NEW CASTLE – The Delaware Department of Health and Social Services’ Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health (DSAMH) announces significant advancement in capabilities for the Delaware Treatment and Referral Network (DTRN) with the launch of DTRN360, a Behavioral Health Coordination platform.

DTRN360 is designed to bridge the gaps experienced by providers in caring for Delaware residents suffering from mental health and substance use disorders within the State. The system will connect community-based providers, supports systems, and behavioral health providers within one workflow. Two organizations were chosen to build out the care coordination solution: Bamboo Health, for the single integrated platform, and FindHelp for social determinants of health (SDOH) referrals, which will be accessible within the integrated DTRN360 digital platform.

Providers have often lacked a consistent coordination channel, which can result in a fragmented approach to patient care. As a result, patients often face excessive wait times to treatment, missed opportunities for treatment, and increased risk of overdoes or death from untreated substance use and mental health disorders. DTRN360 will facilitate a more streamlined care coordination pathway among providers involved in a client’s care journey.

SDOH referrals are vital because health is influenced by a wide range of social and economic factors such as transportation, housing, and food security, among many others. By addressing these determinants by providing referrals to organizations that provide help, healthcare systems can provide more holistic care, reduce disparities, and improve overall outcomes for individuals and communities.

As part of the DTRN360’s new workflow, clinicians using the platform can now see real-time patient data at the point of care. A few of the key enhancements of the DTRN360 platform is that multiple providers who are working with a single client will be able to request that a patient grant access for providers to share clinical assessment information about the patient, receive alerts as the patient moves through the system of care for treatment, and refer the patient to services like housing all activities that help to streamline the continuity of care. Participating providers will also receive risk scores, insights, messaging tools, and comprehensive data reporting.

“At DSAMH, one of our key priorities is ensuring individuals suffering from addiction or a mental health crisis have access to the support they need when they need it,” said DSAMH Director Joanna Champney. “DTRN360 will give our health care providers across the state more tools to deliver integrated care to their patients and support their patients’ behavioral health needs. We also hope this tool will enhance the patient experience, because patients can opt to share certain assessments and records virtually with providers through the digital waiver process.”

DSAMH launched DTRN, an eReferral platform solution, in October 2018 to improve outcomes for Delawareans suffering from a substance abuse disorder. The DTRN system identifies and tracks behavioral health and community resources throughout the state, giving providers immediate visibility into resource availability across a shared network. This makes it easier to get people the help they need when they need it.

DTRN reached 100k referrals in December 2020 and has expanded to connect clients with other important resources like housing, employment, and education.

During its first year, DTRN improved response rates to referral requests, with 65% of receiving organizations acknowledging a client referral within 30 minutes, an increase of 25% since the program’s inception a year prior. This means that referring providers are ensured that their requests are answered in a timely fashion in placing clients with care.

DTRN360 represents the next phase in ensuring that individuals in Delaware receive the care and support they need promptly and efficiently. By addressing SDOH and enhancing coordination among all healthcare providers caring for Behavioral Health disorders, DTRN360 is poised to usher in a new era of healthcare excellence for the State.

WILMINGTON, Del. – On Monday, Lieutenant Governor Bethany Hall-Long convened national and local experts, elected leaders, and community advocates in a first-of-its-kind summit discussing the state of Delaware residents’ behavioral and mental health. The inaugural day-long summit, 2023 Mental and Behavioral Health Summit: Pathways and Partnerships for a Stronger Delaware, comes amidst an ongoing national and state opioid crisis and a significant rise in the need for mental health treatment and services, a need made far worse by the pandemic and the vital gaps in access to care it caused.

“The emotional well-being of our families has never been more important. From Delawareans living with mental illness or substance use disorder to those whose families have been touched by trauma or suicide, ensuring people have the support they need demands a cradle to grave approach,” said Lt. Governor Bethany Hall-Long, Chair of the Delaware Behavioral Health Consortium. “This Summit provided an opportunity to bring leaders, experts, and impacted Delawareans together to address the root causes of these struggles, so our residents have the capacity to heal and thrive.”

Across the country, states are grappling with the fallout from COVID-19 impacting families, workforce needs, treatment, and more. The World Health Organization reported a 25% increase in the prevalence of anxiety and depression in the year following the pandemic. State data cites that close to 1 in 4 Delaware adults — 22.2% — reported symptoms of anxiety or depressive disorders between March 2020 and April 2023. According to the CDC, every 11 minutes in the United States we lose someone to suicide. And as the national opioid epidemic continues, Delaware recently reported its highest yearly overdose deaths in 2022.

The Delaware Behavioral Health Consortium, a national model, is a key action-agent that convenes community advocates, law enforcement, healthcare professionals and state leaders to tackle this issue head-on. In addition to spearheading Delaware legislation that created the nation’s first overdose system of care, the Consortium helped pass mental health parity legislation, and has advanced a holistic approach to care that emphasizes housing and food security and other social determinants of health.

“The Behavioral Health Consortium works tirelessly to create solutions that reduce stigma and support high-quality, personal prevention, treatment and recovery services for all Delawareans. Our residents deserve nothing less. I’m excited to see the future connections and collaboration this Summit nurtures,” said Alexia Wolf, Director of the Behavioral Health Consortium.

Panel discussions and featured speakers uplifted the voices of Delawareans and national expertise around data, policy, and the social determinants of health. Behavioral health isn’t in a silo; stable housing, affordable health care, food insecurity, and access to stable and well-paying jobs all impact a person’s recovery and resilience.

“Monday’s event is an important step forward in addressing the mental and behavioral health needs of Delawareans,” said U.S. Senator Tom Carper (D-Del.). “I am proud of the bipartisan legislation I co-authored last year that helps bring mental health resources into our schools, which builds upon the work we are doing right here in the state. This is an all-hands-on-deck effort to ensure the mental health care needs of all Delawareans are met with accessibility and compassion.”

“The mental health challenges being faced by our nation – the overdose epidemic, the high rates of suicide, the prevalence of depression and anxiety among people, especially young people – are significant,” said Tom Coderre, acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). “As this crucial summit gets under way, know that the Biden-Harris Administration is prioritizing approaches to safeguard the mental health of Americans, to connect people to the evidence-based treatments and supports they need to find recovery.”

To close the event, Lt. Governor Hall-Long led a special fireside chat with The Kennedy Forum founder and former U.S. Representative Patrick J. Kennedy around strategies to enhance behavioral and mental health support, covering insurance parity, wraparound treatment solutions and more.

“Lt. Governor Hall-Long continues to be a strong ally and champion for progress in our mental health and substance use systems. I was glad to join her on Monday, share updates on The Kennedy Forum’s work to ensure mental health is treated as essential health, and learn more about the Lt. Governor’s Behavioral Health Consortium as a national model for this work,” said former U.S. Representative Patrick J. Kennedy (D-RI) and Founder of The Kennedy Forum.

To get connected with the Delaware Behavioral Health Consortium and the Lt. Governor’s Office, email alexia.wolf@delaware.gov or visit the Lt. Governor’s website.

School employees who support the mental health of Delaware students are being recognized for their work.

The state will name its first Delaware Behavioral Health Professional of the Year later this month. Seventeen* school districts and the Delaware Charter School Network named local Behavioral Health Professionals of the Year for 2022. Following an application and interview process, one of those 18 will be named the state honoree.

“I am grateful that through this new recognition program we now have a way to spotlight the critical support these employees provide to our students and families,” Secretary of Education Mark Holodick said. “Due to the nature of their work, these professionals build close, trust-dependent relationships. They help students and families navigate challenges and find the supports they need so they can be healthy and successful in school and life. The trauma and challenges our students and families experienced through COVID-19 has only grown our state’s already great need for this work. Behavioral health professionals are critical to the success of our schools and communities.”

The Delaware State Behavioral Health Professional of the Year (BHPY) program is administered by the Delaware Department of Education (DDOE). The program recognizes outstanding service by school employees who are health care practitioners or human service providers who offer services for the purpose of improving an individual’s mental health. The Delaware Charter School Network also is invited to participate. Employees considered for the award include:

• School counselors
• School social workers
• Licensed clinical social workers
• School psychologists
• School nurses

From those nominated at a local level, one behavioral health professional of the year moves forward to represent each district or the charter school community in the state program. Each district/charter network winner receives a $2,000 personal award from the winner’s district or charter school. The state program then chooses one person annually to serve as Delaware’s Behavioral Health Professional of the Year. State winners receive an additional $3,000 personal award from DDOE as well as $5,000 to be used for the educational benefit of his or her students.

The 2022 District/Charter Behavioral Health Professionals of the Year are:

• Brandywine School District: Sheila Pickering, school nurse, Forwood Elementary School
• Caesar Rodney School District: Maria Romanko, school psychologist, Caesar Rodney High School
• Cape Henlopen School District: Felicia Kaas, school psychologist, Shields Elementary School
• Capital School District: Andrew Royer, school psychologist, Capital Early Childhood Program
• Charter School Network: Debbie Holstein, school nurse, ASPIRA Academy
• Christina School District: Michelle Cain, school psychologist, Christiana High School
• Colonial School District: Devon D. Stockton, school therapist, George Read Middle School
• Delmar School District: Ilah Preston, school counselor, Delmar Middle School
• Indian River School District: Amy Goodhue, clinical counselor, Long Neck Elementary School
• Lake Forest School District: Jana Jarrell, school nurse, North Elementary School
• Laurel School District: Catina Goff, school counselor, Laurel High School
• Milford School District: Rosa DiPiazza, school psychologist, Mispillion Elementary School
• New Castle County Vo-Tech School District: Tenika Jean-Paul, school psychologist, St. Georges Technical High School
• POLYTECH School District: Peggy McKibbin, school nurse, POLYTECH High School
• Red Clay Consolidated School District: Eric Pizzini, school psychologist, Cab Calloway School of the Arts
• Seaford School District: Jordan Forston, school counselor, West Seaford Elementary School
• Sussex Technical School District: Michael Firch, school counselor, Sussex Technical High School
• Woodbridge School District: Dawn Ellis, school nurse, Woodbridge High School

Find photos of the nominees here.

*Appoquinimink did not participate in the 2022 program. Smyrna has recognized school counselor Toni Hendricks of John Bassett Moore Intermediate School as its 2022 District Behavioral Health Professional of the Year. The district selection was made after the state application and interview process so Smyrna was not included in the state program this year.

Media contact: Alison May, alison.may@doe.k12.de.us, 302-735-4006

WILMINGTON, Del. –Governor John Carney, Lt. Governor Bethany Hall-Long and the Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families (DSCYF) on Tuesday announced a $16 million investment to renovate and remodel Wharton Hall on the DSCYF campus.

The new facilities will be funded by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). ARPA was championed in Congress by members of Delaware’s congressional delegation – Senators Tom Carper and Chris Coons, and Representative Lisa Blunt Rochester – and signed into law by President Joe Biden in 2021.

“Our Children’s Department showed up every day during the COVID-19 pandemic to serve our community. These ARPA investments will help us support the work these public servants do every day and address a gap in behavioral health services,” said Governor Carney. “Thank you to Senator Carper, Senator Coons and Representative Blunt Rochester for their advocacy efforts on the American Rescue Plan Act that will help Delaware recover from this pandemic and make our community stronger.”

The goal of this investment is to add more in-state crisis beds and create a state-of-the-art, trauma-informed behavioral health diagnostic center to meet the complex needs of adolescents.

“Investing in our children means we’re investing in our future,” said Senator Carper, Senator Coons, and Congresswoman Blunt Rochester. “Thanks to funds from the American Rescue Plan, which we voted to pass in March of last year, the State of Delaware will be able to completely renovate Wharton Hall on the Delaware Youth and Family Center campus. With these improvements, Wharton Hall will once again be able to provide much-needed support for Delaware children and their families.”

“Our children are faced with challenges every single day that affect their mental and physical health. Since the pandemic, mental health related visits for teenagers has increased 31 percent and suspected suicide attempts has increased 39 percent,” said Lt. Governor Bethany Hall-Long, PhD, RNC, FAAN. “Ensuring we have a top-tier equitable system in place to support the behavioral health needs of our youth, especially when they are most vulnerable and in crisis, is one of the most critical investments we can make. These enhancements, made possible through the American Rescue Plan Act, will help us deliver quality care to make Delaware families stronger and healthier. I am grateful for the leadership of our Governor and congressional delegation.”

“One in three high school students are reporting that they feel persistently sad and hopeless,” said Secretary of DSCYF Josette Manning. “This adolescent diagnosis center and expansion of crisis beds will allow us to provide better services to youth and adolescents while we keep them closer to their homes and closer to their communities, with targeted interventions to help stabilize them so that, ideally, they can return to their homes and their communities sooner. Thank you to the Governor, Lt. Governor, Federal Delegation, and the General Assembly for their support.”

Watch the press conference here.

Learn more about Delaware’s American Rescue Plan Investments here.

Register online at https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_5tCSTHX4QLmo1JoCQ3rozA

Dover, DE – On Tuesday, April 26 at 1:00 p.m. the Delaware Department of Correction invites you to join its next “DOC Insider Series” webinar with a focus on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.  The DOC Insider Series provides members of the public with an inside the walls look at Delaware’s correctional programs, practices, and policies.  Each 90-minute webinar includes a live informational presentation by DOC staff and partner organizations followed by an interactive question and answer session with attendees.

The April 26 Insider Series webinar focuses on what Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is, how it works, and a review of the types of CBT programming that are offered to incarcerated persons.  The DOC Insider Series Webinar: “Cognitive Behavioral Therapy” is facilitated by the Department of Correction Office of Planning, Research and Reentry and is presented by Michael Records, Bureau Chief of DOC’s Bureau of Healthcare, Substance Abuse, and Mental Health (BHSAMH), Vanessa Bennifield, BHSAMH Behavioral Health Treatment Services Director, and Bradley Owens, JD, Senior Consultant.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy is employed by the Delaware DOC in its prison facilities and community corrections centers and by Probation and Parole and has been shown across the country to reduce recidivism in both juveniles and adults.  In practice CBT helps participants become conscious of their own thoughts and behaviors and then make positive changes to impact their decision-making.  CBT programs address a variety of problems associated with criminal behavior and works to help participants develop and improve critical reasoning, problem solving, moral reasoning, social skills, self-control, and impulse management.

“The Delaware Department of Correction is committed to engaging with the community about how our correctional system operates and provides treatment, programming and training to meet our dual mission of public safety and offender rehabilitation,” Department of Correction Commissioner Monroe B. Hudson Jr. said.  “Please join us and get an insider’s perspective on how DOC’s Cognitive Behavioral Therapy programs support reentry by addressing some of the root causes of criminal behavior.”

DOC Insider Series Webinar: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy
Tuesday, April 26, 2022
1:00 – 2:30 p.m.
Register in advance at https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_5tCSTHX4QLmo1JoCQ3rozA
Webinar Presenters:
Michael Records, Bureau Chief of the Bureau of Healthcare, Substance Abuse, and Mental Health
Vanessa Bennifield, Behavioral Health Treatment Services Director, Bureau of Healthcare, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services
Bradley Owens, JD, Senior Consultant

Previous Insider Series webinars have focused on prison education, Substance Use Disorder treatment, reentry, sentence calculation and release dates, Probation and Parole, and inmate intake and classification.  All Insider Series webinars are posted on the DOC’s YouTube channel for viewing anytime:

• Prison Education: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L4EoiuBZyw0
• Sentence Calculation and Release Dates: https://youtu.be/_mHS_pRIZlk.
• Intake to Classification: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LM9PMlsi50
• Probation and Parole: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dmFNAfj0UI4
• Substance Use Disorder Treatment: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PugdaTfYKNE
• Reentry: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fhrACbEoLDk

Additional Insider Series webinars are planned for 2022. Follow DOC’s Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn social media channels for upcoming dates and registration details.

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