Department of Justice Ambassador Program
The Delaware Department of Justice regularly receives speaking requests from community organizations, civic associations, and other public and private groups. Attorney General Biden created the Ambassadors Program to provide educational seminars on-demand that provide information about Department programs and initiatives. If your organization would like to learn more about the Ambassadors Program or seek to schedule an Ambassador Speaker please e-mail your name, contact information, and requested topic to DOJ.Ambassador@state.de.us or call (302) 577-8288.
DOJ Ambassador Speakers can address a wide variety of topics, including:
Community Prosecution, Sex Offender Registry/Megan's Law, Careers in the Law, Child Abuse Laws/Prevention, Child Support and Enforcement, Debt Management/Foreclosure, Domestic Violence Drug Crimes/Drug Prevention, Identity Theft, Internet Safety/Child Predator Task Force, Investment Schemes/Securities Fraud,Juvenile Delinquency/Truancy, Lemon Laws, Medicaid Fraud, Motor Vehicle Laws, Nuisance Abatement, Open Government/Freedom of Information Act, Senior Abuse, Sexual Assault Victim, & Witness services/Victims Bill of Rights
3 comments:
Thank you so much for posting this!!
Jodi, there are piranhas out there who will charge unsuspecting boards upwards of $2500 for FOIA workshops. Sue Francis with the Delaware School Board Association is much more reasonable and can provide a robust repetoire of training - even to charter boards. She can be found at www.edsba.org. And of course, there is the AG's Ambassador program. But, they offer more - a board can file a pre-emptive FOIA for clarity on an issue before it makes a mistake. Don't know of anyone who has ever availed themselves of this, but for some, it could be a wise, less expensive route.
The whole goal is to get all boards of education/directors operating transparently as the first step towards accountibility. The law is the law is the law.
Now, question for you - Do members of your board take the oath of office when they are appointed/elected?
LOL - I didn't even see FOIA listed there... I got all excited about some of the other topics. I wanted to sponsor some community events at the school last year to include Internet safety and Predator awareness but I never could find any resources to do it. I am so calling on this next week!! :)
Now your question - no, there was no oath. There's nothing in the law, and I agree there should be. An oath isn't going to stop someone who is really interested in doing wrong, but it's a step that should give you pause to think about what you are undertaking and it gives the community a very specific set of standards to hold you to.
I guess Reach was luckier than I realized in the composition of our new board. We have folks who have a significant amount of board experience and really understand the fiduciary responsibility it entails. They also understood how a board is supposed to conduct business - Roberts rules, sunshine laws, committees, etc. I wasn't as familiar with some things like the fine points of Roberts Rules but spent time researching on my own, and have learned a lot from my fellow board members. That being said, a refresher course is never a bad idea.
Which leads me to another random thought... going through this probation experience over the last year, our mantra has been 'We want to learn, please teach us'. Hours and hours have been spent learning the detailed mechanics of the financial/funding process, for example - we've sought out people with experience and LISTENED to what they have to say. Our school is better for it. There is no room for personal arrogance here - you can't walk into a situation like this thinking that you know better than everyone else. We've put much effort into the process for things like contract bids and HR policies. Evaluation of a single person's salary has meant researching data at the state and district levels, the mid-Atlantic region and other comparable areas of the US, etc. - the bidding and evaluation process for our new modular classrooms went beyond what was required but it was the right thing to do. And EVERYTHING is documented and replicable.
It makes me very upset to see what some folks are doing right now because it makes all of us look bad. There truly ARE schools out there with boards who take their responsibilities very seriously, and who are doing very good work. In the end it's about making a high quality education available to all students and to do so in a manner that respects the citizens who provide the funding. Anyone who isn't up to the task of doing that, needs to get out.
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