Center for Disabilities Studies

In an op-ed, two Delaware PTA executives called on state leaders to continue improving practices for lead exposure testing in children. Lead poisoning can cause neurological damage and behavioral and learning disabilities. The authors say lead exposure screening questionnaires can be confusing, children over two years old are ineligible for blood tests and there is currently no way to check for the presence of lead in houses until residents begin showing symptoms of lead poisoning.

The Delaware-based Beau Biden Foundation is partnering with the Special Olympics to provide abuse prevention and recognition training to employees, assess athlete protection rules and develop better volunteer screening. According to the Beau Biden Foundation chairwoman,
about 30 percent of children with disabilities are sexually abused before age 18.

State Rep. Paul Baumbach says he will introduce a bill to allow terminally ill individuals to commit physician-assisted suicide by ingesting medication soon after the Delaware Legislature convenes in its new session. A version of the bill introduced in the last session did not pass. Some disability advocates expressed concern that legalizing physician-assisted suicide could lead to people with disabilities being coerced into undergoing the procedure.

A Delaware judge allows to continue a lawsuit alleging the state does not allocate enough money to adequately support students with disabilities, students who come from low-income homes and English Language Learners. In denying the state’s motion to dismiss
the case, the judge wrote that Delaware’s school funding formula is tilted in favor of schools in affluent areas.

The News Journal recognizes Special Olympics Delaware as one of the 11 Delaware nonprofit organizations identified as particularly effective and trustworthy. The ratings come from the nonprofit Charity Navigator, which ranks organizations on various criteria including
how effectively they manage their finances.