Assistance Programs in Delaware

The Delaware Energy Assistance Program helps low-income households with home energy costs in three parts: winter heating assistance from October 1 through March 31, year-round crisis assistance for a shutoff or empty fuel tank, and summer cooling assistance that can include a free window air conditioner. Community partners run intake. Apply through Delaware ASSIST at assist.dhss.delaware.gov, call the Division of Social Services at 302-255-9875, or call Catholic Charities in your county.

Free home energy-efficiency work for income-eligible Delaware households: air sealing, insulation, duct and pipe sealing, and a heating-system safety check that together typically cut energy bills by 30 to 50 percent. The DNREC State Energy Office runs the program through a statewide administrator, the Energy Coordinating Agency. To apply, call the Energy Coordinating Agency at 302-504-6111; for other questions, call DNREC at 302-735-3480.

SNAP, called the Food Supplement Program in Delaware, loads monthly food money onto an EBT card you use like a debit card at most grocery stores. Apply online through Delaware ASSIST at assist.dhss.delaware.gov, which handles SNAP, Medicaid, cash assistance, energy help, and WIC on one application, or at any State Service Center. For help, call the Division of Social Services at 302-255-9040.

WIC gives healthy food, breastfeeding support, nutrition education, and health referrals to pregnant and postpartum people, infants, and children up to age 5. Delaware WIC runs through the Division of Public Health. Start your application through Delaware ASSIST at assist.dhss.delaware.gov, then call your county WIC office to set up an appointment. In New Castle County, call 302-605-4066.

The Delaware Healthy Children Program is the state's CHIP coverage for uninsured children under age 19 whose family earns a little too much for Medicaid. As of July 1, 2024, there are no monthly premiums, and there are no copays for medical care or prescriptions except for non-emergency use of the emergency room. Apply through Delaware ASSIST at assist.dhss.delaware.gov, or call 1-800-996-9969 to request an application.

Delaware Medicaid is free or low-cost health coverage for children, pregnant people, parents, older adults, people with disabilities, and low-income adults. Delaware expanded Medicaid, so low-income adults ages 19 to 64 can qualify on income alone. Apply online through Delaware ASSIST at assist.dhss.delaware.gov, or call the Division of Medicaid and Medical Assistance at 302-255-9040.

Delaware offers two versions of the Earned Income Tax Credit, and you pick the one that helps most. One is refundable and equal to 4.5 percent of your federal EITC, so it can pay out even if you owe no tax. The other is nonrefundable and equal to 20 percent of your federal EITC, which can wipe out more tax but cannot drop below zero. Claim it on your Delaware return using DE Schedule II.

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, TANF, is Delaware's monthly cash assistance for low-income families with children. Most adults must take part in work or approved work activities for at least 30 hours a week. Apply online through Delaware ASSIST at assist.dhss.delaware.gov or at any State Service Center, then attend an interview with a DSS social worker. Call 302-255-9040 for help.

Temporary weekly payments if you lost work through no fault of your own, from the Delaware Department of Labor, Division of Unemployment Insurance. File your claim online through the Division's claim system, linked from labor.delaware.gov, which is the fastest way. For help, call the statewide Unemployment Insurance line at 302-761-8446.

The Community Legal Aid Society, CLASI, provides free civil legal help to low-income Delawareans on housing, public benefits, family, immigration, disability, and elder-law matters, with offices in Wilmington, Dover, and Georgetown. Call the New Castle County office at 302-575-0660, the Kent County office in Dover at 302-674-8500, or the Sussex County office in Georgetown at 302-856-0038. For consumer, unemployment, and housing cases, Legal Services Corporation of Delaware also helps at lscd.com.

Dial 2-1-1 from any Delaware phone, or call 1-800-560-3372, for free, confidential help finding local assistance with housing, utilities, food, healthcare, and more. You can also text your ZIP code to 898-211. Delaware 211 is staffed Monday through Friday, 8am to 7pm, and it refers you to local programs rather than paying bills itself.