Welcome

Dear Visitors:

Welcome to the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services website, our public entryway for information, resources and contacts.

As one of the largest agencies in state government, DHSS has 11 divisions, employs more than 4,000 people and in one way or another affects almost every citizen in our great state. Our divisions provide services in the areas of public health, social services, substance abuse and mental health, child support, developmental disabilities, long-term care, visual impairment, aging and adults with physical disabilities, state service centers, management services, financial coaching, and Medicaid and medical assistance. The Department includes three long-term care facilities and the state's only public psychiatric hospital, the Delaware Psychiatric Center.

Our Department's mission is simple yet profound: to improve the quality of life for Delaware's citizens by promoting health and well-being, fostering self-sufficiency, and protecting vulnerable populations.

In carrying out that mission, our employees and contractors provide services that touch almost every Delawarean every day.

Those services include:

• Providing a strong safety net for our neighbors in need through food benefits, Medicaid, subsidized child care and cash assistance.
• Connecting people suffering from addiction or mental illness to services to treat their disease.
• Supporting seniors so they can age safely and with dignity in the community.
• Ensuring that children receive the financial support from parents that they deserve.
• Inspecting nursing homes and long-term care facilities.
• Supporting people with developmental disabilities in being engaged members of the community.
• Providing resources, training and employment opportunities for individuals who are blind or visually impaired.
• Connecting prospective volunteers with opportunities to serve.
• Monitoring and helping to control the spread of disease.
• Providing free one-on-one financial coaching.
• Inspecting restaurants.
• Reconnecting people with their lost pets.
• Ensuring safe drinking water.

While providing those services is a critical part of our mission, we also are dedicated to ensuring that your tax dollars are well managed. We take our responsibility as stewards of the taxpayers' money seriously. That's why we work hard to provide the best services we can in the most effective and efficient way possible, and welcome the opportunity to embrace continuous improvement.

Thank you for visiting our website, which is accessible for people with visual impairments. I hope you will find the information and resources you are looking for, and if not, please call our Director of Communications at (302)573-0387 or email us at DHSSCommunications1@delaware.gov and we'll do our best to help you.

I also welcome your comments on the job we are doing for you as clients, consumers, family members or taxpayers. Together, we can build a stronger and healthier state for all of us.

Sincerely,

Josette D. Manning, Esq.
Secretary