Delaware House Majority Leader Valerie Longhurst is co-chair of a new national caucus of state lawmakers focused on mental health policy.
Longhurst says a meeting between lawmakers from more than a dozen state legislatures organized by the White House last week made clear the need for greater coordination between states to address shortages of mental health professionals and long-term care facilities, along with fine-tuning early interventions for children.
Longhurst will help lead a larger group of state lawmakers in ongoing conversations about model policies and inter-state coordination. She says the goal is to improve communication between states to identify successful policies and policy gaps.
“Every state takes a different approach. Mine is going upstream, for others it’s long-term care," she said. "Everybody’s trying to grasp at something instead of looking at a holistic approach from A to Z.”
She notes that other states took interest in Delaware’s recent legislation requiring mental health counselors in elementary and middle schools, and the caucus could provide a chance to collaborate more closely with neighboring states on shortages of inpatient psychiatric care options.
Other lawmakers, including State Senators Nicole Poore and Laura Sturgeon and State Rep. Melissa Minor-Brown, will also participate in the caucus.
