Funding Terminations for DHSS and DSAM public and mental health grants

WILMINGTON – Today, Delaware joined 22 other states and the District of Columbia in a lawsuit to help preserve $38 million of Congressionally approved commitments to the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services (DHSS) for public health, behavioral health and substance abuse services.

Delaware received notification on March 25, 2025, of the retroactive termination of funding from the Trump administration, which was effective Monday, March 24. The notification came without warning and without cause. While award notices indicated that appropriate expenses incurred prior to that date would be reimbursed, all attempts to draw the funds have been rejected.

The funding terminations canceled Congressionally approved grant commitments to DHSS to fund six public and mental health grants through its Division of Public Health (DPH) and Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health (DSAMH). The impacted grants support 62 state merit full-time employment (FTE) positions, as well as contracted staff employed by community providers to administer the programs.

“These unprecedented, unexpected federal cuts will undoubtedly cause very real and serious impacts to Delawareans who rely on essential DHSS programs – as well as to State employees who work with these grants and contracted community providers and their staff who are committed to helping us carry out critical health services throughout our state,” said DHSS Cabinet Secretary Josette D. Manning, Esq. “We will continue to exhaust every available avenue to restore promised federal funding to protect public health for all Delawareans.”

Specific grants impacted by the March 24 announcement include:

• Division of Public Health
  • Community Health Workers Grant
  • Health Disparities Grant
  • Immunization Grant
  • Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity for Prevention and Control of Emerging Infectious Diseases Grant
•  Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health
  • Substance Use Prevention, Treatment and Recovery Services Block Grant
  • Block Grants for Community Mental Health Services

To mitigate the catastrophic impacts of these grant cancellations, the State will support 30 days of continued work to avoid immediate layoffs and allow programs to wind down or be transferred to other funding sources.

For any questions, please email mila.myles@delaware.gov.