Innovation in Action: How Gaudenzia’s Claymont Program Is Leading the Way in Delaware Recovery

As new providers enter Delaware to address the behavioral health and substance use crisis, Gaudenzia continues to deepen its roots with a powerful combination of lived experience, trauma-informed care, and outcomes that matter.

At the heart of our Delaware presence is the Claymont Center for Women and Women with Children—a program that has quietly become a model for integrated, family-centered recovery care. In a field often focused on scale, Claymont focuses on what works. And the results speak for themselves.

Proven Results, Lasting Change

Claymont offers both ASAM 3.5 and 3.1 levels of care, tailored to meet women where they are in their recovery journeys. Our approach blends clinical excellence with parenting support, whole-person healing, and long-term stabilization.

Recent performance data from fiscal year 2025 [to date] shows:

• 89.5% of participants in the 3.5 level of care successfully completed treatment
• 86.4% of participants in the 3.1 level of care completed successfully
• Women in both levels of care reported:

• • 98% reduction in drug use
  • 43% reduction in relapse risk factors
  • 25% increase in protective factors such as coping skills and social support

Client satisfaction metrics tell the human side of the story:

• 100% agreed with the goals in their treatment plan
• 100% reported benefiting from individual and group counseling
• 90% said they felt safe in the program
• 80% would recommend the program to a friend or family member

Whole-Family Healing, Not Just Individual Care

Claymont’s model is built around the understanding that recovery doesn’t happen in isolation. Our trauma-informed, family-centered approach addresses substance use disorder while supporting parenting, mental health, and the stabilization of the household.

Women are empowered to reunite with children, build parenting skills, and heal in an environment designed for safety, dignity, and lasting transformation.

Innovation Beyond Treatment: Supportive Housing Pilot

Recognizing that recovery often depends on more than clinical care, Gaudenzia has also launched a supportive housing pilot at Claymont. Jointly funded by the Longwood Foundation and Opioid Settlement funds, the program provides transitional housing to seven families—helping bridge the gap between treatment and long-term independence.

This initiative underscores the importance of housing stability and addresses real-world barriers that can otherwise derail recovery progress.

A Model for What Delaware Needs

As Delaware welcomes new behavioral health providers, Gaudenzia continues to lead with what we know matters most—community trust, proven outcomes, and a people-first approach to recovery.

With strong outcomes, deep community partnerships, and a people-first model, Claymont isn’t just a program. It’s proof that when recovery is treated as a whole-person, whole-family journey, transformation is possible.

Learn More

Explore our Claymont Center, refer a client, or reach out to Cheryl McFadden, MSS, Program Director, at cheryl.mcfadden@gaudenzia.org to discuss how we can work together to meet the evolving behavioral health needs in Delaware and beyond.