Delco Council Declares April Fair Housing, Child Abuse Prevention Month, Approves Contract Extensions, Offers Grave Registration for Vets

MEDIA–As National Child  Abuse Prevention Month, the Delaware County council recognized the significance of the issue by declaring April as Child Abuse Prevention Month at a council meeting April 5.

District Attorney G. Michael Green, Deirdre Gordon of the Children & Youth Services Agency, Amy Nardi of the Department of Intercommunity Health Coordination, Anne Shenberger of CASA/Youth Advocates (court appointed special advocates), Patricia Kosinski, Patti Gregory and Sandra Lutz of Family Support Line, and Carol Goertzel and Renee Toussaint of Pathways PA attended the Tuesday meeting to accept the resolution.

"Certainly these entities make a huge difference in the lives of children across Delaware County," said John Whelan, council chairman. "And certainly all the efforts of all the volunteers should certainly be commended."

Whelan stated from a press release, "We can play a part in strengthening families by encouraging all citizens and organizations to help make Delaware County a better place for families. Children need the close guidance and support of adults they trust in order to thrive."

Patricia Kosinski, executive director of Family Support Line, expressed her thanks to the council in recognizing the importance of children who are victims of abuse.

"Thanks to the council for their support over the years for recognizing National Child Abuse Month and also for the district attorney and youth services to truly helping us get the word out of the needs to strengthen families," said Kosinski.

For further information on child abuse prevention, Kosinski suggested going to the Web site www.standforchildren.com. In addition, PECO Energy and Conoco Phillips will sponsor an annual Stand for Children breakfast on April 14 at Drexelbrook.

April Recognized as Fair Housing Month

The county council also declared April as Fair Housing Month in which representative of Suburban West Realtors Association, the Home Builders Association of Chester and Delaware counties, the Fair Housing Council of Suburban Philadelphia and the County Planning Department were present at the meeting to accept the council's resolution.

The resolution states, "It has been 43 years since the enactment of the U.S. Fair Housing Act which sets national policy within constitutional limits for fair housing throughout the United States, particularly prohibiting discrimination in housing on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin."

According to the council, the Fair Housing Council of Suburban Philadelphia has conducted fair housing education programs in the county since 1956 while the Suburban West Realtors Association and the Home Builders Association of Chester and Delaware counties have providing fair housing programs to spread awareness of the fair housing laws to the public.

Contracts and Agreements Extended by County Council

The county council approved the agreements, contracts and amendments with the Office of Employment and Training Services as follows:

According to Chairman John Whelan, the contract agreement amount will remain the same as the current amount.

Carol Goertzel of Pathways PA thanked the public and council in their support for the Office of Employment and Training Services.

"I really want to thank everyone for their continued support to the Office of Employment and Training because we really help people move from want to work," said Goertzel. "And without them, we wouldn't have all the wonderful and incredible kinds of things happen. Families are able to earn a wage and move forward, and it also helps to prevent child abuse."

Grave Registration Offered to Veterans By County Archives

The county council also announced a new index–part of the Delaware County Archives–where veterans may search for grave registrations from 1775-1973, in which a listing of  war veterans from wars all the way back to the American Revolution War may be found.

According to a press release from the county, there are currently 32,500 grave sites of soldiers from Delaware County listed in the index. The historical records are currently housed at the Archives on the grounds of Fair Acres in Middletown Township.

Delaware County archivist Robert Plowman attended the meeting on Tuesday morning and explained the the index will help service family members who are interested in finding more about their family's past genealogy and veteran ancestors and even friends from the past.

"For me, this was really a labor of love," said Plowman. "I'm a combat veteran of Vietnam and it was particularly poignant to me because I found a college classmate of mine, who gave up his life in service for our country in Vietnam."

The index also provides information on the duration of service for the veteran, in which particular war they serve, if they were killed in action and the location of where the veteran is buried.

"The Grave Registration index is just one of many resources of data housed at the Archives where people can look up old birth and death records, criminal cases and naturalizations," added Tom McGarrigle, county councilman. "We hope our residents take advantage of this treasure trove of historical information either online or by visiting the Archives."

Those interested may view the Archives in person from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, or view them online on the county Web site. For more information on the county Archives, contact Plowman at (610) 891-5620. For current grave registrations of wartime veterans taking place after the 1973 Archives Grave Registration index, contact the County Office of Veterans Affairs at (610) 891-4645.