A bipartisan group of lawmakers have called on the U.S. Health Department to distribute money from an emergency fund to health care providers that rely on Medicaid, such as agencies that support people with developmental disabilities. A majority of coronavirus relief spending has, to date, gone to Medicare facilities that primarily serve the elderly population.

Delaware lawmakers introduced several bills to codify healthcare and voting provisions of Gov. Carney’s Covid-19 state of emergency executive order. Among the legislation are bills that would ensure that residents can keep their doctors’ appointments via telemedicine and vote by mail in the upcoming elections.

Delaware schools will now be required to contact parents or guardians if someone who tested positive for COVID-19 was in a school building at the same time as students. In such a situation, schools will consult with an epidemiologist at the Delaware Division of Public Health to decide what other steps need to be taken. The requirement was created by Gov. Carney’s latest modification to the Covid-related state of emergency declaration.

In the wake of police shootings of individuals experiencing mental health episodes, such as Daniel Prude in Rochester, N.Y., some in law enforcement and mental health fields have raised concerns about Crisis Intervention Teams, a common method of handling mental health emergency calls. The model includes training police officers in de-escalation techniques, but critics say without more fully integrating mental health professionals – and better funding mental health services – it will not effectively deescalate violence between police and citizens.

Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pa.) introduced two bills that would route certain 911 calls away from law enforcement and toward social service providers. Calls about criminal activity, fire and medical emergencies would not be affected. Casey said the bill would have prevented incidents like the Philadelphia police shooting of Walter Wallace Jr., a man of color whose family called emergency services concerned about his mental health.