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A CEREMONIAL RESOLUTION
19-334
IN THE COUNCIL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA
November 15, 2012
To recognize and honor the significant contributions to District of Columbia Child Welfare
Reform and the many other achievements of Priscilla S. Skillman.
WHEREAS, Priscilla S. Skillman was born in May 1945;
WHEREAS, Priscilla Skillman came to the District of Columbia with a Bachelor of Arts degree, with Distinction, from Pennsylvania State University and received her Juris Doctor degree, with honors, from The George Washington University Law School;
WHEREAS, Priscilla Skillman served as Chief of Staff for Congressman Bob Edgar from December 1974 through December 1978;
WHEREAS, Priscilla Skillman established and operated a general civil law practice from January 1979 through December 1992;
WHEREAS, Priscilla Skillman has served as Assistant Director of the Council for Court Excellence from January 1993 through the present and served as Interim Executive Director from August through December 2003;
WHEREAS, Priscilla Skillman has served as the Board Chair of the Chevy Chase Presbyterian Church Transition Assistance Program, which assists re-entry of formerly incarcerated District of Columbia residents, from 1996 through the present;
WHEREAS, Priscilla Skillman founded and provided support for the DC Child Welfare Leadership Team from 1999 through 2012;
WHEREAS, during Priscilla Skillman’s tenure and under her direction, the Council for Court Excellence fostered local and federal legislation to improve the administration of justice, notably the federal “District of Columbia Family Court Act of 2001”;
WHEREAS, during Priscilla Skillman’s tenure and under her direction, the Council for Court Excellence has conducted at least 10 separate judicial system studies of the local and federal courts in the District of Columbia, as well as of the related justice agencies of the Executive Branch under the federal and District of Columbia governments.
WHEREAS, Priscilla Skillman’s major accomplishments at the Council for Court Excellence include: implementation support of the federal Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 (2000); modernization of the DC child welfare system (1998 to 2012); authoring the 3 public reports about the District of Columbia’s progress in implementing the Adoption and Safe Families Act (2002, 2004, 2006); directing the publication of District of Columbia Democracy and the Third Branch of Government; publishing the DC Child Abuse and Neglect Practice Manual (2009); authoring the District of Columbia’s first plain-English description of the juvenile justice system (2009); and facilitating the distribution of over 250,000 plain-English educational booklets to aid residents in navigating the District of Columbia justice system;
WHEREAS, to promote and advance the administration of justice, Priscilla Skillman has actively engaged and enlisted the support of the diverse communities which comprise the District of Columbia;
WHEREAS, through Priscilla Skillman’s efforts, the District of Columbia’s child welfare system has made steady improvements to achieve better outcomes for children, their families, and adoptive parents;
WHEREAS, for nearly 20 years Priscilla Skillman has significantly improved the administration of, and access to, justice in the federal and local courts for the residents of the District of Columbia; and
WHEREAS, Priscilla Skillman is retiring from her employment with The Council for Court Excellence.
RESOLVED, BY THE COUNICL OF THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, That this resolution may be cited as the “Priscilla S. Skillman Recognition Resolution of 2012”.
Sec. 2. The Council of the District of Columbia recognizes and honors Priscilla S. Skillman for her contributions regarding the system of justice and especially child welfare reform in the District of Columbia.
Sec. 3. This resolution shall take effect immediately upon first date in the publication of the District of Columbia Register.
