Rep. McBride Highlights Workforce Development and Direct Care Leadership Across Delaware

WILMINGTON, DE - Last week, Congresswoman Sarah McBride (DE-AL) spent part of her week in Wilmington and Rehoboth Beach, meeting with workforce leaders and frontline direct care professionals-underscoring her commitment to strengthening Delaware's workforce pipeline and supporting the care economy.

Rep. McBride met with leadership at L.E.E.P., Inc. (Leading Everyone to Empowerment Program), a Delaware nonprofit focused on employment readiness, apprenticeship pathways, and reentry support services. Her visit highlighted LEEP's Pathways to Apprenticeship program, which connects participants-including formerly incarcerated and underserved residents-to skilled trades and union apprenticeship opportunities aligned with employer demand across Delaware.

"Expanding access to apprenticeship and skills training is one of the most direct ways we can strengthen Delaware's economy," said Rep. McBride. "Programs like LEEP are helping people gain in-demand skills, reduce barriers to employment, address recidivism, and build stable careers. I will continue working to ensure federal workforce investments are reaching organizations that are delivering real results."

In Congress, Rep. McBride has prioritized workforce development; securing $1 million in Community Project Funding to expand training capacity at the Delaware Skills Center and supporting bipartisan legislation to modernize workforce training, credentialing opportunities, and employer incentives to hire workers facing barriers to employment.

McBride also secured a separate $1 million in federal funding to expand La Red Health Center's Rural Re-Entry Program, another Sussex County resource. La Red's Rural Re-Entry Program, is a proven model that connects formerly incarcerated people with the health care, treatment, housing, and workforce support they need to rebuild and start fresh.

Later in the day, Rep. McBride was in Rehoboth Beach where she attended a recognition ceremony hosted by CHIMES Delaware honoring Direct Support Professional Anthony Branch and contractor Tykesha Majors. In January, Branch and Majors-while working at a residential home serving individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities-acted quickly during a medical emergency. They administered CPR and called emergency services to save the life of a visiting nurse.

"Anthony and Tykesha represent the very best of Delaware's direct care workforce," McBride said. "Direct Support Professionals are essential to the health and safety of our communities. Their professionalism and quick action saved a life, and their work every day ensures Delawareans with disabilities can live and age safely and with dignity."

CHIMES provides residential and community-based services supported largely through Medicaid-funded Home and Community-Based Services. Throughout her time in Congress, Rep. McBride has worked to protect access to home and community-based care, including late last year when she helped safeguard nearly $1 billion for the home health industry by leading a bipartisan letter to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services opposing proposed reimbursement cuts.

"Delawareans are committed to partnership and progress," McBride noted. "From strengthening our direct care workforce to expanding apprenticeship pathways, engaging with my neighbors reminds me that progress comes from investing in people and supporting the organizations doing the work on the ground.

"The work Delawareans are doing to support each other, and the future of our state of neighbors, is a model for a local purpose paired with measurable federal support," McBride added. "I am proud to support their efforts, and these neighbors, wherever possible."

Photos from her visits can be accessed for use here.

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