Wilmington City Councilwoman Sherry Dorsey Walker is running for Lieutenant Governor in Delaware’s Democratic Primary.
Delaware Public Media’s Megan Pauly recently sat down with Dorsey Walker as part of our interview series with all of the Lt. Governor Democrat candidates.
They discussed matters of criminal justice, education, the budget and more.
Wilmington City Councilwoman Sherry Dorsey Walker wants to end the “schoolhouse to jailhouse” pipeline as Delaware’s next Lieutenant Governor.
She says House Bill 85 is contributing to the problem. She says that kids who get in trouble during school are most likely victims of trauma, and should be referred to mental health services.
Instead, many end up in the criminal justice system.
“Instead of giving the child what he or she needs in terms of a wellness center and treatment, the children are being punished for the behaviors of those around them," she said. "And children will act out, because negative attention is better than no attention at all.”
As Lieutenant Governor, Dorsey Walker says she’d help reallocate funding to ensure that the necessary trauma-informed care programs are working in schools, especially those with the highest rates of poverty.