Thursday October 11, 2007

Delaware Psychiatric Center Task Force Announces Second Public Meeting

Dover – The Governor’s Task Force on the Delaware Psychiatric Center (DPC) will hold its second public meeting on Tuesday October 16^th from 1:30 – 3:30 p.m. It will be held in Training Rooms 1&2 at the Springer Building on the Herman M. Holloway Sr. Health and Social Services campus.

The agenda for Tuesday’s meeting of the full nine member Task Force includes approving the meeting minutes from the first meeting on September 17^th, as well as hearing reports from the four subcommittees which have been meeting over the last week.

Subcommitte #1 is tasked with reviewing documents by monitoring agencies, subcomitte #2 is tasked with reviewing staffing, personnel, training and professional development issues, practices and opportunities, Subcomittee #3 is reviewing additional opportunities for community placement and Subcommittee #4 is tasked with reviewing the need for a new DPC facility.

Task Force co-chair Rita Landgraf will also present a summary of recommendations for improvements she has received from the public as well as any she learned of while attending the House legislative hearings.

Like the first meeting held in September, Tuesday’s meeting will be broadcast live over the internet for those who cannot attend in person. The DPC Task Force website is available at www.dpctaskforce.delaware.gov. Instructions on how to take advantage of either the streaming audio or video options are available on the right side of the home page.

The DPC Task Force intends to use the website as a tool for keeping the public continually updated on the progress of its work over the next three months.


The nine member DPC Task Force was created by Governor Minner on August 17 to examine opportunities for continued improvement at the DPC. The members are charged with reviewing key areas of the DPC and its operations and making recommendations regarding hiring procedures, training, professional development opportunities for staff, and potential designs for a new facility.

The Task Force is due to make recommendations to Governor Minner no later than December 15, 2007.