BEAR — Rep. Michael Barbieri, D-Newark, announced Monday he will resign his House seat, effective Aug. 3, to become the new director of the Division of Substance Abuse and Mental Health in the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services.

Michael Barbieri

Rep. Barbieri has worked in the substance abuse and mental health field. In 1992, he started Crossroads of Delaware, a Wilmington-based adolescent substance abuse treatment program. The center works with youths struggling with substance abuseand mental health issues.

Prior to that, he worked as a probation officer in Philadelphia’s drug unit and served as executive director of Hidden Brook, a drug treatment facility in Bel Air, Md.

First elected in 2008, Rep. Barbieri currently serves as chairman of the House Health and Human Development Committee.

Rep. Barbieri’s resignation will require a special election to be held to finish his two-year term. According to state law, a General Assembly special election must take place between 30 and 45 days of the vacancy. House Speaker Pete Schwartzkopf said that he expects to announce the date of the special election at the beginning of August, when the resignation becomes effective.