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Wisconsin Set To Change Emergency Detention Guidelines

In-Person Assessments Will Soon Be Required Under Change

By
Jordan Dawe (CC-BY-NC-ND)

Wisconsin will soon require a licensed mental health professional to conduct in-person assessments on whether a person should be detained during an emergency.

The change was included under last year’s budget and is set to take effect this July. Chapter 51 sets guidelines for emergency detentions in Wisconsin. Under the current guidelines, some county staff members, law enforcement or physicians are left to decide when someone should be admitted to a hospital or other facility to keep them from harming themselves or others.

Wisconsin Chiefs of Police Association President Bob Rosch said they’ve been preparing for the change.

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“It’s all about an effort to not lock people up and try to keep them at the most local level as they can. Some of it’s I’m sure financial because it does cost a lot of money to deal with this stuff,” said Rosch.

Costs related to emergency detentions can fall on counties or the state, Rosch said, and he fears some people might not get the help they need under the change.

“If you have insurance, you’re probably going to be ok, but there’s a lot of people who don’t have insurance,” he said. “They’re the ones society is going to take care of.”

But, some don’t foresee issues with the change. Terry Barningham, Ashland County children and families supervisor, said her agency or law enforcement have consulted with mental health workers over the phone in the past to decide whether someone should be detained.

“Our mobile crisis team will determine whether an emergency detention is appropriate or whether they can be diverted into a crisis bed where they can have crisis intervention services but in a least restrictive setting,” said Barningham.

The county’s crisis facility can house about four people. Barningham noted that the county also has memorandums of understanding with several counties, including Bayfield, Iron, Price and Sawyer counties. At times, she said they’ve had to turn people away to a hospital or some other facility because they don’t have room.

Barningham added that there may be exceptions to the new requirement for in-person assessments, such as if someone needs immediate medical care.

“Say somebody has overdosed that those are circumstances where we can just give the OK over the phone” she said. “We just need to make sure we are in compliance with the law as it stands and have a policy that reflects that. That’s about the only thing we still need to work out.”

Ashland County had 109 emergency detentions last year, which is a 60-percent increase from 2014. Barningham said many of the cases were related to drug abuse.

The state Department of Health Services declined a request for an interview. In a written response, an agency spokeswoman explained many counties are already working with licensed mental health workers to perform assessments.

“However, in those counties that may not have mental health professionals available 24 hours a day, they will have to arrange their response to meet this new requirement as of July 1, 2016,” wrote Jennifer Miller in an email. “The Department of Health Services has provided some one-time funding to assist counties in meeting this new requirement.”

Miller added that in-person assessments by trained mental health workers will help people receive the best care or assist them with seeking treatment on their own.