Some good news from Milwaukee County's mental health complex

While the problems experienced by Milwaukee County's Behavioral Health Division (BHD) justifiably receive considerable attention in the local news media, there also are some shining success stories that seldom are reported.

One obvious example is the division's Wraparound Milwaukee program for children with complex mental health and emotional needs, which received an "innovations" award from Harvard's Kennedy School of Government in September 2009. Another - discussed recently in a report submitted to the county's Health and Human Needs Committee - is its WIser Choice program for individuals suffering from substance abuse.

WIser Choice was created by BHD and the state after they were awarded a three-year, $22 million federal Access to Recovery (ATR) grant in 2004. The grant funds gave BHD the resources to transform its substance abuse program into one that provides a comprehensive blend of recovery-oriented services. Those services extend beyond traditional drug and alcohol treatment to also include pre-employment education/training, transportation, housing, life skills training and other supports. The county and state successfully collaborated on a second three-year ATR award in 2007 and recently received federal approval for a third three-year installment.

The program's success in competing for scarce federal funds is a direct reflection of its impressive client outcomes. In fact, according to BHD, those outcomes - based on national measures established as part of ATR - generally have been the best of any ATR grantee. Also, in the 2002-2004 pre-WIser Choice period, Milwaukee had the highest rate (13.47%) of any urban area in the nation of persons with a past-year substance use disorder. From 2006-2008, however, Milwaukee’s rate dropped to 9.96%, which ranks it only 22nd among urban areas.

Recently released federal data also show the following impressive results:

• Milwaukee dropped from 1st among urban areas to 7th in binge drinking.


• Milwaukee dropped from 2nd to 20th among urban areas in past-year treatment gap for alcohol use disorders.


• Milwaukee’s rate of substance use disorders dropped 20.1% from 2004 to 2008, while the nation’s rate as a whole decreased only 1.8%.

The success of Wraparound and WIser Choice has relevance to efforts to address the serious problems plaguing BHD's adult mental health operations. A report released in October by the Forum and Human Services Research Institute argues for a redesign of those operations, highlighted by a much greater emphasis on community-based services and a gradual downsizing of the county's role in inpatient and long-term care. A few of the encouraging lessons from Wraparound and WIser Choice that might inspire the adult mental health redesign effort:

1. BHD has shown that with sufficient resources and appropriate support from elected officials, it is fully capable of designing and implementing successful models of behavioral health care and treatment.


2. BHD and the Wisconsin Department of Health Services have shown they can put the politics of their elected leaders aside to collaborate effectively and bring additional federal resources to Milwaukee County.


3. BHD has deftly created and managed relationships with community-based providers in both programs to achieve results that benefit both clients and taxpayers.

Good news from Milwaukee County’s mental health complex may be rare, but in this case it should provide hope for the future.