The Delaware Department of Justice is set to present its budget recommendations to the state Joint Finance Committee Thursday.
In addition to the Justice Department, committee members will hear from the state Judicial Branch, the state Office of Defense Services and non-judicial agencies such as the state Office of the Public Guardian.
The Delaware Department of Education recently presented its budget appeals to committee members on Wednesday, followed by discussion and public comment.
ICYMI:Delaware Department of Education presents budget requests to the Joint Finance Committee
Non-judicial entities’ requests span personnel costs, additional support
Following the Judicial Branch’s budget recommendations, many non-judicial state agencies – including the Delaware Office of the Public Guardian, the Delaware Office of the Child Advocate and the Delaware Nursing Home Residents Quality Assurance Commission – made their respective presentations to committee members.
The Public Guardian Office provides guardianship and related services to First State adult residents in need.
Requests not included in Carney’s recommended budget include an additional $9,000 to help convert the office’s “financial case management system to a web [and] cloud-based software” system and $84,900 to help support an additional Senior Guardian case manager and further assistance for the office’s current guardian case managers, according to the non-judicial services budget summary.
The Child Advocate Office, which seeks to protect and defend the well-being and safety of children in Delaware, was the second non-judicial agency to present.
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Requests made by the office that were not included in Carney’s recommended budget include $82,100 to help support a Family Services Program Support administrator and $66,300 to help “supplement losses” related to Victims of Crime Act grant funding.
The Quality Assurance Commission, which reviews nursing homes across the state and addresses complaints, requested roughly $19,600 to help “annualize three months of personnel costs” for one full-time position and one casual seasonal role, according to the budget summary. (An additional $11,500, which was also requested to address this need, was not included in the budget.)
Other requests from the Commission not included in Carney’s recommended budget include $8,500 to help fund operational increases to correspond with “the new number of staff members provided” in the 2025 fiscal year.
State Judicial Branch requests staffing support for Court of Chancery, Family Court
The Delaware Judicial Branch was the first state institution to present to the Joint Finance Committee.
The First State court system includes the Delaware Supreme Court, Family Court and the Court of Common Pleas, among others.
Delaware Chief Justice Collins Seitz, Jr. presented the branch’s budget requests, some of which were in former Gov. John Carney’s recommended budget. Those included $885,000 to help support two additional magistrates and other positions in the Court of Chancery and $165,800 to support an additional judge and other support staff roles for Kent County Family Court, according to the budget summary.
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Seitz then discussed items not included in Carney’s recommended budget.
One of these requests includes $487,000 to help fund the state Court Interpreter Program, which provides certified interpreters and additional language assistance in courts across the First State.
Another request includes $526,100 to fund several staff positions within and additional support for “existing Magistrate teams” in the Court of Chancery, as a means of keeping up with “the demands of scheduling and docket management,” according to the budget summary.
This is a developing story. Updates will be made throughout the day.
Olivia Montes covers state government and community impact. You can reach her at [email protected].
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