County behavioral-health updates: youth wraparound services, truancy worker and mobile crisis caseloads

Alicia and other behavioral-health staff reported to the Sawyer County Human Services Committee that the Caine's Kids Club — a school-year program tied to their CST (Comprehensive Services Team) programming — has begun and is being used by students referred for wraparound supports.

Lisonbee Carlson attended the club in its second week, and staff said referrals will come from multiple sources; the department plans to continue the program during the school year and resume again in the fall.

Sarah Anchelskis, Children, Youth and Family Supervisor, said the county has hired a truancy worker, Melinda Ollos, a paraeducator from Hayward Middle School, who is scheduled to start June 1. Anchelskis said the county has used Sirona Recovery under contract to support truancy referrals while the position was vacant and plans to build stronger collaboration with Lac Courte Oreilles (LCO) and local stakeholders to present educational engagement campaigns and school-based activities.

Community-support and mobile-crisis staff reported modest activity in March: mobile crisis received eight calls, five of which resulted in assessments, and one assessment led to an emergency detention. Staff described the process for placing someone on emergency detention as sequential: callers and assessors contact behavioral-health units and hospitals across the state starting with the closest facilities and escalate outward if placements are unavailable; Winnebago was described as a last-resort placement.

These items were presented as program updates; no formal motions were recorded concerning program expansions at the meeting.