Delaware Mental Health In Schools Bill Signing

SUSSEX COUNTY, Del.- Dr. Katie Elder's team at Delaware Psychological Services work with teenagers every day.

She says recent events plus the COVID-19 pandemic have added another level of stress and mental hardships for children.

"It's a crisis that we have right now and to add school shootings to it just layers and compounds what our children have been through," Dr. Elder said. "So we have seen children express more mental health concerns and even parents have an increased concern for their children."

New legislation in Delaware aims to increase mental health help in the schools.

House Bill 300 creates more openings for social workers and school counselors into middle schools up and down the state. The Delaware State Education Association says targeting that specific age group is extremely important.

"Your body's changing. Your surroundings are changing," Director of Public Relations & Communications Shelley Meadowcroft said. "There's so much going on and helping take the stigma away from the need for mental health while putting more mental health professionals in our schools, making them more readily available for students at that age we believe is going to make a huge difference in the lives of our students."

The other laws signed include amendments to house bills which mandate mental health education from kindergarten to 12th grade in public and charter schools. It also requires insurance coverage for an annual mental health wellness check.

Dr. Elder says that having the extra knowledge and counseling can only help.

"Our kids have had to learn to sort of roll with the changes and if one of them are positive with COVID, you can't take that trip or you can't see your friends and trying to adjust and give them resources to cope with that unpredictable schedule, we've found has helped them get by," Dr. Elder said.