Sen. Tizzy Lockman

This bill provides unit funding for full time employees who shall be hired to provide permanent substitute teaching support in Delaware schools. The bill also provides professional development requirements for those hired into these positions and creates a pathway to teaching to those individuals who meet the requirements for an emergency certificate.

This Act is an interstate compact called the Multistate Professional Counselor Licensure Compact, and it facilitates the interstate practice of licensed professional counseling. The Counseling Compact allows a counselor who is licensed in their home state and has not had any encumbrances on their license within the last 2 years to obtain the ability to practice counseling in other states participating in the Compact if the counselor satisfies the requirements, including completion of a criminal background check. A counselor must comply with the rules of any state in which they are practicing. Any state in which the counselor practices has the authority to remove the counselor's ability to practice in their state for a specific period of time, impose fines, and take other actions necessary to protect the health and safety of its citizens. If the counselor's home state license becomes encumbered, the counselor will lose the ability to practice interstate under the Compact until their home state license is no longer encumbered and at least 2 years have passed. Additionally, the Compact establishes protections, including data sharing requirements between participating states to enhance the exchange of licensure, investigative, and disciplinary information among participating states. The Compact establishes a commission to administer the Compact, and establishes that each participating state will have one delegate that serves on the Commission. The Compact also has a special provision to make it easier for active duty military personnel or their spouses who are counselors to practice counseling despite frequent moves. Counselors do not have to participate in the Compact to practice; counselors may choose to only apply for their state's license or to apply for licenses in other states without going through the Compact. The Counseling Compact must be enacted in 10 states to become effective. As of March 26, 2022, the Counseling Compact has been enacted in 6 states. The Compact is pending in 16 other states.

By this Act, Delaware would join the Audiology and Speech-Language Pathology Interstate Compact (the “Compact”). The Compact is an interstate compact, or a formal agreement among states, to facilitate the interstate practice of audiology and speech language pathology. Under the Compact, audiologists and speech-language pathologists (collectively, “practitioners”) who are licensed and in good standing in a Compact member state may practice in any other Compact member states via a “compact privilege,” which is equivalent to a license. This will remove the need for practitioners to get an individual license in each state where they want to practice. The Compact is the same in form and function as other occupational licensure compacts such as the Nurse Multistate Licensure Compact (adopted by Delaware, 24 Del. C. Ch. 19A), the Physical Therapy Compact (adopted by Delaware, 24 Del. C. Ch. 26C) and the Interstate Medical Licensure Compact (adopted by Delaware, 24 Del. C. Ch. 17A). The Compact authorizes in-person practice and telepractice based on a valid, unrestricted home state license in Compact member states. The Compact has been adopted by 17 states: Alabama, Colorado, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming. The Compact is pending before the legislatures of 9 other states. The Compact establishes a licensure data system allowing for instantaneous verification of licensure information. The Compact also establishes an interstate commission, composed of member state officials, to carry out the Compact’s purposes.

This Act establishes a mental health services unit for Delaware middle schools. The unit is phased in over 3 years, beginning in FY2023, to arrive at a final ratio of 250 full-time equivalent students grades 6-8 for a full-time school counselor, school social worker, or licensed clinical social worker. Additionally a unit ratio of 700 full time equivalent students for grades 6-8 for employment of a full-time school psychologist. This Act defines “mental health services” as prevention, response, and coordination services delivered to students in elementary schools. Mental Health disorders are the most common health problem for school aged youth. According to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), one in five youth are affected by a mental health disorder. Additionally, 50% of lifetime mental illnesses begin by age 14. Untreated mental illness leads to negative outcomes including increased risk of dropout, homelessness, substance abuse, other chronic illnesses, incarceration, and possibly suicide. According to the National Alliance on Mental Health, ninety percent of people who have taken their own life have had an underlying mental health condition, and suicides are on the rise. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, suicides are now the second leading cause of death for youth ages 10-14. Delaware schools need trained and experienced mental health professionals to provide prevention and support programs and services to students. This bill will lower ratios of students to counselors and increase access to mental health services for middle school students.

A 2017 survey of Delaware high school students found that during the 12 months before the survey the following occurred: (1) 27.6% of the students felt sad or hopeless almost every day for 2 weeks in a row so that they stopped some usual activities. (2) 16.1% of students seriously considered attempting suicide. (3) 12% of students made a plan about how they would attempt suicide. (4) 7.2% of students attempted suicide. This Act increases student awareness of mental health by requiring the Department of Education, with the approval of the State Board of Education, to establish and implement statewide mental health educational programs for each grade, kindergarten through grade 12, in each school district and charter school in this State. Finally, this Act requires the Department of Education to annually report to the Governor and General Assembly regarding the implementation of this Act.

This Act amends Section 3-304 of the City of Wilmington’s Charter to allow the City of Wilmington to determine whether, and to what extent, its employees are required to be City residents. This Act does not affect residency requirements for City Council Members.

This Concurrent Resolution provides notice of a hearing on, and the alleged reasonable cause for, the removal, under § 13 of Article III of the Delaware Constitution, of Kathleen K. McGuiness, Auditor of Accounts, following the July 1, 2022 jury verdict of Guilty on counts that include misconduct in office.

Delaware law already prohibits the use of restraints on women who are giving birth or in labor except in limited circumstances. This Act expands that protection to include women in the second or third trimester of pregnancy and those in the 13-week immediate post-partum period. Wrist restraints fastened in front of the body may be used during transport except during labor or delivery or while being transported with a newborn. Wrist, leg, and waist restraints may also be used in extraordinary circumstances, but a licensed medical professional must be notified as soon as practicable when waist or leg restraints are applied and examine the prisoner within 10 minutes of the notification. Leg and waist restraints are prohibited for prisoners in labor and delivery. The Act also requires that a pregnant or post-partum woman who is required to squat or cough during a strip search be provided accommodations to avoid falls and prohibits vaginal exams except those performed by a medical professional. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists states that shackling a pregnant inmate increases the risk of falling, impairs evaluations for serious pregnancy-associated conditions, causes pain and skin damage, and further endangers inmates at increased risk of preeclampsia. The use of restraints in the post-partum period creates additional risks to physical and mental health.

This Act requires that the Division of Medicaid and Medical Assistance to present a plan to the General Assembly by November 1, 2022 for coverage of doula services by Medicaid providers.

Improving the quality of maternal health care and ensuring full access to it improves health outcomes and reduces preventable pregnancy-related deaths. The United States has one of the highest rates of maternal mortality among high-income countries and wide disparities by race that have been documented since rates separated by race were first published in 1935. Currently, Indigenous and Black women are dying at two to three times the rate of White women, Asian/Pacific Islander women, and Hispanic women. Investigating maternal deaths—specifically by obtaining information beyond vital statistics data—is imperative to understanding why people may die while pregnant, during labor and delivery, and in the postpartum period. (Source: Guttmacher Institute) Maternal mortality review is an essential component for improvement. Delaware added the review of maternal mortality to the duties of the existing Child Death Review Commission in 2008, however, the focus and processes of the Commission need improvement to match our evolving understanding of maternal morbidity and mortality as well as racial disparities. This Act changes the name of the Commission, from “Child Death Review Commission” to “Child and Maternal Death Review Commission” to reflect the intended dual focus of the Commission. The definition of “maternal death” is updated to include death during pregnancy or within a year from the end of pregnancy, and related to, or aggravated by, the pregnancy or birth, including death by suicide. The membership of the Commission is updated to include a midwife, a doula, and a member of a community group focused on women’s health, teen pregnancy, or public health. In making appointments to the Commission, the Governor is directed to consider the racial diversity of the membership. Most of the work of the Commission and death review panels is quite properly, closed to the public, to protect sensitive medical information and other protected personal information. However, to increase access to the work of the Commission, and to provide the Commission with the insight of diverse members of the public and with other public bodies addressing similar issues, the Act requires the Commission to hold at least one annual meeting jointly with the Delaware Perinatal Quality Collaborative to discuss findings, recommendations, and initiatives of that body. The Commission is also required to publicly post its draft report to the General Assembly and Governor and accept written public comment thereon, as well as hold a public meeting in each county to present its draft findings and recommendations and accept public comment.