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DSCYF outlines school‑based prevention, Take Care Delaware partnership and crisis response procedures
Summary
DSCYF described school‑based prevention programs, behavioral health consultants and the Take Care Delaware notification system that alerts schools after a child is exposed to trauma; the department also explained crisis pathways and when to call 911 versus the MRSS crisis line.
DSCYF officials told the Joint Finance Committee the department’s prevention and school‑based programs aim to reduce entry into the child welfare and juvenile systems and provide crisis response statewide.
Programs in schools: The department maintains a K–5 early intervention program with 53 Family Service Interventionists working in elementary schools and a behavioral health consultant program that places clinicians in 30 middle schools. Yeatman and PBH Director Eileen Fink said those staff provide case management, referrals and early supports for families and children, including helping with food insecurity, housing navigation and connection to clinical care.
Take Care Delaware: Fink described Take Care Delaware, a model that mirrors ‘‘Handle With Care’’ programs in other states. When law enforcement or first responders identify a child exposed to trauma (domestic violence, parental arrest, other traumatic events), officers can notify the child’s school. The school then follows a locally developed protocol—ranging from additional in‑school supports to referrals to DSCYF services—so teachers and staff understand a child’s exposure and can respond without escalating discipline.
Crisis pathways and MRSS: For immediate psychiatric crises, Fink said the department’s Mobile Response and Stabilization Services (MRSS) operates a statewide crisis function; schools can call MRSS for assessment and stabilization. Yeatman emphasized that for active safety threats schools should still call 911 first because DSCYF crisis response cannot match 911 response times. MRSS can then assess and work with families when the situation is not a first‑responder emergency.
Why it matters: Committee members asked how school‑based roles fit new state investments in school mental health; Yeatman cautioned that moving clinicians into schools without ensuring community treatment capacity can shift referral bottlenecks rather than solve them. "You'll never hear us argue against putting more mental health services into a school," she said, but added that if school staff only refer and do not provide treatment in‑school, the system could lose community provider capacity.
