About Us
We're Here to Support our CommunityDGS is the largest non-profit provider of outpatient behavioral health services for children and families in Delaware, and the only statewide organization of its kind continuously accredited by The Joint Commission since 1999. Our vision for Delaware—resilient families nurturing children’s well‑being—flows from our mission to provide high‑quality, trauma‑informed therapeutic services that strengthen social, emotional, and behavioral wellness.
Each year, DGS serves an average of 3,500 children and youth through a clinically excellent continuum of care that includes outpatient therapy, community‑based services, school‑based supports, mobile crisis response, and short‑term youth crisis stabilization. Our clinical lines operate 24 hours a day, 365 days per year, ensuring that children and families have access to timely, flexible, and culturally responsive care wherever it is needed—at home, in school, in the community, or at one of our five office locations across Wilmington, Newark, Dover, Lewes, and Seaford.
The communities we serve face profound challenges. Many DGS clients experience homelessness, food insecurity, missed school, and economic strain. Over 80% of clients are Medicaid recipients, and 90% live in households earning under $30,000. We provide care to anyone in need, regardless of insurance status or ability to pay. Across all programs, over 93% of DGS clients report improvement in their level of functioning following treatment. The benefits of trauma‑informed care extend beyond the individual child—strengthening families, classrooms, peer groups, and communities.
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Clients report improvement in their level of functioning
30,000+ hours of Direct care to children, youth, and families
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Clients are Medicaid Recipients
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Incomes under $30K
DGS clinicians are expertly trained to treat a wide variety of diagnoses including depression, anxiety, mood disorders, eating disorders, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and traumatic stress‑related disorders. Treatment focuses on de‑escalating conflict and helping clients and their families develop a vision of the future and identify the skills, resources, and abilities needed to achieve that vision. Clinicians incorporate suicide‑prevention and violence‑prevention strategies, as well as approaches that build mindfulness, distress tolerance, and self‑regulation. DGS strongly believes in the importance of play, movement, music, creative arts, and other natural social‑emotional learning tools that can be integrated into clients’ daily routines to support healing and resilience.
For more than 70 years, DGS has created lasting positive impact for children and families in Delaware. Our commitment to accessible, high‑quality, trauma‑informed behavioral health care continues to guide our work as we expand our reach and respond to the growing needs of youth and families across the state.