The Division of Industrial Affairs (DIA) at the Department of Labor (DOL) is currently conducting its Annual Prevailing Wage Survey for state-funded construction projects.

On January 4, 2023, the Department mailed over 4000 survey forms to contractors. The completed survey forms must be postmarked or returned to DIA for the data to be used in the calculation of the Delaware Prevailing Wage Rates no later than February 8, 2023.

DIA plans to publish its annual “Prevailing Wage Determination”  on or before March 15, 2023, which is valid for a period of one year.

The following are copies of survey instructions and forms:

• 2023 Survey Letter

Contact Department of Labor about the Annual Prevailing Wage Survey at 302-761-8200.

DOVER, DE (Jan. 25, 2022) – The Delaware Division of Public Health (DPH) will conduct a series of community health assessments to better understand the concerns and needs of Delaware communities during the COVID-19 pandemic and to improve the overall health in Delaware in the future. As part of Delaware’s State Health Improvement Plan (SHIP), DPH has partnered with the University of Delaware’s Partnership for Healthy Communities and Epidemiology Program to conduct a survey in each of Delaware’s three counties.

Households who have been randomly selected to participate in the voluntary survey will receive a postcard in the mail followed by a survey packet with instructions on how to complete the survey online or by mail. Incentives will be provided for completed surveys. The first set of survey packets will be mailed to Kent County households this week. In late February, teams of students and community volunteers will canvas Kent County neighborhoods to knock on the doors of those selected households who haven’t completed the survey by mail or online. Similar assessments will occur for New Castle and Sussex counties over the next two months. The dates for survey mailings and canvassing by county are:

• Kent County – week of Jan 24
• New Castle County – week of Feb. 7
• Sussex County – week of Feb. 21

The SHIP helps to prioritize areas, such as chronic disease, maternal and child health, mental health, and substance use disorder, where more work is needed to make Delawareans healthier.

“Delaware’s current five-year State Health Improvement Plan covers 2018 through 2023 and was initially developed prior to the pandemic,” said DPH Director Dr. Karyl Rattay. “Community assessments related to COVID-19 and broader conditions now impacting the health of Delawareans are critical to helping inform the current plan and guide the next state health needs assessment and planning process.”

“We are grateful that our students have the opportunity to gain real-world experience by conducting a Community Assessment for Public Health Emergency Response (CASPER), in Delaware for the first time,” said Dr. Jennifer Horney, founding director of the Epidemiology Program at University of Delaware. “It is important that these students, who are the State’s future public health workforce, embrace working directly with residents and communities to collect data that can be used for decision-making by public health leaders and emergency managers.”

In addition to community assessments being conducted at the household level to assess COVID-19 mitigation efforts, perceptions of risk, and preventative actions taken by Delaware households, two series of Community Conversations are also being planned to learn more about broader health impacts on communities. 

“These community conversations are being planned at a time when the federal government is making unprecedented investments in state, territorial, Tribal, and local governments” said Rita Landgraf, director of the Partnership for Healthy Communities at University of Delaware. “Never have communities had access to direct, flexible dollars at this scale. Not only can these resources assist with recovery from the pandemic, but they can also support communities in creating more equitable conditions for health and renewal. Working in collaboration with local partners across the state, we believe that it is possible to engage communities in dialogues that amplify their voices, increase equity, and inform community investments differently.”

The purpose of the Delaware State Health Improvement Plan is to describe how the Division of Public Health and the community it serves will work together to improve the health of Delaware’s population. The SHIP helps to prioritize areas, such as chronic disease, maternal and child health, mental health, and substance use disorder, where more work is needed to make Delawareans healthier. The National Public Health Accreditation Board explains, “Communities, stakeholders, and partners can use the SHIP to set priorities, direct the use of resources, and develop and implement projects, programs, and policies.” Effective state health improvement plans also continuously incorporate new information or data into the state health needs assessment and make updates as needed.

To learn more about Delaware’s State Health Improvement Plan, visit www.DelawareSHIP.org. 

###

Anyone who is deaf, hard of hearing, Deaf-Blind or speech disabled can contact DPH by dialing 711 first using specialized devices (i.e., TTY, TeleBraille, voice devices). The 711 service is free and to learn more about how it works, please visit delawarerelay.com.

The Delaware Department of 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.

The Division of Industrial Affairs (DIA) at the Department of Labor (DOL) is currently conducting its Annual Prevailing Wage Survey for state-funded construction projects – over 3,800 survey forms will be mailed out to contractors on December 27, 2021.

The completed survey forms must be postmarked or returned to DIA for the data to be used in the calculation of the Delaware Prevailing Wage Rates no later than February 8, 2022.

DIA plans to publish its annual “Prevailing Wage Determination”  on or before March 15, 2022, which is valid for a period of one year.

The following are copies of survey instructions and forms:

• 2022 Survey Instructions
• Survey Packet
• Report of Construction Wage Rates

Contact Department of Labor about the Annual Prevailing Wage Survey at 302-761-8200.

Photo Credit: US Fish and Wildlife Service

The Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control is looking for volunteers to help with its annual wild turkey productivity survey during July and August.

The public is encouraged to monitor and report wild turkey sightings in Delaware to provide data that helps DNREC’s Division of Fish and Wildlife sustainably manage the state’s turkey population. Since the annual wild turkey productivity survey began in 2010, Delaware’s citizen conservationists have helped collect information on turkey populations within the state by generating consistent data on turkey distribution, productivity and sex/age ratios.

The 2020 survey period runs from July through Aug. Upon each wild turkey sighting, volunteers are asked to record the date, county, turkey management zone, and number of hens (adult females), gobblers (adult males), and poults (young of the year). Volunteers are asked to submit their results to the division by September 10, 2020.

Instructions, a data sheet, and a map of turkey management zones are available for volunteers to download at dnrec.delaware.gov and a wild turkey identification guide can be obtained on the ID Guide page or by calling the Wildlife Section at 302-735-3600, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Additional information is available at the division’s wild turkey webpage.

The reintroduction of the wild turkey into Delaware over three decades ago, nearly 200 hundred years after it became locally extinct, remains one of Delaware’s greatest wildlife conservation success stories. After the initial release in 1984 of 34 wild-trapped turkeys into Sussex and Kent counties from Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Vermont, division biologists with support from the National Wild Turkey Federation continued turkey reintroductions through the early 2000s. Once the wild turkey population had established a foothold in Delaware, a hunting season was established in the spring of 1991 that has been a continued annual tradition, with wild turkeys now found in nearly every corner of the state.

About DNREC
The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control protects and manages the state’s natural resources, protects public health, provides outdoor recreational opportunities and educates Delawareans about the environment. The Division of Fish and Wildlife conserves and manages Delaware’s fish and wildlife and their habitats, and provides fishing, hunting, wildlife viewing and boating access on nearly 65,000 acres of public land. For more information, visit the website and connect with DNREC on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.

Media Contacts: Michael Globetti, michael.globetti@delaware.gov; Joanna Wilson, joanna.wilson@delaware.gov

###

50th anniversary of Earth Week theme resonates across the state

DOVER, Del. – The theme for the 50th anniversary of Earth Week is climate change, an issue that concerns most Delawareans, according to a report commissioned by DNREC’s Division of Climate, Coastal and Energy. The report found 77% of Delawareans see climate change as a serious threat that will harm future generations.

The report, conducted by Standage Market Research in partnership with University of Delaware’s Center for Political Communication, is based on a survey of more than 1,100 Delaware adults. The full report, published this week, is available at de.gov/climatesurvey.

The full report builds on preliminary survey results released in February. It reveals differences in perceptions of climate change and sea level rise across the state and compared to those nationwide. Key findings include:

• A majority of adults in both Delaware and the U.S. believe climate change is an important issue. Additionally, 64% of U.S. residents are worried about climate change, and the same is true of Delaware residents (62%).
• Delawareans in all three counties say they have been personally affected by climate change. However, New Castle County residents are more likely than residents of Kent and Sussex counties to favor immediate action to reduce the impacts of climate change (76% versus 68% and 58%, respectively).
• Sussex County residents are more likely to say they have been personally affected by sea level rise. More than half (51%) of adults in Sussex County said they have personally experienced or observed local impacts of sea level rise, compared to 47% for Kent and 45% of New Castle residents.
• Women are more likely than men to say we should act now on climate change (78% versus 62%). They are also more likely to say they have personally experienced or observed local impacts of climate change (62% versus 50%). Opinions about sea level rise follow similar patterns.
• There are no significant age differences for having personally experienced or observed local impacts of climate change. However, younger adults are also more likely to favor acting now to reduce the impacts of climate change (78%, versus 64% and 69%, respectively).

“The impacts of climate change threaten our environment, economy and way of life,” said DNREC Secretary Shawn Garvin. “Over the past decade the percentage of Delawareans concerned about this issue has increased. We continue to experience the impacts of sea level rise, hotter temperatures and more frequent intense storms, but we are also working toward solutions as we continue to develop Delaware’s Climate Action Plan.”

According to the climate perceptions survey, Delawareans support a range of options to address the causes and consequences of climate change, including:

• 82% support preserving undeveloped land;
• 80% believe we need stronger air pollution controls;
• 79% support changing building codes;
• 74% said roads and infrastructure should not be built in flood-prone areas;
• 74% think we should increase the amount of electricity we get from renewable sources;
• 73% believe we should improve energy efficiency standards;
• 64% support elevating building in risk areas

Development of the Climate Action Plan will continue through 2020, with a report due in December. Public input sessions on development of the plan were held in each of the three counties in March. More than 250 people participated in those meetings, and many others have gone online to declimateplan.org to complete a questionnaire asking about various actions the state can take to address the causes and consequences of climate change.

The period to complete the questionnaire closes Friday, May 1.

Later this summer, virtual meetings will be held to gather additional public input addressing what the state can do to manage the impacts of climate change that we are already seeing, such as sea level rise. A third opportunity for the public to weigh in will occur this fall, after possible strategies have been identified.

About DNREC

The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control protects and manages the state’s natural resources, protects public health, provides outdoor recreational opportunities and educates Delawareans about the environment. For more information, visit the website and connect with DNREC on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.

Media Contact: Nikki Lavoie, nikki.lavoie@delaware.gov; Jim Lee, jamesw.lee@delaware.gov

###