Board hears mobile crisis and community support updates; members urge legislative advocacy and approve regional QA unit planning

Staff told the Sawyer County Health and Human Services Board on June 4 that mobile crisis and the Community Support Program (CSP) continue to operate at capacity and that board-level advocacy could help close a funding gap.

Caitlyn, speaking about community support and mobile crisis, said the programs "stayed pretty steadily busy" and that the CSP roster has "mid-40s for consumers in that program," with most participants voluntarily engaging. Board members and staff noted CSP funding currently follows a 60/40 reimbursement split and urged advocacy with the state legislature to seek fuller funding.

Members discussed drafting or revisiting a county resolution in support of full state funding for CSP. Staff said a county resolution, coordinated with Wisconsin counties' associations, can support advocacy and that the board had passed a similar resolution in a prior budget cycle.

Separately, county economic-support leaders described a regional quality-assurance (QA) initiative for benefits administration supported by state funding. The consortium plan funds six positions (five QA workers plus a lead) to review cases and preserve a low error rate. Shauna reported that, for the most recent state sample, the Northern Consortium had a "0% error rate" on the food-share cases reviewed; staff said the QA unit will stagger coverage to avoid creating local service gaps while some workers transition to QA roles.

Board members asked staff to look back at prior resolutions supporting behavioral-health funding and to return draft language for consideration at a future meeting.