(8/7/24)
“The final bill from a trio of legislation aiming to increase mental health providers in Delaware schools is signed into law.
House Speaker Valerie Longhurst’s (D-Bear) legislation increases the ratio of full-time school counselors and social workers to one for every 250 high school students, as well as funding to hire one full-time school psychologist for every 700 high school students.
The bill builds upon Longhurst’s previous legislation establishing the same ratios in Delaware’s elementary and middle schools.
She explains one in five students suffer from a mental health disorder and youth with access to mental health services in school-based health centers are 10 times more likely to seek care for mental health than youth without access.
…
Inseparable’s Chief Advocacy Officer Angela Kimball, who helped craft the legislation, says the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the youth mental health crisis, and the problem is continuing to grow.”
Read the full Delaware Public Media story here