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A state board charged with examining opioid overdoses found that expanding treatment options, police officer training and shelter access could reduce the number of deaths for Delawareans battling mental illnesses along with addiction. 

The Delaware Overdose Fatality Review Commission, which does not have public meetings, released its annual report on Oct. 21, reviewing a sample of 103 overdoses from 2022 to create recommendations for how state leaders can best address opioid deaths in the First State. 

The state saw 338 fatal drug overdoses last year, a roughly 36% decrease compared to 2023. For years, Delaware ranked as one of the hardest-hit states in the nation on a per-capita basis, but the figures represent a second straight year of decreases and the lowest annual total since 2017.

In the commission’s report, it conceded its sample is not perfect, and that there were obstacles in securing more complete data. One of those obstacles, the report said, was securing data from the state’s largest hospital. 

“Notably, data from ChristianaCare was unavailable for this report and the 2022 dataset, which further limits the completeness of the overall information,” the report said. 

The commission’s director, Julia Lawes, said in an email the hospital did provide the data, but not in a “timely manner” due to a third-party service provider. However, Lawes said the issue had been addressed and measures were put in place to prevent it from happening in the future. 

The report also said there were 58 people excluded from the data because the commission was only able to obtain their death certificates and limited information about their circumstances. The report speculates this could mean these individuals did not interact with various medical providers or law enforcement prior to their deaths. 

According to the report, the average person who died from an overdose in 2022 was a 42-year-old white male, and most people had high school diplomas and worked in construction. 

The data also said that nearly 92% of people who died of a fatal overdose had fentanyl in their systems. 

What did the commission recommend?

One of the commission’s first recommendations was that Delaware providers expand treatment options and improve follow-ups for those battling mental illnesses as well as addiction. 

The report said services in the state can be “fragmented and disjointed,” and it recommends expanding the continuum of care to better serve patients. When asked about whether that meant stronger communication between providers or consolidating their services, Lawes said it could be both. 

“Ultimately, we’d love to see improved care coordination across the board throughout the state, so people can more easily access the full range of services they need,” Lawes said. 

Another recommendation from the commission includes improving training for law enforcement when it comes to interacting with those who may be struggling with addiction and have a mental illness. 

This training, the report said, could include partnering with different diversion programs that keep people out of the justice system and guide people to the appropriate care. 

An additional recommendation included expanding access to shelter services for people who are homeless. According to the report, nearly half the people in the sample were either unhoused or housing-insecure, meaning they had no identified residence. 

The report stressed its support of “housing first” models that support placing people who are homeless into permanent living arrangements.

But the report also said that model could face “implementation challenges” following an executive order that bars federal agencies from funding programs that use housing first policies. 

Data from the commission’s sample found that of those who were homeless prior to their death, 10% had accessed treatment or services through a shelter, with the lowest shelter use in Kent and Sussex counties. 

The report pointed to a lack of public transportation in the two counties and recommended creating dedicated shuttle routes for “high-need” areas and partnering with ride-share companies to provide vouchers for trips to medical or treatment appointments. 

“These measures could help ensure that individuals are not denied access to life-saving treatment and recovery support simply because they lack transportation,” the report said.

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