There are many contributing and restricting factors when it comes to the number of mental or behavioral health visits for youth. Even adults can have difficulty finding a provider they connect with or even just finding an available one. When there is a wealth of providers, people are aware of the available help, and it is accepted in the community to receive help- more youth do. However, stigma, a lack of available providers, a lack of familial support, isolation, and without an adult to coordinate care, it is less likely for youth to have mental or behavioral health visits. Awareness and the number of providers are the two factors that most strongly correlate with the number of youth mental health or behavioral health visits. Stigma and a long wait time are the most significant deterrents to having a mental or behavioral health appointment.

Contributing Factors:

• Generation Z and Alpha are more open
• Stigma
• Access
• Enough providers
• Telehealth education and knowledge
• Awareness
• Transportation
• Aware of where you can receive help
• 2021 more access and more need
• Anxiety from COVID
• Aware of need for help
• Feeling supported
• School counselors with resources
• Therapists at schools
• Better insurance coverage
• 2021 bottleneck from CVID

Restricting Factors:

• Stigma
• Gender based stigma
• Loss of providers
• Lack of support
• Isolation
• No trusted adult
• No adult to coordinate care
• No insurance, lack of financial ability
• Wait time for appointment

Root Cause: Limited Financial Incentives in the Mental Health Sector

When considering partnerships, the action team kept things as broad as possible. Not all potential partners are a vetted resource and partners for the CHIP process. However, it is still worthwhile to consider a wide range of options. Below is a list of potential partners that may have a link to youth, mental health, or youth mental health. 

Potential Partners List:

1. Advocate Aurora Health 
2. Ascension Wisconsin 
3. Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin 
4. ProHealth Care 
5. Waukesha Fee Clinic 
6. Rogers Memorial Hospital 
7. Health care providers 
8. La Casa de Esperanza 
9. Lake Area Free Clinic 
10. Simply Helping People 
11. Hope Instilled 
12. NAMI Waukesha 
13. Hispanic Community Center 
14. Oconomowoc Food Pantry 
15. Hartland Area Food Pantry 
16. Ixonia Food Pantry 
17. Food Pantry of Waukesha County 
18. Friends with Food 
19. Hebron House of Hospitality 
20. Salvation Army 
21. LSS Clubhouse 
22. The Women’s Center 
23. Community Action Coalition 
24. YMCA of Greater Waukesha County 
25. YMCA Children’s Academy 
26. West Suburban YMCA School Groups 
27. County Programs 
28. ADRC 
29. Public Health 
30. CAFSAC 
31. Public safety 
32. Municipalities 
33. City of Waukesha Chamber of Commerce 
34. Pewaukee Chamber of Commerce 
35. Greater Brookfield Chamber of Commerce 
36. Delafield Chamber of Commerce 
37. Waukesha County Business Alliance 
38. Oconomowoc Area Chamber of Commerce 
39. Local Colleges’ Behavioral Health Department 
40. Oak Hill Terrace Senior Living 
41. New Perspective Senior Living
42. Avalon Square 
43. Brookfield Senior Community 
44. Summit Woods
45. Waukesha County Senior Services
46. CLE Clarion Manor 
47. The P.a.D.D.S. at Moreland Grove 
48. Mission Creek 
49. Hickory Grove Senior Center 
50. Community Retirement Living 
51. Eras Senior Network 
52.  First Congregational Church 
53. Trinity Lutheran Church 
54. First Baptist Church 
55. Waukesha City Church 
56. Evangelical & Reformed United Church of Christ 
57. St. Marks Evangelical Lutheran Church 
58. St. Luke’s Lutheran Church 
59. First United Methodist Church 
60. St. Matthias Episcopal Church 
61. Crosswalk Church 
62. Trinity Presbyterian Church 
63. Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church 
64. St. Joseph’s Catholic Church 
65. Waukesha Church of Christ  
66. James Place 
67. Hebron House 
68. Family Promise of Western Waukesha County 
69. Hope Center 
70. Juno House 
71. Siena House Shelter 
72. Salvation Army 
73. The Women’s Center 
74. Law Enforcement & Criminal Justice 
75. Local Donors 

What works is a brainstorming process where the action team identifies strategies to impact mental health access and knowledge for adolescents between the ages of 12-18 in Waukesha County. Specifically, they examined the limited financial viability of mental health services and explored strategies to reduce the percentage of students self-reporting depression.

While the action team cannot undertake every identified strategy, community partners may find this list helpful as a collaborative resource to address mental health for adolescents in Waukesha County.

Evidence-Based Strategies: 

• CBITS (Cognitive Behavioral Intervention for Trauma in Schools): Implement evidence-based interventions like CBITS to address trauma in school settings.
• School-Based Health Centers with Embedded Therapist: Establish school-based health centers with embedded therapists, providing accessible mental health services within educational institutions.

Low-Cost and No-Cost Strategies:

• Community Education Workshops: Organize free or low-cost mental health education workshops for the community to raise awareness, reduce stigma, and impart basic coping skills.
• Community Support Groups: Establish low-cost community support groups facilitated by trained volunteers. These groups serve as an affordable means to provide emotional support and resources.

Data Development & Research Agenda: 

• Barriers to Access: Investigate and address the barriers hindering individuals from accessing mental health care, including cost, stigma, and lack of awareness.
• Needs Assessment: Conduct a comprehensive needs assessment to understand the current state of mental health awareness and services in Waukesha County. Utilizing surveys, interviews, and data analysis, this assessment aims to identify gaps and barriers in mental health support.

Mental Health End Result 1: All adolescents between the ages of 12-18 in Waukesha County will have improved access to mental health services and increased knowledge of mental health resources

Selecting an effective strategy involves a meticulous evaluation based on four key criteria:

• Leverage, which assesses the potential impact on progress
• Feasibility, ensuring practicality and achievability
• Specificity, detailing budget and timeline considerations
• Values, ensuring alignment with the values of both the community and the organization

This comprehensive approach ensures that the chosen strategies have a meaningful impact, are feasible to implement, align with established values, and are supported by a clear budget and timeline.

Mental Health Team Selected Strategies:

Data source :

- Children's Hospital outpatient & inpatient visits only (ER visits not included) from 2018-2022 ages 12-18

- DHS WI Dashboard for Waukesha County Mental Health: County Services Dashboard | Wisconsin Department of Health Services

Data Limitations:

- 0-17 age group ( 18 years not available through this dashboard, also includes 0-11 ages) only available data as of 4.25.2024 is from 2018-2022) 

- The chart on the scorecard exludes 18 years of age data from the DHS dashboard due to lack of breakdown capability for that age with the filters provided for the dashboard. The dataset from DHS dashboard only has data available through 2021.