Delaware Quality Award Recipients
Delaware Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families

The Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families (DSCYF) was created 21 years ago to combine within one agency child protective and mental health services that had been located in the Department of Health and Social Services, juvenile probation services that had been located in Family Court, and juvenile detention centers and the Ferris School for Boys that had been located in the Department of Correction.

These services were combined in a single agency to:

• Avoid fragmentation and duplication of services, while increasing accountability for delivery and administration of these services
• Plan, develop and administer a comprehensive and unified service delivery system to abused, neglected, dependent, delinquent and mentally ill or emotionally disturbed children and youth within a continuum of care, which shall include the involvement of their family, within the least restrictive environment possible
• Emphasize preventive services to children, youth and their families in order to avoid costs to the State of individual instability

Our mission is to provide leadership and advocacy for Delaware’s children. The Department’s primary responsibility is to provide and manage a range of services for children who have experienced abandonment, abuse, adjudication, mental illness, neglect, or substance abuse. We endorse a holistic approach to enable children to reach their fullest potential.

Our vision is THINK OF THE CHILD FIRST! We want every child to be safe and have stability, self-esteem, and a sense of hope. The Delaware Children’s Department will lead a community-based system of care that is child centered and assures effective, timely, and appropriate support for Delaware’s children. We will achieve our mission when families, staff, community partners, and other stakeholders think of the child first.

The primary goals of the Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families (DSCYF) are:

• The safety of children and youth
• Positive outcomes for children in its services

To achieve these goals, the Department provides services in five core areas:

• Child Protective Services
• Juvenile Justice Services
• Child Mental Health Services
• Prevention and Early Intervention Services
• Child Care Licensing

DSCYF’s goals and core services are supported by five organization-wide strategic sets of activities that are represented by Department’s “CHILD” acronym: C - Child Focused, System; H - Holistic Service; I - Inspired Workforce; L - Leading Edge Management; D - Dedicated Partnerships.

The Department’s strategic efforts are focused on building service delivery infrastructure that supports a system of care approach within the Department and among other state agencies, partners and stakeholders state-wide that lead to improvements in child and family functioning. A system of care supports services that are child-centered, individualized, family-focused, strength and community based, culturally respectful, appropriate in type and duration, and seamless within and across organizations. Family members are included as partners on service teams. Our system of care can be summarized by the phrase: “One Child, One Team, One Plan.”

The Department employs about 1,230 full-time staff and case workers with offices and services in all three of Delaware’s counties. The Office of the Secretary and the Division headquarters are located at 1825 Faulkland Road, Wilmington, DE.