I know that I can change the Settings with:
Settings.System.putInt( getContentResolver() ,
Settings.System.SCREEN_OFF_TIMEOUT , DELAY );
but I honestly can't find a solution on how to read the current value of that / any setting.
check out http://developer.android.com/reference/android/provider/Settings.System.html
getInt(ContentResolver cr, String name, int def) Convenience function for retrieving a single system settings value as an integer.