Maria Bini

Delaware Guidance Services for Children and Youth, Inc.

Delaware Guidance Services for Children & Youth, Inc. (DGS) has been serving Delaware's families since 1953 and is the largest not-for-profit provider of behavioral health services for children and youth in the state. We serve approximately 10,000 children and their families annually with a continuum of mental health programs offered through clinics in Wilmington, Newark, Dover, Lewes and Seaford. Accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO), we are also a member of Delaware's Division of Child Mental Health Services system. DGS mission is to "provide quality therapeutic services to children, youth, and their families to increase their social, emotional, and behavioral wellness" and its vision for Delaware is "resilient families nurturing children's well-being." DGS accomplishes its mission using a strength and family-based approach that seeks to understand and address the effects of trauma by building resiliency and intervening at the individual, the family and the community level. DGS delivers services in the setting that best meets each client's needs including in the office, home, school or other community setting. DGS is the largest provider of outpatient behavioral health services to children and their families in the State of Delaware. Fully accredited by the Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations (JCAHO) since 1976, DGS serves over 10,000 Delaware children through over 100,000 visits each year. The families we serve come from diverse backgrounds (38% African-American, 57% Caucasian, and 5% Hispanic), over 80% receive Medicaid and approximately 90% have household incomes under $30,000.