Priorities
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Senator Pinkey is advocating for criminal justice reform, working with community advocates and stakeholders to create a more equitable system.
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Senator Pinkney remains committed to leveraging her background as a social worker to advocate for policies that uplift and protect all Delawareans, particularly the most vulnerable.
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Senator Pinkey is focused on addressing housing instability and affordability issues across Delaware.
Issues
Criminal Justice:
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Senator Pinkey sponsored Senate Bill 4 (S3), which amends the criminal justice and probation system in the State to reduce the burden of excessive probation terms and conditions. It aims to make the probation system more rehabilitative and less punitive, helping individuals reintegrate into society more successfully.
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Senator Pinkey sponsored House Bill 313, which ensures all female inmates in Department of Correction (DOC) custody receive annual or biennial screening mammograms. This legislation addresses critical healthcare needs for incarcerated women and a need for equitable health services.
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Senator Pinkey sponsored House Bill 426, which mandates comprehensive medical services for pregnant women in DOC custody. This ensures that pregnant inmates receive proper prenatal and postnatal care, safeguarding their health and that of their babies.
Mental Health:
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Senator Pinkey sponsored House Bill 200, which funds nearly 200 full-time counselors and social workers in Delaware high schools, ensuring that students have access to mental health professionals who can provide necessary care for students dealing with trauma and undiagnosed behavioral and developmental disorders.
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Senator Pinkey sponsored House Bill 174 (S1), which requires schools to refer students to a school-based behavioral health specialist after their second infraction in a semester that results in an out-of-school suspension to ensure that students exhibiting behavioral issues are referred for appropriate support and intervention.
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Senator Pinkey sponsored Senate Bill 167, whichestablishes a confidential wellness program for first responders. This program provides mental health resources and confidential counseling for first responders, addressing the high levels of stress and trauma associated with their work.
Healthcare Accessibility:
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Senator Pinkey sponsored Senate Bill 195, which implements the Delaware Medical Orders for Scope of Treatment (DMOST) Act which allows individuals to outline their preferences for medical treatment in advance, ensuring that healthcare providers respect and follow these preferences in emergency situations. With the DMOST form, medical wishes are accessible across healthcare settings and help ensure patients’ goals for care are respected.
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Senator Pinkey sponsored House Bill 80, which requires Delaware Medicaid to cover doula services, promoting maternal and infant health by providing pregnant individuals with access to continuous physical, emotional, and informational support during pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum. Doulas save lives, especially the lives of Black women who face a 36% maternal mortality rate in Delaware, double the maternal mortality rate for white and Hispanic birthing people.
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Senator Pinkey sponsored Senate Bill 52, which adopts a needs-based approach for Delaware’s Syringe Services Program. This legislation expands access to clean syringes for individuals struggling with addiction, reducing the spread of infectious diseases, and connecting participants directly to substance use disorder treatment and support services.
Housing:
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Senator Pinkey sponsored House Bill 212 (S2), which prohibits rent increases for manufactured housing communities without justification, protecting residents from unreasonable housing cost burdens.
Marie Pinkney is a trained Master Level Social Worker, foster mom, and community advocate who understands the struggles facing many Delawareans. She has dedicated her career to advocating for struggling families. Marie is focused on improving a system that too often fails those it is supposed to protect.
Marie grew up in New Castle and Wilmington. She attended Howard High School of Technology and Norfolk State University and Delaware State University for college and graduate school. Following her schooling, Marie worked at a treatment center for adolescents with mental health and substance abuse problems. She witnessed the impact of the opioid crisis on local youth and their families. As a former Case Manager working in a hospital setting, Marie knows what it means to be there to provide emotional support for families in crisis.
For many years, Marie was a foster parent to a teen mother and her young son. While working at ChristianaCare, she was an active member of the PRIDE employee resource group that offered support and felloweship for employees who identify as LGTBQIA+. Marie is not a career politician. She is focused on improving a system that too often fails those it is supposed to protect.
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Paid for by Delaware Senate Majority Caucus Campaign Committee