By LEE WILLIAMS and PATRICK JACKSON,
The News Journal
Former Attorney General Carl C. Danberg was confirmed in a unanimous Senate vote Wednesday to succeed Stanley W. Taylor Jr. as commissioner of the Delaware Department of Correction.
During more than an hour of intensive questioning by the Senate Executive Committee and other senators, Danberg told the lawmakers he would be a "hands-on" commissioner who would assume responsibility for the actions of his department.
Much of the questioning focused on prison medical care, the subject of a federal investigation and settlement that could cost the state millions of dollars.
Danberg said he would ensure complaints about medical care were properly tracked and reviewed by a medical specialist employed by him -- not the state's contract medical provider, Correctional Medical Services.
He promised to read all correspondence and health care complaints addressed to him.
Danberg expressed admiration for Taylor, having served for 10 years as Taylor's deputy principal assistant responsible for handling the "crisis du jour," but he also stressed their differences.
"I manage things differently -- definitely more hands-on," he said. "I expect a lot out of people. I expect people to produce and will hold them accountable."
Gov. Ruth Ann Minner was out of Legislative Hall during much of the hearing, but she said she was pleased by the Senate's vote of confidence.
"Carl Danberg has done a good job at whatever he's been asked to do," she said. "He's rolled up his sleeves, gotten down to business and worked hard. I am confident he will do the same kind of job at the Correction Department."
Minner said the show of support he received from members of the correction officers union was important. A handful were at the hearing, in uniform, as were family members of inmates.
"He has worked fairly with them in the past," Minner said. "I think their presence is a sign that they know he will continue to work fairly with them in the future."
Danberg said he counts on Minner's support. "If I do not believe I am being supported adequately, I will withdraw from the field," he said.
State Sen. Charles L. Copeland, R-West Farms, was the only lawmaker to not support Danberg's confirmation. Copeland said he opted to be recorded as "not voting" because while Danberg's performance was impressive during the hearing, he was not fully won over.
"I'm not completely confident in his numbers [on health care reform], even though he qualified his position by saying he was 80 percent sure of them," Copeland said. "I also have concerns about his operational experience. ... His testimony went a long way toward easing my concerns."
Vow to review complaints
Danberg's appointment, which pays $142,300 a year, becomes effective Feb. 1, when Taylor retires after 11 years in the top job.
Last month, both Danberg and Taylor signed an 87-point federal settlement, ending a nine-month Justice Department inquiry into prison health care and management.
In the agreement, the state promised to correct deficiencies and "meet generally accepted professional standards," but did not admit to violating any inmate's civil rights or breaking other federal law.
The federal investigation was launched after a series of articles in The News Journal.
Copeland, who questioned Danberg about the settlement, has estimated the price tag of complying with the agreement at $30 million.
Danberg's estimates Wednesday were much lower: $1.5 million this year, and $3 million to $6 million next year.
He called the settlement "the best deal we could have got."
What led to the problems with inmate care, Danberg said, was the lack of trained medical professionals working for the state and capable of overseeing contractors.
"When you are supervising medical providers with nonmedical personnel, it's very difficult to know what is going on, and what is an appropriate level of care," Danberg said. "To say there are no deficiencies would be absurd. I'm satisfied there are deficiencies and they're being taken care of."
Leaning forward in his chair, and at times grabbing the microphone to respond to questions, Danberg acknowledged inmate health care has been a long-term problem.
"We tried a number of different things to make it work," he said. "The reason we're here is because it didn't work."
He promised to improve the prison's records management.
"It will all be tracked. I will know who's complained about what," he said. "I'll know if health care complaints are spiking. When a specific complaint comes in, it will be reviewed by a medically trained individual who works for me, and that individual will report back to me."
To be watched closely
Danberg, 41, began serving as attorney general in December 2005, when Minner appointed him to fill a vacancy created when his predecessor, M. Jane Brady, was appointed to the Superior Court.
Before he went to work for Taylor's department, he served as the deputy attorney general assigned to the Department of Correction.
The Rev. Christopher Bullock, senior pastor of Canaan Baptist Church, co-founded the Delaware Coalition for Prison Reform and Justice along with Copeland and others.
Bullock watched the proceedings from the back row of the Senate chambers.
"I was disappointed with the lack of a new vision for prison reform in our state," Bullock said. "I was hoping to hear more from Mr. Danberg addressing civil rights, hoping to hear more about an admission or apology for the death, injustice and mistreatment of the prisoners in the system.
"I will stay on the battlefield for prison reform and justice, to advocate for families and communities who still suffer from the brutality that still exists in the system, and I'm praying that Mr. Danberg will have a divine intervention, and that he will take his oath seriously and push forward reform."
