DELAWARE'S PROGRESS ON THE PRENATAL-TO-3 STATE POLICY ROADMAP
The Prenatal-to-3 State Policy Roadmap guides state leaders on the most effective investments to ensure all children thrive from the start. Since the 2020 Roadmap, Delaware increased the state minimum wage to more than $10 per hour. The state also adopted a statewide paid family and medical leave program (to be fully implemented in 2026) and increased the generosity of the state earned income tax credit (EITC) by implementing a small refundable EITC in addition to the larger nonrefundable EITC. Delaware is one of 11 states that has implemented two of four effective Roadmap policies.
Delaware reduced administrative burden for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) by offering simplified reporting to all families, expanded access to comprehensive screening and connection programs, and took steps to increase access to child care subsidies. The state also newly implemented Medicaid coverage for community-based doula services and began using Medicaid funding to support evidence-based home visiting programs. Delaware also continued support for Early Head Start and Early Intervention services.
Because of state and federal investments, a parent earning the minimum wage with two children in Delaware has approximately $35,700 in total resources available to them in 2024, up from $21,200 in 2020.
WHAT PROGRESS HAS DELAWARE MADE IN IMPLEMENTING EFFECTIVE ROADMAP POLICIES?
WHAT PROGRESS HAS DELAWARE MADE IN INCREASING ACCESS TO EFFECTIVE ROADMAP STRATEGIES?
Visit the United States summary for information on the broader nationwide progress since the 2020 Roadmap toward full and equitable implementation of each of the 12 Roadmap policies and strategies.
HOW DO DELAWARE’S POLICY CHOICES IMPACT FAMILY RESOURCES?
State policy choices do not operate in isolation from one another. Instead, they interact to create a system of support for children and families that varies significantly state-by-state. Our Policy Impact Calculator demonstrates this variation and illustrates the impact of policy choices on family resources over time.
In Delaware, a parent earning the minimum wage with two children has $35,651 in total resources available to them in 2024, up from $21,240 in 2020.
- Change in total resources due to state policies: + $11,584
- Change in total resources due to federal policies: + $2,827
To learn more about the impact that each effective policy and strategy has on the eight prenatal-to-3 policy goals, the choices that states can make to effectively implement them, the progress states have made in the past year toward implementation, and how states compare to each other in their generosity and reach of the policies and strategies, check out the 2024 Prenatal-to-3 State Policy Roadmap.
