Here & Now

Speaker Vos Launches Mental Health Task Force

Frederica Freyberg:

Well, this busy week at the state capitol included an announcement by Governor Scott Walker that his upcoming budget proposal will include nearly $30 million for state mental health services. The announcement came as Assembly Speaker Robin Vos unveiled a bipartisan task force on mental health.

Robin Vos:

Untreated mental health disorders lead to many problems with mental health, teen pregnancy, marital instability, ineffectiveness at school and at work. That’s why we put together this bipartisan group of legislators You have in front of you the charge of the task force, along with the members who have all agreed to serve, Republicans and Democrats who have an interest in trying to find answers. The point of having the speaker’s task force is not just to have a discussion. It’s to come up with real ideas to address the problems that we know are affecting families and individuals all across the state.

Frederica Freyberg:

The vice-chair of the task force of mental health is a mental health nurse and former nursing professor. Democratic state representative Sandy Pasch joins us now. Thanks very much for doing so.

Sandy Pasch:

Thank you for having me.

Frederica Freyberg:

I know that the governor emphasizes what's called community-based mental health services in his expenditure. Why in your mind is that important?

Sandy Pasch:

It’s really important because that is the best practices for helping people who are living with mental health disorders. Too often we see that there are– there’s a lack of services. People get treatment, often through an emergency procedure, through a emergency detention, some crisis occurring. For follow-up there’s not much out there to help people maintain a recovery level, to help them follow through and live with, a chronic illness or perhaps an acute illness.

Frederica Freyberg:

And not end up again in crisis.

Sandy Pasch:

Just cycling back through, that’s correct.

Frederica Freyberg:

Now, the task force you're co-chair of is directed to find improvements in several areas, including what’s called eliminating barriers to treatment. What are examples of those kinds of barriers?

Sandy Pasch:

One of the biggest barriers, and it’s an additional tasks that we are presented with, is dealing with stigma in our society. About 30% of individuals seek mental health treatment, and the reason most people don’t seek treatment, besides the funding and lack of availability, is that the stigma is so huge, to admit that someone has a problem, there’s great shame often that goes along with that. We know there are programs, that there are studies, there are things that can be done to reduce stigma, educating people. There are programs. I’ve been involved in a lot of programs that educate teachers, police officers, a variety of other individuals so people can access treatment. But we also know there have to be more providers out there, that there are communities that have absolutely no mental health providers. People have to drive great distances to get any type of treatment and care.

Frederica Freyberg:

You’re also tasked with promoting early intervention. How would that happen?

Sandy Pasch:

Well, one of the best ways to get an early intervention is to make sure that there are enough people around who are aware of what a mental health problem is, who can recognize it and who can refer. And typically the people who will see problems are family members, teachers, primary care physicians, people interacting in the community. Letting people know that these are real illnesses, that these are real treatable illnesses, and that there is treatment available is a big part of that.

Frederica Freyberg:

How would you grade Wisconsin’s response to mental health currently?

Sandy Pasch:

Actually, the National Alliance on Mental Illness did do the states and I don’t believe Wisconsin got graded as badly as many other states. However, we know that there are pockets in our state where there really is no access, where most people enter the system through emergency detentions, which is involving police officers sitting in the back of the squad car. We don’t do a really good job as far as the community part of it.

Frederica Freyberg:

How far might nearly $30 million go toward helping that?

Sandy Pasch:

I think it’s a start. If we want to start shifting services from a very acute base to more community base, we need a start-up in the community and this is something that can help. But I’m also– It would be very important for the governor also to look at the Badgercare expansion because, as I said, many people enter the mental health system through their primary care physicians and the Badgercare program is one of the ways that people enter the system. So we have to really have a broad approach to it.

Frederica Freyberg:

So very briefly, how is this panel in your mind for, kind of, a true stab at bipartisanship? Do you think this is bipartisanship?

Sandy Pasch:

You know, we don’t agree on a lot of things when it comes down to the law-making and some of the issues. However, mental health issues affect all of us, whether we’re Republican or Democrat. They affect our families. They affect our communities. They affect our schools. I think this is something we really can reach across the aisle and work together on. It's certainly something I hope we can reach across the aisle and work together on.

Frederica Freyberg:

Representative Sandy Pasch, thanks very much.

Sandy Pasch:

Thank you.