Take Action Mental Health in Your State

Delaware

By The Numbers

141,000

Number of K-12 Students (2022 Projection)i

9,000
Children with major depressionii
6,000

Children with major depression who do not receive treatmentiii

1:825

Ratio of School Psychologists to Students
(Recommended Ratio 1:500)

1:2,547

Ratio of School Social Workers to Students
(Recommended Ratio 1:250)

1:382

Ratio of School Counselors to Students
(Recommended Ratio 1:250)

Take Action
in Delaware

There is a national emergency in children’s mental health. Children and youth are experiencing soaring rates of anxiety, depression, trauma, loneliness, and suicidality. 

Take Action

Children and youth are experiencing soaring rates of anxiety, depression, trauma, loneliness, and suicidality. Mental health challenges can affect success at school and in life, yet few students get the help they need to thrive.

The Hopeful Futures Campaign, a coalition of national organizations, is committed to ensuring that every student has access to effective and supportive school mental health care. The campaign’s school mental health report cards highlight accomplishments and provide important action steps to help address the children’s mental health crisis in every state.

At A Glance: State School Mental Health Policies

School Mental Health Professionals:

School-Family-Community Partnerships:

Teacher and Staff Training:

Funding
Supports:

Well-Being Checks:

Healthy School Climate:

Skills for Life Success:

Mental Health Education:

Little or no progress achieved

Some progress achieved

Meaningful progress achieved

Substantial progress achieved

HOW DELAWARE COMPARES

State Rankings from Mental Health America iv 

2015

2020

2021

2022

Overall State Rank for Youth Mental Health

16

8

8

18

Youth with At Least One Major Depressive Episode in the Past Year

6,000/8.49%

8,000/11.58%

9,000/13.05%

11,000/15.41%

Youth with Major Depressive Episodes in the
Past Year Who Did Not Receive Treatment

Not Asked

4,000/57.3%

4,000/47.9%

6,000/52.30%

Youth with Major Severe Depressive Episodes in the Past Year

Not Asked

4,000/6.6%

6,000/9.3%

9,000/12.80%

Youth with Severe Major Depressive Episodes
Who Received Some Consistent Treatment

Not Asked

2,000/41.5%

2,000/41.5%

3,000/36.30%

Students Identified with Emotional Disturbance
for an Individualized Education Program

745/6.34

1,037/8.32%

1,152/9.25%

1,211/9.47%

Youth with Private Insurance That Did Not
Cover Mental or Emotional Problems

Not Asked

3,000/6.9%

3,000/6.9%

3,000/7.00%

Youth with Substance Use Disorder in the Past Year

 

4,000/6.33%

3,000/4.3%

3,000/4.15%

3,000/4.31%

i. Projections of education statistics to 2022. National Center of Education Statistics. (n.d.). Retrieved November 11, 2021, from https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2014/2014051.pdf.
ii. The state of Mental Health in America. Mental Health America. (n.d.). Retrieved November 9, 2021, from https://mhanational.org/issues/state-mental-health-america.
iii. The state of Mental Health in America. Mental Health America. (n.d.). Retrieved November 9, 2021, from https://mhanational.org/issues/state-mental-health-america.
iv. The state of Mental Health in America. Mental Health America. (n.d.). Retrieved November 9, 2021, from https://mhanational.org/issues/state-mental-health-america.
Delaware

By The Numbers

141,000

Number of K-12 Students (2022 Projection)i

9,000
Children with major depressionii
6,000

Children with major depression who do not receive treatmentiii

1:825

Ratio of School Psychologists to Students
(Recommended Ratio 1:500)

1:2,547

Ratio of School Social Workers to Students
(Recommended Ratio 1:250)

1:382

Ratio of School Counselors to Students
(Recommended Ratio 1:250)

Take Action
in Delaware

There is a national emergency in children’s mental health. Children and youth are experiencing soaring rates of anxiety, depression, trauma, loneliness, and suicidality. 

Take Action

Children and youth are experiencing soaring rates of anxiety, depression, trauma, loneliness, and suicidality. Mental health challenges can affect success at school and in life, yet few students get the help they need to thrive.

The Hopeful Futures Campaign, a coalition of national organizations, is committed to ensuring that every student has access to effective and supportive school mental health care. The campaign’s school mental health report cards highlight accomplishments and provide important action steps to help address the children’s mental health crisis in every state.

At A Glance: State School Mental Health Policies

School Mental Health Professionals:

School-Family-Community Partnerships:

Teacher and Staff Training:

Funding
Supports:

Well-Being Checks:

Healthy School Climate:

Skills for Life Success:

Mental Health Education:

Little or no progress achieved

Some progress achieved

Meaningful progress achieved

Substantial progress achieved

HOW DELAWARE COMPARES

State Rankings from Mental Health America iv 

2015

2020

2021

2022

Overall State Rank for Youth Mental Health

16

8

8

18

Youth with At Least One Major Depressive Episode in the Past Year

6,000/8.49%

8,000/11.58%

9,000/13.05%

11,000/15.41%

Youth with Major Depressive Episodes in the
Past Year Who Did Not Receive Treatment

Not Asked

4,000/57.3%

4,000/47.9%

6,000/52.30%

Youth with Major Severe Depressive Episodes in the Past Year

Not Asked

4,000/6.6%

6,000/9.3%

9,000/12.80%

Youth with Severe Major Depressive Episodes
Who Received Some Consistent Treatment

Not Asked

2,000/41.5%

2,000/41.5%

3,000/36.30%

Students Identified with Emotional Disturbance
for an Individualized Education Program

745/6.34

1,037/8.32%

1,152/9.25%

1,211/9.47%

Youth with Private Insurance That Did Not
Cover Mental or Emotional Problems

Not Asked

3,000/6.9%

3,000/6.9%

3,000/7.00%

Youth with Substance Use Disorder in the Past Year

 

4,000/6.33%

3,000/4.3%

3,000/4.15%

3,000/4.31%

i. Projections of education statistics to 2022. National Center of Education Statistics. (n.d.). Retrieved November 11, 2021, from https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2014/2014051.pdf.
ii. The state of Mental Health in America. Mental Health America. (n.d.). Retrieved November 9, 2021, from https://mhanational.org/issues/state-mental-health-america.
iii. The state of Mental Health in America. Mental Health America. (n.d.). Retrieved November 9, 2021, from https://mhanational.org/issues/state-mental-health-america.
iv. The state of Mental Health in America. Mental Health America. (n.d.). Retrieved November 9, 2021, from https://mhanational.org/issues/state-mental-health-america.

Join the movement

Facebook-f Twitter Instagram Linkedin-in

School Mental Health Professionals

Little or no progress achieved

School psychologists, social workers, and counselors who, together, provide a range of necessary mental health services in schools.

 

Current Policy:

  • School Psychologists: Delaware has one school psychologist for every 825 students (the recommended ratio is 1:500).
  • School Social Workers: Delaware has one school social worker for every 2,547 students (the recommended ratio is 1:250).
  • School Counselors: Delaware has one school counselor for every 382 students (the recommended ratio is 1:250).

 

Policy Opportunity:

  • Build on Delaware’s investment in school mental health professionals by funding telehealth partnerships and workforce programs that incentivize careers in mental health.

School-Family-Community Partnerships

Some progress achieved

Policies that support and enable schools to engage with families and community partners.  

 

Current Policy:

  • Family/community engagement: State statutes and regulations encourage, but do not require, districts to adopt plans, policies, or strategies to engage parents and families in the educational process.

 

Policy Opportunity:

  • Require, rather than encourage, school districts to adopt family engagement plans.
  • Require partnerships between school districts and community mental health providers that ensure access to services for students with ongoing needs.

Teacher and Staff Training:

Some progress achieved

Policies that support training of teachers and staff in mental health, substance use, and suicide prevention.

 

Current Policy:

  • Teacher/staff training: Delaware Code 14-4165 (2015) Requires the Department of Education, the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Department of Services for Children, Youth and their Families to identify and maintain a suicide prevention training program for school district employees that is evidence-based, where available, and requires each school district to adopt a suicide prevention program.

Policy Opportunity:

  • Expand on existing training requirements to ensure K-12 teachers and staff receive regular training on mental health and substance use conditions, including available school and community-based services and resources.

Funding Supports

Some progress achieved

Policies that help support funding of school mental health services for Medicaid-eligible students.  

 

Current Policy:

  • Medicaid coverage: State Medicaid program does not cover school-based mental health services for all Medicaid-eligible students.
  • Medicaid telehealth: State Medicaid program covers school-based mental health services delivered via telehealth

 

Policy Opportunity:

  • Expand Medicaid billing to include school-based mental health services, including via telehealth, for all Medicaid eligible students (beyond students with an IEP).
  • Ensure the state Medicaid program covers services delivered by school psychologists, social workers, and school counselors. 

Well-Being Checks

Little or no progress achieved

Regular checks of mental wellness that help identify students and staff who may need support.  

 

Current Policy:

  • No well-being checks required.

 

Policy Opportunity:

  • Require annual well-being checks for all students and staff in K-12.

Healthy School Climate

Meaningful progress achieved

Policies that foster safe, supportive schools, including anti-bullying policies, school climate surveys, inclusive environment (anti-discrimination) policies, excused absences for mental health, alternatives to exclusionary discipline, and suicide prevention programs.

 

Current Policy:

  • School climate survey: The Delaware Department of Education conducts an annual School Climate Survey, which includes questions on social emotional learning, bullying, student engagement, and culturally responsive teaching.
  • Anti-bullying:
    • Delaware Code 14-4164 (2019) Requires that schools have a protocol for determining whether the target of the bullying was targeted due to the race, age, marital status, creed, religion, color, sex, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or national origin, and have strategies to combat it. 
    • Delaware Code 14-4164 (2018) requires a schoolwide bullying prevention program to be enacted in all public schools.
    • Delaware Code 14-4164 (2019) Mandates a school bullying prevention and criminal youth gang detection training program for school district and charter school employees. 
  • Suicide prevention: Delaware Code 14-4165 (2015) Requires each school district to establish a suicide prevention program.

 

Policy Opportunity:

  • Enact legislation to address additional healthy school climate policies, such as promoting an inclusive environment through anti-discrimination policies, permitting excused absences for mental health concerns, and requiring adoption of alternatives to exclusionary discipline that keep youth in school, with services and supports to get their lives on track.

Skills for Life Success

Little or no progress achieved

Skills, such as responsible decision-making, relationship skills, and self-management, that help students succeed in school and life.  

 

Current Policy:

  • Delaware has life skills competencies/standards for K-12, but they are not in statute.

 

Policy Opportunity:

  • Establish existing education standards for K-12 life skills competencies in statute.

Mental Health Education

Meaningful progress achieved

Health education in K-12 that includes instruction on mental health.  

 

Current Policy:

 

Policy Opportunity:

  • Require K-12 health education to explicitly include education on mental health, similar to legislation passed by New York and Virginia.