St. Croix County Health and Human Services leaders on Tuesday described multiple state and federal developments that they said could ease pressure on local behavioral-health services and noted an internal staff restructuring intended to streamline supervision.

HHS Director Bob told the board that Rogers Behavioral Health received a one-time $10,000,000 grant in the recent legislative session to build a campus in Eau Claire and that the legislature allocated another $10,000,000 to fund startup costs for regional crisis-care facilities. He said an RFP from the state Department of Health Services is expected and that the county will monitor the Medicaid rate negotiations that follow so the facilities can be financially viable.

Those state investments come alongside proposed legislation the director flagged as relevant to county costs. Bob summarized two bills, identified in the packet as Senate Bill 598 and Assembly Bill 604, that would extend Medicaid benefits for people who are incarcerated for at least the last 90 days of their incarceration, which advocates say would reduce county jail health-care expenditures and allow continued access to medications such as Vivitrol or Suboxone as people transition out of custody.

Bob also discussed the federal IMD (institution for mental disease) waiver effort, which would allow Medicaid reimbursement for care in larger mental-health institutions (including Winnebago) if a state’s waiver is approved by CMS. He said counties currently shoulder many emergency-detention and inpatient costs because federal rules generally bar Medicaid payments in institutions with more than 16 beds.

Deputy Director and behavioral-health administrator Shara Lopez described an internal reorganization that will combine two supervisory programs under a single reporting structure so supervisors are aligned across behavioral-health services. Lopez said the change is administrative and that “for the consumer it won't look any different,” but that it should reduce supervisory complexity and smooth transitions for staff.

Lopez also detailed a community violence intervention/prevention grant the county applied for jointly with the sheriff’s office. She said the application asked for $1,700,000 over four years to fund crisis workers, improved jail scanning equipment and other items intended to speed crisis response and enhance safety for officers and the public.

The board was told another federal policy development could expand services: peer-support services are not widely covered by Medicaid now, but Brown (HHS staff) indicated a Medicaid rate for peer support is expected next April that could allow broader reimbursement and expansion of peer recovery services.

Board members asked clarifying questions about timing and implementation; no formal motions or votes were taken. Next steps described by staff include monitoring the state RFP for crisis facilities, tracking Medicaid-rate negotiations, and continuing the internal implementation plan for the behavioral-health supervisory restructure.