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HHS moves to rebuild CCS program; committee weighs costly out‑of‑county placements and options to reduce expenses
Summary
Behavioral health staff told the HHS committee they are rebuilding the county’s CCS program with an identified CCS‑certified therapist and seeking ways to reduce costly out‑of‑county placements for clients with severe mental‑health needs.
Behavioral health staff told the Sawyer County Health and Human Services committee on Oct. 7 that they are rebuilding the county’s CCS (Children’s Comprehensive Services) program and seeking to reduce costly out‑of‑county placements for clients with high mental‑health needs.
Staff said Caitlin Myron, a CCS‑certified provider who currently contracts with Taylor County, has agreed to provide psychotherapy services for Sawyer County CCS clients once a contract is established through the regional consortium. Committee members said establishing county‑based CCS providers could both expand services and generate Medicaid‑funded revenue for the county; staff emphasized that CCS requires Medical Assistance (Medicaid) and is not available to clients with private insurance.
The department reported several costly out‑of‑county placements, including long stays at Winnebago and other residential centers. Staff said they are pursuing transitional step‑down placements and examining whether local housing or service capacity can be repurposed to return clients to the county more quickly. Committee members discussed the potential role of Community Support Program (CSP) services and mobile crisis responses to stabilize clients and avoid long placements.
One staff member noted federal policy developments intended to address coverage for institutional care (discussed at the meeting as an IMD related waiver) and said if such federal or state changes allow Medicaid to cover certain institutional stays it could affect the county budget for placements; committee members described that as potential but not yet finalized policy work outside the county’s control.
Why it matters: Out‑of‑county placements for individuals under mental‑health commitments can be a major budget driver for county human services. Reestablishing CCS could expand local treatment capacity and provide a Medicaid revenue stream, but it requires staffing, contracts and eligibility (Medicaid only). Mobile crisis, CSP and targeted case management were discussed as tools to reduce long placements and support local care.
Supporting details: behavioral health reported an increase in OWI assessments (eight in the month), 46 year‑to‑date, and significant work to staff CCS and CLTS concurrently while adopting a new electronic health record. The committee heard that some clients remain on long commitments under chapter 51 and chapter 55 procedures, and staff described interagency coordination with law enforcement, hospitals and neighboring counties to find placements.
