Republican legislators are getting closer to making decisions on Gov. Tony Evers' state budget proposal. The Democrat's two-year document includes $500 M to boost mental and behavioral health services, including $270 M for the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) to make permanent a program aimed at giving every child access to school-based mental health services.
This week, Evers visited Children's Wisconsin in Wauwatosa, where last year he steered $5 M in federal funds to expand a walk-in mental health clinic.
Children's CEO Peggy Troy introduced the Governor and news reporters to two members of the Alvarado family.
"So Zaylyn here, is a young man who used our walk-in clinic, and has really benefitted from it along with his mom, Dominique," Troy said.
Children's Wisconsin Vice-president for Mental Health, Amy Herbst, later told reporters in the hospital lobby why she believes the walk-in program is working.
"Kids and families told us that this is what they needed from us. They didn't need to go to the emergency department. They weren't having a medical emergency, but they needed urgent access to mental health care," Herbst said.
Herbst said other families might want to see a pediatrician first, or go to another behavioral health consultant a few times, or for long-term care.
Herbst said as to what's in the Evers state budget plan this spring, more school-based mental health services is a good idea.
"So you're removing all the barriers to access. You don't have to leave school and go to the therapy office. Your parents don't necessarily need to leave their job. You don't have to miss a lot of class time, and those dollars are really critical to helping support us and other organizations to bring the therapist into the school," Herbst said.
On April 25, WUWM reached out to GOP legislative leaders and the Wisconsin Republican Party for comment about Evers' spending plan for mental health services but did not receive a statement. The GOP has complained about the size of the budget proposal and recently introduced other bills related to mental health. One would create a loan program for college students seeking to become school counselors and psychologists. Another would allow DPI to issue licenses to work in schools to people with a masters in marriage and family therapy.
Evers told WUWM that most of the budget talk about at the State Capitol so far has been about coming up with more shared revenue for local governments. But he's hoping for bipartisanship on access to mental health care.
"So, I'm looking forward to having a positive conversation about the need for the state to step up and be a leader in this issue of kids mental health," Evers said.
The legislature's finance committee will hold its final public hearing on the proposed state budget on April 26 in Northern Wisconsin. Then, over the next several weeks, Republicans and Evers will see if they can find some common ground on helping children deal with mental health concerns.
