DOVER, Del. (AP) - Delaware health and social services officials are asking for about $22 million in additional funding next year to serve the mentally ill, developmentally disabled and other vulnerable populations.
Health and Social Services Secretary Rita Landgraf said Thursday that her agency needs about $3.2 million in additional funding in fiscal 2016 to meet benchmarks established in a 2011 settlement with the federal government aimed at moving more mental health patients in Delaware out of institutions and into community settings. That request includes $1.1 million for housing vouchers.
Landgraf also wants more than $6 million in additional funding for serving the developmentally disabled and $3.6 million in additional funding for substance abuse programs.
The department's overall budget request is almost $1.2 billion, an increase of about 2 percent over this year.
