Governor Carney Nominates Claire DeMatteis as Next DOC Commissioner

Delaware Governor John Carney announced on his plans to nominate Claire DeMatteis, former senior counsel to then-U.S. Senator Joe Biden as the next Commissioner of the Delaware Department of Corrections.

Pending approval of the State Senate, DeMatteis would replace Commissioner Perry Phelps, who announced his retirement last month, effective on July 15. DeMatteis would make history as the first female Commissioner of Delaware’s DOC. Following her tenure in the Senate Office of Joe Biden, she served as General Counsel and spent four years working for a Wilmington-based law firm. Currently she works as a Special Assistant to the DOC, working alongside Commissioner Phelps. Currently, she coordinates “comprehensive re-entry initiatives across six state agencies, including the Departments of Correction, Education, Labor and Health and Social Services.”

Governor Carney: “For much of the last two years, Claire has worked side-by-side with Commissioner Phelps to lead reform efforts at the Department of Correction – to make our facilities safer, to invest in new equipment and training, and to recruit correctional officers to do one of the toughest jobs in state government.”

DeMatteis: “If confirmed by the State Senate, I look forward to working with the women and men of the Delaware Department of Correction to continue to strengthen safety and security, officer recruitment and retention, and programming and services for inmates, as well as implement a coordinated path of services from an offender’s entry into prison through release back into our communities.”

The Delaware State Legislature is nearing the end of it’s 2019 session, although the Senate is expected to consider the nomination this month.