Gov. Evers urges legislative action to address Wisconsin’s Mental Health Crisis

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During the State of the State address Tuesday, Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers announced he will be creating the Governor’s Interagency Council on Mental Health.

The Council is intended to improve communication and efficiency across state agencies by creating a statewide action plan to expand access to mental and behavioral health services, increase prevention, reduce stigma, and build capacity among caregivers, providers, and community partners to address the mental health crisis, Evers said.

During Evers‘ address he said, “Another area where we must work together to do more and quickly: let’s talk mental health. I said here last year that I feared the state of mental health in Wisconsin was a quiet, burgeoning crisis—one I still believe will have cascading effects for generations if it goes unaddressed. So, I declared 2023 the Year of Mental Health in Wisconsin. And, yes, we accomplished some important work together.”

According to Evers, he successfully secured another $30 million in his biennial budget to build upon the ‘Get Kids Ahead’ initiative to provide school-based mental health services statewide in every school district in Wisconsin.

“But I don’t need to remind this Legislature that I requested more than $500 million last year to help expand access to mental and behavioral health services statewide, only a fraction of which was approved. One year after declaring the Year of Mental Health, I’ll tell you tonight, as governor and as a grandfather, my concerns have not changed, and my fears have not waned. Much work remains,” Evers said.

“The data have not improved. According to the latest report from the Office of Children’s Mental Health, kids continue to report highly concerning levels of anxiety, depression, self-harm, and suicidal thoughts … One-third of high school kids still experience feelings of sadness and hopelessness nearly every day. About one in ten teens has attempted suicide … Today, one in six kids experienced a serious episode of depression in 2023—it used to be one in seven,” Evers said.

As previously reported by the Wisconsin Law Journal, in recognition of National Safe Schools Week, October 15, 2023 – October 21, 2023, Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul reminded the public of the services offered by the Wisconsin Department of Justice Office of School Safety (OSS).

Since its inception in 2018, Kaul says OSS has become a critical resource for students, teachers, school administrators, and educational communities across the state of Wisconsin by implementing practices proven to prevent violence in schools.

OSS staff are certified to train a variety of courses that follow national best practices related to violence prevention, protection, mitigation, crisis response and recovery. OSS offers these trainings free of charge to any school or law enforcement agency in Wisconsin that requests it.

On Tuesday, Evers reaffirmed his commitment to mental health.

“My administration and I are not going to let up on our work on this issue in 2024. We’re going to double our efforts and take a whole-of-government approach,” Evers said.

“Tonight, I’m announcing I’m creating an Interagency Council on Mental Health and directing Wisconsin state agencies to work together to reduce barriers and address gaps in mental health services. We’re going to develop a statewide Mental Health Action Plan to address the root causes of our mental health crisis, increase awareness and reduce stigma, and build capacity for us to expand access to mental health services statewide,” Evers said.

“Our state’s mental health challenges are significant. Let’s do more to make a difference on this issue in 2024. We have to. And I’m optimistic we will because our kids are leading the way,” Evers added.

According to Evers, the Governor’s Interagency Council on Mental Health will continue the Evers Administration’s efforts to comprehensively address the mental health crisis by:

• Creating a statewide action plan for mental health that addresses prevention, increases awareness, reduces stigma, ensures access and affordability of quality care, and builds capacity among caregivers, providers, and community partners;

• Cultivating cross-agency partnerships and assessing mental health programs administered by each department to evaluate gaps in service and help bring programs into alignment;

• Reviewing current programs, including those developed using American Rescue Plan Act funds, to determine appropriate paths to sustainability or expansion;

• Developing proposals that effectively and equitably address the root causes of the mental health crisis, create pathways to sustain these interagency partnerships, and develop performance metrics to evaluate the outcomes of these initiatives;

• Strengthening agency relationships with community partners, including local units of government, school districts, court systems, and others, to build capacity to address the mental health crisis; and

• Collaborating to improve other social determinants that impact one’s mental health, such as access to quality, affordable healthcare, safe housing, food security, financial security, and social connectedness among Wisconsinites.

Evers said he plans to execute an executive order creating the Governor’s Interagency Council on Mental Health in the coming days.

Evers provided specific examples of how his administration has been “a champion for expanding access to mental and behavioral healthcare services across Wisconsin.”

Some of those investments included:

• Providing $30 million to continue support for school-based mental health services modeled on the governor’s successful “Get Kids Ahead” initiative. This program will allocate funding to every school district and independent charter school statewide for mental health-related programming and services;

• Providing $200,000 for mental health assistance to farmers and farm families. This crucial funding enables farmers and farm family members to access in-person counseling services from a participating mental health provider in their local area at no cost;

• Increasing funding by 25 percent for county veteran services offices and Tribal veterans service offices, which help veterans connect to benefits, preventative programming, and mental health resources;

• Providing more than $30 million over the biennium to increase Medicaid reimbursement rates for services provided in hospital behavioral health units;

• Providing $7 million over the biennium for the psychiatry and behavioral health residency program at the Medical College of Wisconsin to support the recruitment and training of psychiatry and behavioral health residents;

• Providing $10 million in funding for up to two crisis urgent care and observation centers, which will serve as regional receiving and stabilization facilities to improve service delivery and patient outcomes;

• Providing $2 million over the biennium to establish a telemedicine crisis response pilot program in order to provide faster and more efficient care;

• Providing more than $1 million over the biennium for social-emotional training and technical assistance for child care providers; and

• Providing more than $500,000 in Tribal gaming revenues over the biennium to the Oneida Nation for staff and service costs in their Healing to Wellness Court to support a coordinated, post-conviction substance use program that will reduce recidivism and break the cycle of substance use.

In 2023, Evers along with the Wisconsin Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary James Bond launched the Veteran Mental Health Community-Based Organization Grant program and announced nearly $650,000 in grants to 16 nonprofit organizations to promote positive mental health through activities, programs, and services that enhance the emotional, psychological, and social well-being of Wisconsin veterans.

In September of 2023, Evers also announced two additional veteran mental health grants for mental health providers to serve veterans with crisis or emergency mental health needs and for licensed providers to administer mental health services to veterans. These grant programs are now seeking applicants for their second round of funding.

Additionally, in October of 2023, Evers announced that the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) is receiving nearly $17 million in new federal funding to enhance operations of the 988 Wisconsin Lifeline, the service that answers calls, texts, and chats to the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline from Wisconsin-based phone numbers and locations.

The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline launched in July 2022 after U.S. Senator Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisconsin) led efforts to establish the program and secure funding. According to Evers, in its first year of service, Wisconsin’s 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline received more than 91,800 contacts—one of the highest call volumes in the nation—and individuals reported struggling with suicidal thoughts and intent, as well as challenges with mental health, substance use, and interpersonal or relationship issues and abuse.

The state has also seen record-high rates of substance use and overdose deaths in recent years, with more than 1,700 Wisconsinites having lost their lives to an overdose in 2022 alone, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to Evers.

As previously reported by the Wisconsin Law Journal, the Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ) announced in November that Wisconsin ranked number one throughout the country for the most prescription medications collected during the fall 2023 Drug Take Back. Wisconsin collected 53,122 lbs. of unwanted medications this past fall.

Mental Health Challenges ahead

According to the Wisconsin Office of Children’s Mental Health’s 2023 Annual Report released this month, youth across the state report levels of anxiety, depression, self-harm, and suicidal thoughts at extremely concerning rates.

According to an Evers spokesperson, over the past year, Evers visited numerous schools to meet with students who are leading on this issue to hear about their work to uplift their fellow classmates, connect them with resources and support, and reduce the stigma associated with mental health. On January 25, the day after delivering his 2023 State of the State address and declaring it the Year of Mental Health, Evers visited Ashland High School in Ashland to meet with students, teachers, and staff and learn more about their leadership in providing mental health resources and teaching resilience to their students.

In May, Evers visited Phoenix Middle School in Delavan and McFarland High School in McFarland, where he met with students and staff to learn about their peer-based “Hope Squad” programs. Hope Squad members are nominated by their classmates as trustworthy peers and trained by advisors to provide education and support to fellow students grappling with mental health challenges. Last month, Evers also visited Merrill High School in Merrill, where he met with students from area schools in the “Raise Your Voice” club working to raise awareness, reduce the stigma, and take care of one another.

Additionally, Evers visited several nonprofit organizations, healthcare providers, and substance use treatment facilities to meet with Wisconsinites and hear about their effort to provide resources, treatment, and support to those in their communities dealing with mental and behavioral health challenges.

In January, Evers visited with the staff and leadership of the Wisconsin United Coalition of Mutual Assistance Association (WUCMAA) in Wausau. WUCMAA focuses on suicide prevention and building resilience and strength among Wisconsin’s Hmong and Southeast Asian communities, and the governor has been proud to support their efforts through various grant programs, including funding for their Project Resiliency program and their peer-run mental health warmline.

In February, Evers highlighted farmer’s mental health needs at a visit and tour of the Laird Center and Library at Marshfield Clinic in Marshfield, where he had a conversation with leaders and researchers from the National Farm Medicine Center about their mental health initiatives for farmers and rural communities.  Evers also toured Rogers Behavioral Health’s Appleton clinic, where he learned more about their work to provide mental and behavioral healthcare to members of the community, particularly youth.

During Mental Health Awareness Month in May, Evers hosted a roundtable discussion about farmer mental health Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection Secretary Randy Romanski in Reedsburg and members of the Farmer Angel Network, which is a local organization focused on mental wellness and suicide prevention in rural communities. The governor also visited the Coulee Recovery Center in La Crosse, which is a peer-run respite facility that provides help to individuals and families impacted by substance use disorder and provides substance use education, prevention, and awareness to the community. In 2021, the center was awarded $30,000 annually for five years through a peer recovery center grant from DHS.

In December, Evers visited Family Health La Clinica in Friendship to participate in a discussion with staff regarding the mental and behavioral health services they provide to the community and their work to close gaps in access to care. Gov. Evers also traveled to Alma last month to meet with folks from a community-founded nonprofit organization called Hope 4 U. Comprised of community members working in Buffalo, Pepin, and Trempealeau counties, Hope 4 U was founded to provide mental health support in the area and works to raise awareness of suicide by ending the stigma associated with mental health and focusing on prevention, awareness, and intervention.

Anyone in need of support can call, text, or chat the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at all hours of the day or night to talk with a trained counselor about any challenge or concern. This service is free and confidential.

Additional mental health resources are available on the DHS website at:
• Mental Health: Healthy Living
• Resilient Wisconsin

If you are in imminent danger or experiencing a medical emergency, call 911.