The News Journal, February 29, 2008

ROCKLAND - Matt Denn has been in this fight for a decade or more, but now he wants to take his work for neglected or abused kids, families under stress, and foster parents to a higher level — the lieutenant governor’s office.

Denn, a Democrat who is Delaware’s insurance commissioner, is running for lieutenant governor. Also running is Democrat Ted Blunt, a retired educator and president of Wilmington City Council.

Thursday, Denn gathered a crowd in the lobby of Alfred I. duPont Hospital for Children to announce three ways he would help protect kids from abuse and neglect if he were elected lieutenant governor.

He would:

- Establish a visiting nurses program, as 22 other states have, to give instruction and assistance to first-time parents who are at risk to abuse or neglect their children. The nurse-family partnership includes pre-natal and post-natal visits from registered nurses.

- Reduce the caseloads of treatment caseworkers in the Division of Family Services, those who follow up on cases and monitor families already in the system.

- Follow the recommendations of the 2001 Foster Care Task Force, to promote foster parenting and provide better support for foster families.

Denn said thousands of children in Delaware need the help of the Division of Family Services each year because of abuse, neglect or because they are at risk for one or the other.

“These are kids who can’t protect themselves, who are either suffering harm or are at serious risk for harm from their parents or guardians,” he said. “We as a state have an absolute moral responsibility to look out for these kids, and we need to do a better job of it.”

Denn said state workers do the best they can with the resources they have, but the “safety net the state has for kids still has some serious holes.”

Reducing the caseloads for treatment workers would cost less than $1 million a year, Denn predicted. The nurse-family partnership program would be phased in at an annual cost of about $3,500 per first-time mother, he said. Assisting 500 mothers for a three-year period would cost about $1.7 million in the first year, $3.5 million as another 500 were added in the second, $5.2 million the third.

Randall Williams, executive director of the nonprofit Children’s Advocacy Center of Delaware, said the state has made progress in improving the child welfare system in recent years.

“And all of the things he’s talking about are good areas to focus on,” said Williams, who did not attend Denn’s presentation. “Clearly, the state has a significant responsibility and can make a very significant difference.”

Williams said his center investigated 1,115 cases of suspected abuse in 2007, an increase of about 11 percent over 2006. It is not clear, Williams said, if the increase reflects more incidents of abuse or more careful reporting.

About 40 children were hospitalized at A.I. duPont for injuries caused by abuse in 2007, according to hospital spokesman James Lardear. Most were from Delaware, he said.

Three child advocates with decades of experience were with Denn during his presentation — Al Snyder, Muriel Gilman and Janice Mink. All said they believe Denn will make a difference in a chronic problem that affects families of every kind.

“He will be in a position as lieutenant governor to see that change can be made,” said Gilman, who is on the board of the Delaware Community Foundation. “Department secretaries have to be loyal to the governor.”

“You’re looking at a guy who has put a good deal of his life into helping families and children,” said Snyder, former director of Children and Families First. “And he has been able to tease out a few issues that are really do-able.”

The work of foster parents is “heroic,” Snyder said, and they deserve all the support they can get.

Mink worked with Denn when he was appointed chairman of the state’s Child Protection Accountability Commission, established by then-Gov. Tom Carper in 1998 to address problems that came to light after the deaths of two children whose cases were under investigation by the state.

Denn has given careful attention to the issues, Mink said, working in the courts, at the commission level, and with legislators to pursue the priorities identified by those addressing the problems. The prevention effort is especially critical, she said.

Reached by phone in Charlotte, N.C., Blunt said he planned to focus his efforts on strengthening families.

“That comes from being a juvenile gang worker, a social worker, and an educator with more than 30 years’ experience,” he said. “If the family isn’t strong, the young people are going to suffer.”

Blunt said his plans are broad — expanding school wellness programs, strengthening education and focusing on the economy and jobs. All are ways to strengthen families, he said.