Nomination forms accepted through April 15

WILMINGTON, Del. – Governor John Carney on Wednesday announced the 2021 Compassionate Champion Award nomination form is now available. The Compassionate Champion Award recognizes individuals, organizations, and educational institutions across the state of Delaware providing trauma-informed services. The nomination period closes at 5:00 p.m. on April 15, 2021. Winners will be announced during Trauma Awareness Month on May 15, 2021. A recognition event will be announced at a later date.

Click here to access the nomination form.

“The pandemic has impacted everyone in one way or another, and Delawareans and organizations have supported their neighbors in need,” said Governor John Carney. “I encourage Delawareans and organizations across our state to submit nominations. We look forward to recognizing the important work of those who have served their fellow Delawareans with compassion and with a trauma-informed approach, especially over this past year.”

The Compassionate Champion Award highlights individuals or teams in government, non-profit and private organizations, first responder professions, educational institutions, healthcare professionals, families and caregivers, and other agencies that have taken steps toward providing services in a manner consistent with trauma-informed care.

The award categories include:

• Government – Agency, division, team, workgroup, or individuals of State of Delaware, county, or municipal governmental agencies/organizations.
• Community Organizations – Non-profit or for-profit organizations providing support services to individuals, families, and communities. For example, this category includes faith-based organizations, organizations serving individuals with disabilities, homeless services, veteran services, elderly, and crisis intervention.
• First Responders – Organizations such as fire, law enforcement, Victim Services and EMT.
• Education (P-20) – Universities, colleges, school districts, schools, early childhood centers, daycare centers, and other educational institutions.
• Family/Caregiver – A family member or family caregiver demonstrating exceptional trauma-informed care during an especially difficult year.
• Health Care – Includes agencies, providers, hospitals, or individuals providing trauma-informed care to service recipients.
• Other – Organizations that may not fit within the categories above.

Any individual, community partner, first responder, educational institution, state agency or other organization providing services to Delaware’s citizens within the State of Delaware is eligible for nomination. Applicants may nominate themselves or another individual or organization.

Click here to nominate yourself, an individual, or an organization by April 15 at 5:00 p.m.

In 2018, the Family Services Cabinet Council implemented Executive Order #24, which launched efforts to make Delaware a trauma-informed state. As part of this initiative, Delaware is committed to ensuring all environments that serve children and adults in the state are working to embody practices of trauma-informed care.

Trauma-informed care criteria should be in a manner consistent with the Delaware Developmental Framework for Trauma-Informed Care. The Framework was adapted from the Missouri Model of trauma-informed care and was produced in collaboration with the Family Services Cabinet Council ACEs Subcommittee and the Compassionate Connections Partnership.

Trauma-informed care includes:

• Creating respectful, sensitive, and culturally competent environments;
• Implementing evidence-based trauma-informed principles and practices that address the effects associated with trauma;
• Developing a common language and framework for dialogue and discussion to enhance communication and progress along the continuum of trauma-informed care; and
• Increasing the effectiveness and responsiveness of all services and assistance provided to Delawareans, especially children and adults who have experienced traumatic circumstances.

Click here for the list of 2020 Compassionate Champion Award winners and to watch the virtual award ceremony.

For more information on Trauma Awareness Month and Delaware’s activities, including the 2021 Compassionate Champion Award, please email fscc@delaware.gov.

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Compassionate Champion Award recognizes individuals, organizations providing trauma-informed services

WILMINGTON, Del. – Governor John Carney on Friday announced the recipients of the Compassionate Champion Award, the State of Delaware’s trauma-informed care recognition program that highlights outstanding achievement by individuals and organizations that provide trauma-informed services.

“We have many dedicated workers across the state who serve their fellow Delawareans, and who have been leaders and advocates in the trauma-informed approach,” said Governor Carney. “The Compassionate Champion Awards provide an opportunity to highlight the outstanding achievement by individuals and organizations that make our state stronger and healthier using the trauma-informed approach. We thank them for their compassion, leadership and commitment to our state and our citizens.”

Compassionate Champion Award Recipients:

Individual‌ ‌Champion

• First‌ ‌Responder/‌Medical: ‌ Dr. David Chen, Christiana Care, Hospital Violence Intervention Program
• Education: Kelley Lumpkin, LPCMH, Children & Families First Delaware

Emerging‌ ‌Champion‌ ‌

• Community: Project New Start, Inc.—Priscilla Turgon
• Community: Center for Child Development—Lisa Savage
• Education: ‌ The Bayard School – Victoir Cahoon

Compassionate‌ ‌Champion‌ ‌

• Community: Delaware Guidance Services—Shana Powell, Jill Rogers, Tiffany Jester
• Government: ‌ Delaware Department of Services for Children, Youth, and Their Families, Division of Youth Rehabilitative Services—Brandi Ciamarra, Dr. Linda Friedman, Dr. Jacqueline McMichael, Dr. Katharine Powers, Dr. Jamey Rislin, Dr. Simah Waddell, Tina Walls, Dr. Rebecca Richmond
• First Responder/Medical: ‌ Nemours, Center for Pediatric Traumatic Stress at A.I. duPont Hospital for Children – Anne Kazak, Melissa Alderfer, Meg Frizzola, Jennifer Pendley

The Compassionate Champion Award recognizes individuals or teams in government, non-profit and private organizations, first responder professions, education, and other agencies that have taken steps toward providing services in a manner consistent with trauma-informed care criteria in the Delaware Developmental Framework for Trauma Informed Care, a document that outlines best practices for trauma-informed care. The Framework was adapted from the Missouri Model of trauma-informed care, and was produced in collaboration by the Family Services Cabinet Council ACEs Subcommittee and the Compassionate Connections Partnership

Since 2018, the Family Services Cabinet Council has worked to implement Executive Order #24, which launched efforts to make Delaware a trauma-informed state. The Family Services Cabinet Council released in November 2019 a Trauma-Informed Care Progress Report and Action Plan for State of Delaware agencies. The plan serves as a progress report of each agency’s work to implement Executive Order #24, which tasked the Family Services Cabinet Council to lead efforts to make Delaware a trauma-informed state. The Family Services Cabinet Council is a cabinet-level group reestablished by Governor Carney in February 2017 to coordinate public and private services for Delaware families.

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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

Program recognizes individuals, organizations providing trauma-informed services

WILMINGTON, Del. – Governor John Carney on Monday announced nominations are now open for the Compassionate Champion Award, the State of Delaware’s trauma-informed care recognition program that highlights outstanding achievement by individuals and organizations that provide trauma-informed services. Nomination forms are available online until midnight on June 30, 2020.

View nomination form.

“We know that folks are experiencing trauma, and we need to continue doing everything we can to support children and families in Delaware,” said Governor Carney. “We have many dedicated workers across the state who serve their fellow Delawareans, and who have been leaders and advocates in the trauma-informed approach. We thank them for their compassion, leadership and commitment to our state and our citizens, and I look forward to again formally recognizing these efforts that help build a stronger and healthier state.”

View videos of 2019 Compassionate Champion Award winners.

The Compassionate Champion Award recognizes individuals or teams in government, non-profit and private organizations, first responder professions, education, and other agencies that have taken steps toward providing services in a manner consistent with trauma-informed care criteria in the Delaware Developmental Framework for Trauma Informed Care, a document that outlines best practices for trauma-informed care. The Framework was adapted from the Missouri Model of trauma-informed care, and was produced in collaboration by the Family Services Cabinet Council ACEs Subcommittee and the Compassionate Connections Partnership.

Since 2018, the Family Services Cabinet Council has worked to implement Executive Order #24, which launched efforts to make Delaware a trauma-informed state. The Family Services Cabinet Council released in November 2019 a Trauma-Informed Care Progress Report and Action Plan for State of Delaware agencies. The plan serves as a progress report of each agency’s work to implement Executive Order #24, which tasked the Family Services Cabinet Council to lead efforts to make Delaware a trauma-informed state. Other initiatives from the Family Service Cabinet Council include the Wilmington Group Violence Intervention Project, and the creation of the Dual Generation Center at Stubbs to improve the delivery of job-related services, and services for Wilmington children. The Family Services Cabinet Council – a cabinet-level group reestablished by Governor Carney in February 2017 to coordinate public and private services for Delaware families.

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Grants from community-based organizations and schools that have a
trauma-informed focus will receive funding priority

Wilmington, Del. (January 24, 2020) – As part of its FY2021 grant application cycle, the Division of the Arts invites grant proposals from community-based organizations and schools that demonstrate the utilization of the arts to address trauma-related issues and challenges in communities and schools. Funding priority in the FY2021 grant year will be given to projects that employ the arts to promote mental health. Project Support applications must be submitted through the smARTDE online system and are due by 4:30 p.m. on Monday, March 2, 2020. Artist Residency applications have a rolling deadline and must be submitted at least 6 weeks prior to the start of the scheduled residency.

“The Division is pleased to introduce this funding priority,“ says Division Director Paul Weagraff, “which aligns with Governor Carney’s Executive Order #24, signed in 2018, making Delaware a trauma-informed state.”

The goal of this Executive Order is 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.”

Below are two of the Division’s grant programs that are eligible for this funding priority. Please visit arts.delaware.gov/grant-overview/ to access the full guidelines for each program and a description of the grant review process.

Grant for Delaware Community-Based Organizations (CBOs):

Project Support – support of arts programs provided by CBOs that assist in the growth of a vibrant cultural environment by encouraging the continued development of arts activities in communities throughout the state. College and university projects must be non-credit and serve the general community. Deadline March 2, 2020.

Grant Contact: Kathleen Dinsmore, 302-577-8287

Read guidelines

Grant for Delaware Schools and School Districts:

Artist Residency – grants for residencies with visual, literary, performing or media artists working with students in the classroom or in professional development workshops with teachers. Rolling deadline.

Grant Contact: Sheila Dean Ross, 302-577-8286

Read guidelines

About the Delaware Division of the Arts
The Delaware Division of the Arts is an agency of the State of Delaware. Together with its advisory body, the Delaware State Arts Council, the Division administers grants and programs that support arts programming, educate the public, increase awareness of the arts, and integrate the arts into all facets of Delaware life. Funding for Division programs is provided by annual appropriations from the Delaware General Assembly and grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency. For more information about the Delaware Division of the Arts, visit arts.delaware.gov or call 302-577-8278. Image: 2019 Award Winners exhibition at the Biggs Museum. Paintings by Geraldo Gonzalez, 2019 Established Professional, Folks Arts: painting

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Contact: Leeann Wallett, Program Officer, Communications and Marketing
302-577-8280, leeann.wallett@delaware.gov