Reforms at the State (Wisconsin) Level

1. Amend the Chapter 51 Involuntary Commitment standard for being able to get care from "danger to self or others" to "in severe psychosis and in need of immediate treatment." It is not possible to predict whether a person will harm themselves or others while in severe psychosis. Possible changes to the Chapter 51 state statutes.

2. Fund the Community Support Program (CSP) by matching the federal Medicaid funding, which will reduce hospitalizations and criminal justice involvement by providing support to those with serious mental illness.

3. Provide funding to keep the 988 Crisis Line going.

4. Allow either a parent or a minor child aged 14-17 to consent to mental health treatment.

5. Allow Psychiatric Advanced Directives (PADS) so people can let their families know their wishes before they become psychotic and unable to make coherent decisions.

6. Provide funding to keep the 988 Crisis Line going.

7. Fund mental health and substance abuse treatment courts, which will reduce the costs of incarceration and recidivism.

8. Ask the state to apply for a waiver to the IMD Exclusion, which prohibits the federal government from reimbursing the states for Medicaid. This should result in more psychiatric beds in the state. SB635/AB616. PASSED!

9. Support SB462/AB467 to provide more crisis stabilization centers. PASSED!

10. Create ABLE (Achieving a Better Life Experience) savings account program for people with disabilities. PASSED!

Reforms at the Milwaukee County Level

1. Increase the number of psychiatric beds in the county. Many organizations have recommended 30-50 beds per 100,000 people, so Milwaukee County should have 300-500 beds--and they aren't even close.

2. Stop the "revolving door." Keep patients in the hospital long enough to stabilize them.

3. Provide supportive housing/ community-based residential facilities (CBRFs) in safe neighborhoods for those with serious mental illness (SMI) who are unable to live safely on their own.

4. Decriminalize serious mental illness (SMI). Treat people in hospitals, not jails. Require a psychiatric evaluation for everyone who enters the criminal justice system. Over 50% of the inmates at the Milwaukee Secure Detention Facility have a mental illness, according to their own website.

Reforms at the Federal Level

1. Reform HIPPA (the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) to allow families of those in active psychosis to be involved in their loved one's treatment. Right now they can only be involved in certain extreme circumstances

2. Eliminate the 1965 Institute for Mental Diseases (IMD) exclusion. If those between 21-65 on Medicaid go to any hospital for treatment, they are covered and the federal government reimburses the state. If they go to a mental health hospital, the federal government won't reimburse the states for Medicaid unless there are 16 or fewer beds. This results in a shortage of psychiatric beds across the country.

3. Reclassify serious mental illness (SMI) from a behavioral issue to what it is--a neurological condition.

4. Prioritize and provide more funding for those with SMI.

ADMIRE GETS AN AWARD FOR ADVOCACY AT THE COUNTY LEVEL! ADMIRE was given a commendation for our advocacy in Milwaukee County! Thanks to Supervisor Priscilla Coggs-Jones, who nominated us!!