Carla Benson-Green has worked for the department since its inception

Wilmington, DE – Governor Jack Markell announced today he is nominating Carla Benson-Green to become the next Secretary of the Delaware Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families (DSCYF). Markell will submit his nomination to the State Senate for consideration during a special session on November 30. If confirmed, Benson-Green will succeed Jennifer Ranji, who was confirmed by the Senate during a special session on October 28, and will be sworn in as a judge on the Delaware Family Court later this month.

“Carla has spent her entire career serving the children and families of our state,” said Governor Markell. “She has been with the Department since its inception in 1982, taking on increasingly demanding roles and gaining valuable skills and experience in all of the areas in which DSCYF supports Delaware families. With her leadership, we will build upon Delaware’s progress in caring for our most vulnerable children.”

Benson-Green, whose career in child welfare spans over three decades, has served as regional administrator in the Division of Family Services (DFS) since 2001. Beginning as a front-line investigation worker in DFS, she has held several leadership positions within DSCYF, including supervising the Office of Child Care Licensing and overseeing caseworkers focused on investigation, treatment and adoption services.

“I am deeply humbled and honored to be nominated by Governor Markell to lead the Department of Services for Children, Youth and their Families,” said Benson-Green. “Having worked for the Department for 33 years, I know the important role the Department serves and the incredible commitment of the individuals who work there. If confirmed by the Senate, I look forward to building upon the strong foundation that has been laid to rehabilitate, treat, and protect Delaware’s children.”

In addition to her work with the Department, Benson-Green is active in her community, serving on the Harrington Senior Center Board of Directors and as co-administrator of the John Wesley Community Center.

Her commitment to serving others has been noted publicly. In 2008, she was the recipient of the Governor’s Team Excellence award for her role on the Court Improvement Project, and in 2013, she was recognized as the Iota Psi Chapter Omega Psi Phi Community Religious Leader of the Year.

Benson-Green graduated with honors from Morgan State University with a Bachelor of Science in Mental Health. She currently resides in Dover with her husband Ernest and two children, Nikia and Jalen.

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Professional Development Videos Provide Information on Working with Children with Special Needs

WILMINGTON, Del. – Today, Lieutenant Governor Matt Denn unveiled a new website – www.frontoftheclassDE.com – full of videos created by teachers, for teachers, that focus on educating children with special needs.

Watch Lt. Governor Denn share his idea for this project here: http://de.gov/frontofclass

Some of the organizations that will promote the website and share with their members are the Delaware Autism Program, Delaware Parent Teacher Association, Delaware State Board of Education, Delaware State Education Association, and the Governor’s Advisory Council for Exceptional Citizens.

A full list of acknowledgements for all of those that generously volunteered their time for this project in on the website, but the Lt. Governor wants to extend special thanks to Dr. Vince Winterling and the Delaware Autism Program, Dr. Laura Dewey of Nemours/A.I. duPont Hospital, Dom Squittiere and Corey Bowen of Red Clay Consolidated School District, The Centreville Layton School and The Pilot School. Additionally, thanks to Catherine Miller and Ann Calamia of HNH Multimedia Productions for their work in bringing this year-long project to life.

WILMINGTON, Del. – Today, Lieutenant Governor Matt Denn was joined by disabilities advocates, legislative leaders, and educators to address the rights to reading interventions that students with disabilities gained under a new law passed in June. The new law requires that schools provide young students with dyslexia and decoding disabilities and other disabilities with early, intensive, evidence-based assistance in order to better help those students learn to read.

Senate Bill 229 requires that IEPs for any child with a disability – who is not beginning to read by the age of seven – document the evidence-based interventions the school is using to build the child’s ability to read or document why such interventions are inappropriate. The law also requires the school to provide the interventions through extended school year or summer services, regardless of whether the child would otherwise qualify for those services.

For children who have struggled to read – and their families – this new law presents an opportunity to ensure those students are receiving the instruction most likely to make them readers who are able to access many more opportunities for learning and growth. Because any intervention may deem itself “evidence-based,” the Lt. Governor has a guidance document, included at the end of this post, for parents on how they can determine that their child is receiving interventions in compliance with the law.

The purpose of today’s announcement was to inform parents of eligible children that their children are entitled to this assistance, so they can specifically ask their schools for it.

“Reading is the foundation of education,” said Lieutenant Governor Denn. “When children are exposed to best practices in reading instruction, learning becomes a more positive experience. These practices have the potential to improve lives by giving these kids paths to information and imagination.”

Lieutenant Governor Denn was joined at today’s press conference at the Bear Library by Sen. Nicole Poore, House Majority Leader Valerie Longhurst, and parent Kim Hamstead.

Sen. Poore noted that when children have difficulty reading, they may also develop social and emotional problems that can affect their learning and peer relationships. “A child who sees they are not meeting expectations – their own, their teacher’s, their family’s – are known to be more at risk for anxiety, depression, and low self-esteem, and they don’t always have the language to relieve those feelings through appropriate self-expression.”

“The fact that support will be available throughout the year is a major step forward for these students,” Rep. Longhurst said. “A lot of kids lose some ground over the summer and if you’re already falling behind, it’s even harder to get caught up with everyone else without that extra time for learning and practice.”

“With help from my son’s school, I found a reading specialist that used a specific curriculum and teaching methods that had proven effective for children with reading challenges,” said Ms. Hamstead. “My son followed this program for over 2 years and now he is a very confident reader and likes to volunteer to read in front of his class. The key to his success was early intervention and following an evidence-based reading program.”

Reading Interventions FAQ for Parents

More than 700 City residents attended previous event last month

Wilmington – More than two dozen government agencies, service providers, and civic organizations will come together tomorrow from 1-4 p.m. at a Wilmington Community Resource Fair sponsored by the Attorney General’s office in conjunction with Wilmington Mayor Dennis P. Williams. Tomorrow’s event, to take place in the City’s Prices Run Park, is the second of three resource fairs planned in the City this year; the first took place August 2nd in at Kosciuszko Park, and a third is set for next Saturday, September 20 in Christina Park.

“Our Community Resource Fair at Prices Run Park is part of an expanding effort to reduce street crime and strengthen communities by engaging with neighborhood residents, providing safe and fun activities for families, and building strong relationships with the communities we serve,” Attorney General Beau Biden said today. “More than 700 residents attended our first community resource fair last month at Kosciuszko Park, and we’re bringing even more resources together on the east side tomorrow. I urge residents to attend this free event, learn of the many services available to them, and help us send a clear message that we’re committed to working together to make our streets safer.”

Tomorrow’s event features family-friendly activities, including a moon bounce and free food provided by Rita’s Water Ice and Grotto’s Pizza. In addition, residents will have an opportunity to connect on-site with staff from government agencies and other organizations to discuss resources they can utilize to improve their communities. Informational tables will be staffed on-site to connect attendees to a wide range of state resources available through a number of organizations, including:

• Attorney General’s Office (featuring the Mortgage Foreclosure Assistance Program, Crime Strategies Unit, and Pitch from the Pulpit for Mentors initiative)
• City of Wilmington (featuring Constituent Services, License & Inspections, Public Works, Parks and Recreation, Real Estate and Housing, and the Wilmington Fire Department)
• Brandywine Women’s Health Associates/Marketplace Guide
• Chose Health DE
• DART
• Delaware Center for Horticulture
• Delaware Community Reinvestment Action Council (DCRAC)
• Delaware Council on Gambling Problems
• Delaware Family Voices
• De-Lead Wilmington Real Estate and Housing
• Delaware Residential Reentry Center
• Delaware Division of Public Health
• Freire Charter School Wilmington
• Legal Services Corp. of Delaware
• New Castle County Recorder of Deeds
• Praying Ground Church
• Prestige Academy Charter School
• Safelinkwireless
• Saint Francis LIFE Program
• The Literacy Program
• The Healthy Corner Store Project
• 3rd District Neighborhood Planning Council
• Vandever Ave Civic Association, Inc.
• Wilmington Police 911 Center
• Wilmington’s Cease Fire
• Women of Color Domestic Violence Task Force (WOCTF)
• YMCA of Delaware- Central YMCA

The Community Resource Fairs are spearheaded by Biden’s Crime Strategies Unit, which he created earlier this year to combat crime on the local level. Read the original press release announcing the Wilmington Resource Fairs.

WILMINGTON, Del.– Lieutenant Governor Matt Denn, chair of the state’s newly-formed IEP Improvement Task Force, announced today that the task force membership was near completion and that the state is seeking three more parents to serve on the task force.

The task force was created by the General Assembly (Senate Concurrent Resolution 63) at the end of June to make recommendations to improve the process by which the state creates Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) for students with disabilities. Lieutenant Governor Denn, who has authored legislation in prior years to address deficiencies in the IEP process, was appointed by Senate President Pro Tem Patricia Blevins to chair the task force.

The task force already has three parents with students on IEPs as members, all of whom were appointed by the Governor’s Advisory Council on Exceptional Citizens (the state council that represents the interests of children with disabilities in schools). However, the resolution creating the task force allows for three additional parents to be appointed to the task force. Those parents will be appointed by the four state legislators who are task force members.

Parents of students who are currently on IEPs – or parents of individuals who were on IEPs in the past – who are interested in serving on this task force can contact Michele Rush at the Department of Education at 302-735-4210 or michele.rush@doe.k12.de.us by Friday, August 1, 2014. The Department of Education will communicate the names of interested parents to the four legislators, who will in turn pick the three parent members.

The task force will meet once or twice a month beginning in August for a report that is due to Governor Markell and the General Assembly by January 1, 2015. Meetings will alternate between Dover and Wilmington with videoconferencing available at both sites. All meetings will be open to the public; audio and materials from all meetings will be posted on the Lt. Governor’s website.