A package of bills aimed at improving the delivery of mental health services in Wisconsin will be on the state Assembly's agenda next month.
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos heads a task force on mental health that is writing the bills. He said they will address several aspects of the way state and county agencies provide services to people suffering from mental illness.
"Number one, they were looking to find ways to eliminate barriers to treatment, improve the coordination between doctors and their patients, expand access to mental health treatment and hopefully de-stigmatize it in every way that we can," he said.
Vos said funding pilot projects through county human service agencies and police departments will cost money, but he said the Republican majority in the Assembly are ready to support what's needed.
"Spending resources on some of these programs is probably a wise investment for our state in the long run," Vos said, "and hopefully our friends in the Senate will see that as well."
Some on the task force had pushed for a more comprehensive rewrite of Wisconsin's mental health laws, but the proposal was voted down.
State Rep. Sandy Pasch, who backed that proposal, says there's still a need for broader state wide reforms.
"There are 72 different ways that mental health is delivered in our state," Pasch said. "One of the recommendations we have is looking at how we can redesign so it really does better reflect the needs of the people in the state of Wisconsin."
Pasch said one of the most pressing needs is to improve cooperation between police and mental health professionals when decisions are made about detaining people with mental illness.
