Center for Disabilities Studies

Neuroscientists who specialize in developmental disabilities warn that some children with ADHD are having significant difficulty adapting to distance learning, as their home setting and the devices they use to attend class present distractions that classrooms do not. Though breaks for physical activity and other strategies can help, experts caution they are not replacements for a return to physical classrooms and educators trained to support students with specific learning needs.

Due to the state’s high rate of mortality among nursing home residents who contract Covid-19, AARP Delaware called for greater transparency in the way nursing homes handle residents with the illness. The organization said the state should release daily, not weekly, reports on Covid-19 in nursing homes and allow family members to contact residents by video.

The Trump administration announced it plans to stop collecting census data one month earlier than planned, alarming disability advocates, who warned that population undercounts could threaten funding for crucial programs. Federal funds for Medicaid, education, housing vouchers, food assistance and other programs are calculated based on census population data, as are the number of lawmakers a state will have in the House of Representatives.

The National Governors Association selected Delaware and three other states to work with national leaders in identifying causes of childhood trauma. Staff in Delaware’s Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families will learn about effective screening techniques and get tips on how to form effective partnerships with private organizations. This opportunity comes less than two years after Gov. Carney declared Delaware a trauma-informed state.

Delaware schools will now be required to contact parents or guardians if someone who tested positive for COVID-19 was in a school building at the same time as students. In such a situation, schools will consult with an epidemiologist at the Delaware Division of Public Health to decide what other steps need to be taken. The requirement was created by Gov. Carney’s latest modification to the Covid-related state of emergency declaration.