers – two in New Castle, two in Kent County and one in Sussex. All sites are accessible to public transportation and are open evenings, weekends, and holidays. Fees for services are determined by income and are as low as $4. The supervised visits between children and their custodial/non-custodial parents are conducted based on the parameters designated by a court order.

Parents that mutually agree to use the center’s services can contact a center directly or be referred by social services, attorneys, victim services or other agencies. Family Visitation Centers do not make recommendations about changes in custody or the appropriateness of changing visitation arrangements. Trained staff members supervise each visit and remain neutral at all times to facilitate visitation. Safety measures that exist in Delaware’s Family Visitation Centers include separate and distinct entrances and parking areas for each parent, staggered arrival and departure times, security camera monitoring, experienced security guards, professionally trained staff, and access to interpretation services for participants who do not speak English or who are deaf or hearing-impaired. Families have confidentiality.

“The Family Visitation Centers are about meeting communities where they are, and making sure that all family members are safe during difficult times, especially the children,” DHSS Secretary Rita Landgraf said. “When visitation or exchanges are arranged, children need to know that it can be done without further disruption to their lives. That’s why I am proud for 20 years that staff members at the Family Visitation Centers have helped to keep families physically and emotionally safe during those critical visitations and exchanges.”

In response to a growing need to increase the state’s capacity in this area, DHSS’ Division of State Service Centers, in collaboration with CHILD, Inc., applied for and was awarded a U.S. Department of Justice Office on Violence Against Women (OVW) Safe Havens Supervised Visitation and Safe Exchange Grant Program Grant. The grant’s goal is to establish a sixth Family Visitation Center in the Middletown/Odessa/Townsend area using the principles of the Safe Havens Program. The goal of the Safe Haven Visitation Center will be to increase children’s physical and emotional safety, while facilitating visitation and exchanges, and providing for the safety of adult victims and other parties in cases of domestic violence.

Funding for the operation of Delaware’s Family Visitation Program is provided by the General Assembly and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families, Office of Child Support Enforcement, Grants to States Access and Visitation Program.

For more information about the Family Visitation Centers, referrals, and/or appointments, please call:
New Castle County
CHILD, Inc.: (302) 283-7518
Kent and Sussex Counties
Turning Point at People’s Place II, Inc.: (302) 424-2420

For more information, contact Jill Fredel, Director of Communications, (302) 255-9047 (office) or (302) 357-7498 (cell).

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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.


Governor’s Weekly Message: Increasing Funding Support to Address Addiction Epidemic

Wilmington – In his weekly message, Governor Markell discusses how state and federal funding will support ongoing efforts to address the addiction epidemic in Delaware.

“Earlier this month, I announced priorities for $4 million in new state resources to fight the addiction epidemic,” said Governor Markell. “This past week, I joined Director Michael Botticelli of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy for another announcement. Both announcements will provide support to Delawareans and their families impacted by addiction. We must convince people in the throes of this disease that treatment is available, that it works, and that they can recover – and that will 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:

YouTube: youtu.be/wV_rTR7Zp7w
Delaware.Gov: governor.delaware.gov/podcast_video.shtml
By email: Please contact our press team to subscribe to our press list
Facebook: www.facebook.com/governormarkell
Twitter: www.twitter.com/governormarkell

Transcript of the Governor’s Weekly Message: Increasing Funding Support to Address Addiction Epidemic


292 Delaware State Employees and their Family Members Show Artwork

The National Art ProgramClose to three hundred talented Delaware state employees and their family members registered to exhibit works of art for the National Arts Program®: Delaware State Employee Exhibition and Contest IV. This year’s exhibit will be held from February 23 – March 14, 2015 at the Art Center/Gallery at Delaware State University in Dover. The Gallery is open weekdays from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and Saturdays (2/28/15 and 3/7/15) from 12:00 to 4:00 p.m.

Sponsored by The National Arts Program® in support and cooperation with the State of Delaware and the Delaware Division of the Arts, the exhibit features up to 300 artworks in a variety of media – from sculpture to crafts, photography and painting – from state employees and their immediate families, and is judged by professional artists and visual art professionals in Amateur, Intermediate, Professional, Teen and Youth classifications.

In addition to professional judging, there will be a “People’s Choice Award.” Photos of all work will be posted on the Division’s Flickr and Facebook pages by February 27th. Anyone can vote for their favorites after February 27 on Facebook using the “like” button. The People’s Choice Award winner will be announced at the exhibit’s closing reception and awards ceremony on March 14, 1-3 p.m.

The Delaware Division of the Arts is proud to be the local sponsor of The National Arts Program®, an organization established in 1982 to identify, showcase, and reward the visual artistic talent in America. The National Arts Program® currently sponsors 82 annual exhibitions in 38 states annually and produces around 15,000 pieces of visual art each year.


Biden’s office secures murder indictments for Paladin Club shooting deaths

Wilmington – Attorney General Beau Biden today announced the indictments of two New Castle County men for the September, 2013 shooting deaths of a couple at the Paladin Club apartments.

“I want to recognize my staff and the New Castle County Police Department for their dogged pursuit of evidence in this very complex and time-consuming investigation,” Biden said. “Their extremely hard work and perseverance over the past year led to multiple arrests and today’s indictments. Even as we proceed with these prosecutions, I remind the public that the investigation into these senseless killings remains active and ongoing.”

Earlier today, Biden’s office secured murder indictments from the New Castle County Grand Jury against 31 year-old Christopher Rivers and 23 year-old Dominique Benson, who were each charged earlier this month with the early morning September, 22 2013 shooting that killed Joseph Connell and his wife Olga Connell, both 39 years of age, outside their residence.

Rivers has been indicted on:
• Two counts of First Degree Murder
• Two counts of Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony
• One count of Conspiracy 1st Degree
• One Count of Criminal Solicitation 1st Degree

Benson has been indicted on:
• Two counts of First Degree Murder
• Two counts of Possession of a Firearm During the Commission of a Felony
• One count of Conspiracy 1st Degree

Rivers has been held without bail since his September 3 arrest. Benson has been held without bail since his September 5 arrest.

New Castle County Police Chief, Colonel Elmer Setting said today: “The collaborative effort brought forth by our Criminal Investigations Unit and the Delaware Attorney General’s Office displays their hard work and dedication in bringing those responsible to justice. This is another example that these cases are never forgotten and the County Police remain relentless in pursuing those who commit these crimes. With each arrest, we hope that the family, friends, loved ones and communities impacted by these senseless acts can begin to have some closure.”

The Delaware Department of Justice reminds the public that an indictment is merely an allegation and is not evidence of guilt. Defendants are presumed innocent and are entitled to a jury trial at which the State bears the burden of proving each charge beyond a reasonable doubt.

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