Written by a parent, not a doctor. Nothing here is medical advice.

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Delaware program

Pay while you care for your child (Delaware Paid Leave)

Delaware Paid Leave replaces part of your wages and protects your job when your work history and leave qualify.

What it is

Delaware Paid Leave replaces part of your wages and protects your job when your work history and leave qualify.

This benefit can provide income while you care for a family member with a serious health condition. Eligibility depends on Delaware employee counts, your position and your work history. Payroll can check how it runs with FMLA and employer pay.

Eligibility rules
  • State, county and municipal governments are included, but specified positions are excluded. The benefits office checks your position.
What you get
  • 80% of average weekly wages, up to $900 a week in 2026 and 2027.
  • The same or an equivalent job when protected leave ends.
What the help includes
  • Eligible leave runs concurrently with FMLA when both apply; the same absence does not create a second block of time off.
If you decide to apply
  1. Ask your employer’s benefits office about family caregiving leave and the Delaware Paid Leave claims process.
  2. Have your start date, hours worked in the last year and the clinician’s statement ready.
  3. Ask payroll which leave dates count under FMLA and how employer pay is treated.

Employer benefits office and Delaware Paid Leave · Official page ↗

What happens next
  • The employer decides a complete claim within five business days. The first payment arrives about two weeks after approval and is paid back to the first day of leave.
  • Foreseeable leave generally requires filing about 30 days beforehand. For an unforeseeable emergency, the stated window is within 24 to 48 hours if possible and no later than 30 days after the first day.
Good to know

Family caregiving and medical leave share six weeks in any 24 months. They are not six weeks each.

Other details
  • An employer’s written headcount and position information help distinguish family caregiving from the separate parental-leave benefit.
Official sources
Ask your social worker

“Could Delaware Paid Leave cover time caring for our child? What are the benefits and tradeoffs with FMLA and employer pay, and could you help us apply if we qualify?”

Why I’m asking: I want to understand the income, job protection and deadlines before deciding how to take time off.

More background and detailed requirements
Additional program information and published rules

Who does what

The three parts, side by side. The agency decides; nobody on this page does.

You

File in time, and get the employer’s headcount and your position’s status in writing.

Your social worker

The employer must decide a completed application within five business days.

The care team

Records and letters when the application asks for them.

Who decides
The employer approves or denies the application; the state pays the benefit.
Ask HR
“I need family caregiving leave to look after my child. How many Delaware employees do we have, is my position covered, and what documentation do you need for a complete application?”

How to apply

First step: File about 30 days before planned leave, or within 30 days of the first day if the need was an emergency.

  1. Ask the employer how many Delaware employees it has, and get the answer in writing.
  2. File about 30 days ahead if the leave is planned, and within 30 days of the first day if it was an emergency.
  3. Ask whether your position is one of the excluded public-employee positions if you work for the state, a school or a town.

Official application / program page ↗

Where it starts: File through the Delaware Paid Leave claims process.

What to gather

  • The employer’s Delaware headcount in writing
  • Your start date and hours worked in the last year
  • The clinician’s statement about your child’s condition

How long: The employer has five business days to decide a complete claim. First payment generally arrives about two weeks after approval, backdated to the first approved day.

Clock: For an unforeseeable medical emergency, file no later than 30 days after the first day of leave.

What a yes looks like

An approval with the leave dates, then weekly payments backdated to the first day.

What a no looks like, and the next move

Usually employer size, hours or an incomplete application. Ask which, and ask what documentation would complete it.

Watch out

  • Six weeks of caregiving and medical leave combined in any 24 months, not six weeks a year and not six weeks each.
  • It runs at the same time as the federal leave law, so the two do not stack into a longer break.
  • State, county, school and town employers are in the mandate but some positions are excluded by statute. Ask the benefits office in writing.

Dates that change this

2028-01-01: The $900 weekly cap holds through 2026 and 2027. From 2028 it moves with the Philadelphia area consumer price index.

The numbers and the rules

The arcane layer, kept on purpose. Checked September 11, 2026.

What it is worth

80 percent of your average weekly wages, capped at $900 a week, with the same or an equivalent job held for you.

  • $80 — Share of average weekly wages paid
  • $900/week — Maximum weekly benefit in 2026 and 2027
  • $6 — Weeks of family caregiving and medical leave combined, in any 24 months
  • $25 — Employer size for all leave types
  • $10 — Employer size for parental leave only
  • $1,250 — Hours of service needed in the previous 12 months
  • $5 — Employer decision deadline on a completed application

Legal protection: Restoration to the same position, or one with equivalent seniority, status, benefits, pay and other terms · Leave that also qualifies under the federal law runs at the same time rather than adding to it · An employer cannot make you burn accrued paid time off first

What it costs the family: None beyond the payroll contribution already taken.

The eligibility facts, as published

Employer size
25 or more Delaware employees for family caregiving and medical leave; 10 to 24 for parental leave only; under 10 outside the mandate
Tenure
at least 12 months with the employer
Hours
at least 1,250 hours of service in the previous 12 months
Public employers
state, county and municipal governments are in the mandate, but the statute excludes specified positions; ask the benefits office about your own
Filing
about 30 days before foreseeable leave; for an unforeseeable emergency, within 24 to 48 hours if possible and no later than 30 days after the first day

The trap: Family caregiving and medical leave share one bank of six weeks in any 24 months. It is not six weeks a year, and it is not six weeks each.

Where I read this

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