AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 10 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO EVIDENCE AND WITNESSES.

Children Labor

Passed Legislature

This bill passed both chambers and reached final enrollment, even if later executive action is not shown here.

Sponsor
Last action: 2026-06-23
Official status: HS 1 for HB 213 - Passed By Senate. Votes: 21 YES
Effective date: Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Checked against official source text during the last sync.

Protecting Private Talks Between Victims and Advocates

This law keeps conversations between victims and qualified advocates private unless there is a risk of harm or child abuse, though the victim can choose to share them.

What This Bill Does

Creates a rule that protects confidential talks between a victim and an advocate from being shared in court.
Allows sharing these private talks only if needed to prevent harm to the victim or another person, or to report child abuse as required by law.
Lets a victim choose to share their private information if they sign a waiver.
Defines who counts as a qualified victim advocate under this new rule.

Who It Names or Affects

Victims
Employees of victim services agencies
Formal volunteers supervised by employees of victim services agencies

Terms To Know

Privilege: A legal rule that keeps certain confidential conversations from being shared in court.
Victim Advocate: An employee of a victim services agency, or a formal volunteer supervised by an employee who has completed at least 20 hours of advocacy training.
Waiver: A signed document where the victim agrees to let their private information be shared.

Limits and Unknowns

The official text does not list a specific effective date for when this law starts.
The text defines who is an advocate but does not name specific agencies that count as victim services agencies.

Amendments

These notes stay tied to the official amendment files and metadata from the legislature.

HA 1

1 • Griffith

PWB 6/17/25

Plain English: This amendment creates an exception that allows certain private communications to be used as evidence in cases involving child welfare or child abuse.

It removes the protection for secret messages when they are needed for a case under Chapter 25 of Title 13, which deals with children and families services.

The amendment text does not explain what specific types of communications were originally protected before this change.
It is unclear exactly how the reference to 'Chapter 9 of Title 16' or 'Section 909 of Title 16' changes the law without reading those other sections.

Bill History

2026-06-23 Delaware General Assembly
HS 1 for HB 213 - Passed By Senate. Votes: 21 YES
2026-05-06 Delaware General Assembly
HS 1 for HB 213 - Reported Out of Committee (Judiciary) in Senate with 4 On Its Merits
2026-03-17 Delaware General Assembly
HS 1 for HB 213 - Passed By House. Votes: 39 YES 2 ABSENT
2026-03-17 Delaware General Assembly
HS 1 for HB 213 - Assigned to Judiciary Committee in Senate
2026-03-12 Delaware General Assembly
Substituted in House by HS 1 for HB 213
2025-06-18 Delaware General Assembly
Reported Out of Committee (Judiciary) in House with 6 On Its Merits
2025-06-17 Delaware General Assembly
Amendment HA 1 to HB 213 - Introduced and Placed With Bill
2025-06-11 Delaware General Assembly
Introduced and Assigned to Judiciary Committee in House

Official Summary Text

AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 10 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO EVIDENCE AND WITNESSES.
This Act provides a privilege to confidential communications between a victim and a victim advocate that cannot yield except where necessary to prevent harm to the victim or another or to report child abuse as required by law. The victim can waive the privilege with a signed waiver. This Act defines a victim advocate as an employee of a victim services agency, or formal volunteer under the supervision of an employee of a victim services agency who has completed a minimum of 20 hours of advocacy training.