DELAWARE- Several pieces of legislation were signed into law Wednesday aimed at improving mental health access for students and helping more people access behavioral health care in Delaware.
House Bill Three, House Bill Four and House Bill Substitute Two for House Bill 160 were all signed by Democratic Governor John Carney today.
Advocates say HB 3 will help students prioritize their mental health by providing them with excused absences for mental or behavioral health reasons. To help students struggling with their mental health get the help they need, this measure requires that any student taking more than two of these excused absences be referred to a school-based mental or behavioral health specialist.
HB 4 will work to make sure students have access to behavioral health support in their schools in the aftermath of a school-connected traumatic event, like the death of any student, educator, administrator, or other building employee of a public school or other traumatic event that affects a significant portion of the students of the school.
Also, as part of HB 4, the Delaware Department of Education (DOE) will be tasked with developing guidance, best practices, and written resources for schools dealing with a school-connected traumatic event. DOE will also be responsible for covering the costs of grief counseling offered to students at the school for up to 45 days after a school-connected event, with an option to renew for an additional 45 days.
HB 160 (S) will implement a 60-cent monthly surcharge on cell phones and landlines and a 60-cent fee on prepaid services, mirroring the fees currently collected to support 911 emergency services. Money collected from the surcharge will be deposited in a Behavioral Health Crisis Intervention Services Fund used to support the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline and provide a plan for an integrated continuum of services to assist Delawareans experiencing a behavioral health crisis.
The law also creates a 20-member board made up of state health officials, behavioral health experts, medical professionals, law enforcement, and others. The board is tasked with developing a comprehensive statewide crisis intervention services plan and recommending to the Governor and the General Assembly how best to allocate funds from the surcharge.