NEW CASTLE, Del. – On Thursday, First Lady Tracey Quillen Carney launched Delaware’s first statewide kindergarten registration campaign to highlight the importance of supporting Delaware’s youngest learners. The campaign, also led by Delaware Readiness Teams, encourages families and caregivers to register students for kindergarten and helps guide them through the process.

“I am proud to be honorary chair of the first-ever Delaware kindergarten registration campaign,” said First Lady Tracey Quillen Carney. “This campaign aligns with the First Chance Delaware initiative, which was created to give every child in Delaware the best possible chance to succeed. We all know that the best chance is the first chance – the best chance is a good start. And there’s nowhere that a good start matters more than in school.”

One of Governor John Carney’s top priorities is making sure every third grader is reading at grade level, to set them up for future success. This effort starts with high quality early education, and late kindergarten registrations can hinder this important work.

“All Delaware children deserve the opportunity to realize their full potential in school, and kindergarten registration is an important early step in a child’s education,” said Governor Carney. “This kindergarten registration collaboration between First Chance Delaware and Delaware Readiness Teams will be a win-win-win for families, schools, and most importantly, Delaware’s children.”

This year’s kindergarten registration will include new questions about pre-kindergarten experiences, which will help inform the registration process.

“Our school chiefs have all committed to adding these three common questions to their local kindergarten registration packets so we as a state can better understand how children’s early childhood experiences prepare them for school,” said Susan Bunting, Secretary of the Delaware Department of Education. “Coupled with the results of the Delaware Early Learner Survey, this information will help our K-12 schools and the early childhood education programs in their communities partner to better prepare children to arrive in kindergarten ready for success.”

“Kindergarten registration in Delaware can be a notoriously confusing process for families, with piles of paperwork and varying deadlines around the state,” said Diane Frentzel, program manager for Delaware Readiness Teams. “But starting kindergarten on time is super important for getting kids off on the right track. It’s why the Delaware Readiness Teams are working diligently in communities getting the right information in the hands of families and providers.”

All three counties will host family engagement events throughout Kindergarten Registration Month this November. Families and caregivers of children who will be 5 years old by August 31^st are encouraged to register their student for kindergarten as soon as possible.

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Additional information about First Chance DE

First Lady Tracey Quillen Carney is leading the First Chance Delaware initiative, which was launched in April 2018. The goal of this initiative is to ensure that all of Delaware’s children have a “first chance” to succeed.

First Chance Delaware encourages public, private, non-profit, philanthropic, business entities and community partnerships that work to:

• End childhood hunger and expand access to nutritious food for low-income children
• Promote learning readiness through literacy, health, and parent-child engagement programs
• Advance the recognition of and effective response to adverse childhood experiences

First Chance is a vehicle to recognize and to facilitate effective partnerships, to share research and best practices, and to promote awareness of opportunities to collaborate in support of Delaware’s children.

Additional information about Delaware Readiness Teams

The Delaware Readiness Teams are a statewide grassroots initiative aimed at helping children from birth through age eight get ready for school and life. The teams focus on early learning, healthy children and successful transitions, hoping every child will enter school ready and eager to learn.

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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Delaware’s First Lady leads effort to ensure kids have access to healthy meals over summer

WILMINGTON, Del. – First Lady Tracey Quillen Carney and the Delaware Department of Education ask all Delawareans to spread the word about the availability of free meals this summer for children in need.

The Summer Food Service Program targets children in low-income areas to ensure they have nutritious meals during the summer. Children and teens 18 years old or younger are eligible to receive a meal at the open sites. It is a federally funded program operated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and managed locally by the Delaware Department of Education.

“We’re asking all Delawareans to join in the fight against childhood hunger by spreading the word about the Summer Food Service Program,” said First Lady Tracey Quillen Carney. “Ensuring that every child has access to nutritious meals is a moral obligation that also supports the most urgent, practical goals we have for our state – for student engagement and achievement, for public health, and for a vibrant economy driven by a strong workforce.”

Delawareans can call “2-1-1” or text “food” or “comida” to 877-877 to find meal sites in Delaware.

“Children who depend on school food during the academic year still have needs when the school year ends,” said Susan Bunting, Secretary of the Delaware Department of Education. “The Summer Food Service Program provides nutritious meals to children in their own communities to meet their nutritional needs year-round.”

Last year, First Lady Carney led a task force in identifying new and innovative ways to increase access to child nutrition programs, specifically for families in rural areas when school is not in session. As a result, additional mobile meals programs, especially within participating school districts, were launched this summer, and aim to reach more rural children.

School District efforts to reach more children in 2018:

• Woodbridge School District launched a mobile meals program, reaching children in their community who might not otherwise be able to get to their schools for meals.
• Seaford School District launched an additional food truck.
• Lake Forest School District joined the Summer Food Service Program for the first time this summer.
• Smyrna School District launched Summer Food Service Program community sites for the first time.
• Brandywine School District has a bus for mobile meals.
• Colonial School District expanded its summer mobile meals program.
• Red Clay, Capital and Caesar Rodney School Districts have expanded their Summer Food Service Programs.

Governor John Carney and First Lady Tracey Quillen Carney in April announced First Chance Delaware – an initiative led by the First Lady to recognize and facilitate effective partnerships, to share research and best practices, and to promote opportunities to collaborate in support of Delaware’s children. The Task Force to End Childhood Hunger is the first partnership to be recognized as a First Chance initiative. This task force’s specific goals include increasing participation and building partnerships in support of the Summer Food Service Program and alternative model school breakfasts.

Use the hashtag #summermealsDE to spread the word on social media.

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Related news:
Governor Carney, First Lady, Casey Family Programs Announce “First Chance Delaware”
First Lady Tracey Quillen Carney’s remarks as prepared for delivery at the announcement of First Chance Delaware 
First Lady Tracey Quillen Carney Attends Learning Lab on State Strategies to Reduce Childhood Hunger

DOVER, Del. – Governor John Carney hosted 30 guests on Wednesday night at a Ramadan Iftar dinner at Woodburn, including members of Delaware’s Muslim community and statewide elected officials.

The Iftar is the evening meal after sunset that concludes the daily fasting during the month of Ramadan, which ends the evening of June 14 this year. For observers, the Iftar dinner and Ramadan are a time to reflect on humanity and to reaffirm commitments to helping the less fortunate.

“Ramadan heightens our compassion and commitment to care for the most vulnerable among us, in addition to the spiritual practice of fasting that underlies the holy month,” said Governor Carney. “I will always stand as a friend of Delaware’s strong and vibrant Muslim community, which has given so much to our state and strengthened it in many ways.”

Wednesday’s event was the second Iftar dinner hosted by Governor Carney, and the fourth Iftar dinner hosted by a governor of Delaware. In attendance were representatives from six Delaware mosques, as well as First Lady Tracey Quillen Carney, Lieutenant Governor Bethany Hall Long, and Dover Mayor Robin Christiansen.

“We welcome Governor Carney’s celebration of friendship by hosting his second Iftar dinner and welcoming us to Woodburn,” said Muhammed A. Niaz, chairman of the Islamic Academy of Delaware. “This historic home to Delaware’s governors is a fitting setting for reflection, conversation, and recommitting ourselves to helping others.”

“The Governor’s support for Delaware’s Muslim community during Ramadan is greatly appreciated,” said Usman Sandhu, president of the Islamic Society of Central Delaware. “We are pleased by our elected officials’ devotion to equality and diversity in our great state.”

Click here for photos from the dinner.

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DOVER, Del. – The Governor will participate in the 85th Annual Dover Days Parade on Saturday, May 5, and will host an open house at Woodburn, the Governor’s residence, shortly following the parade. Dover Days is a festival promoting Delaware’s heritage and culture.

WHAT: The Governor will participate in the 85th Annual Dover Days Parade on Saturday, May 5, starting at 9:30 a.m. Following the parade, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., the Governor and First Lady Tracey Quillen Carney will host an open house at Woodburn, the Governor’s residence. The Governor will throw out the first pitch at the vintage baseball game located in the field behind Woodburn at 12:30 p.m.

WHO: Governor John Carney
First Lady Tracey Quillen Carney

WHEN: Parade begins at 9:30 a.m.
Open House will run 10 a.m. – 1 p.m.
Governor will throw first pitch at 12:30 p.m.

WHERE: Woodburn
151 Kings Hwy SW, Dover, DE 19901

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