A study committee proposed a package of six bills aimed at strengthening youth mental health support and intervention at a Joint Legislative Council meeting Wednesday.
The Legislative Council Study Committee on Emergency Detention and Civil Commitment of Minors, chaired by Sen. Jesse James, R-Thorp, has met since last August to review whether new emergency detention procedures should be established for minors, including whether individuals other than law enforcement should be allowed or required to take minors into custody.
At the meeting, James said these issues are “deeply personal” to him as a law enforcement officer.
“Some of the most challenging moments on the job come when I’m called to assist someone in the midst of a mental health crisis,” James said. “It’s always difficult, but it’s especially heartbreaking when that person is a child.”
One of the proposed bills allows minors age 14 and older to send themselves into mental health treatment even if the parent refuses, or the parent could send the minor if the minor refuses. Currently, both minors age 14 and older and their parent or legal guardian must consent to inpatient and outpatient mental health treatments for the minor.
Although the bill says it gives more autonomy to minors when a parent refuses to consent to treatment, Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, said at the meeting the parent should be given more authority.
“I think that’s a dumb idea,” he said. “I just can’t imagine taking the parents out of the process would ever be good for the child.”
The bill still allows pushback when one party consents and the other does not. Under current law, a petition is required by the consenting party to prove the need for the minor’s treatment. This bill would change the law so the refusing party would petition the treatment to deem it unnecessary. Additionally, the bill explicitly includes minors age 14 and older seeking inpatient treatment for substance abuse, allowing them to petition the court when the parent or legal guardian is not present to execute the treatment application.
Another bill in the package would require the Department of Health Services (DHS) to create a portal for minors to share their crisis safety plans with safety plan partners across the state. This would allow law enforcement or emergency service providers to access safety plans for minors during a mental health or behavioral crisis.
James said the bill is modeled off of successful programs in Ashland and Bayfield counties at Wednesday’s meeting. It defines a safety plan as “an individual’s written document, created in advance of a crisis, that provides guidance on how to help the individual when the individual experiences a behavioral or developmental health challenge or crisis.”
The safety plan could include the minor’s name and address, what a crisis looks like for them, the minor’s personal de-escalation strategies, emergency contact information, health care providers and any information the responder should know.
The portal that shares the plans would be funded by DHS and created by either DHS or a separate non-profit organization. It would provide a full-time staff position and allow DHS to request funding at the next biennial budget address.
James said this plan would help so “children in crises are not further traumatized by being placed in handcuffs.” People with mental illness are 10 times more likely to experience forceful interactions with law enforcement than those without mental illness.
The safety plan expires after one year, but the minor would be reminded close to the date to renew the plan. It may be revoked by the minor at any time other than during a crisis.
One of the last bills in the package would allow certain medical and behavioral health clinicians to take a minor into custody due to belief of mental illness, disability, drug dependency or danger. Currently, only law enforcement or authorized personnel can do so.
A clinician would include a psychologist, psychiatrist, psychiatric nurse practitioner, psychiatrist physician assistant, marriage and family therapist, professional counselor or a clinical social worker. To initiate emergency detention under the bill, the clinician would have to obtain permission from the county based on an act, attempt or threat by the minor that is deemed dangerous.
Additionally, the clinician must maintain good standing with their professional license and complete county-approved training on emergency detention procedures every two years to initiate these measures.
The bill also specifies that using law enforcement for transportation to the emergency detention facility should be a last resort. James said it is “the most straightforward method” to avoid traumatizing a child during a mental health crisis.
The liability limitations for clinicians would be the same as it is for law enforcement: those acting in good faith under this bill are protected, but knowingly filing a false emergency detention statement is a Class H felony, which is punishable by fine or possibly imprisonment.
The bill excludes Milwaukee County because it has its own subsection for emergency detention, but all other Wisconsin counties have the option to adopt it.
The package of bills was recommended by the Study Committee to the Joint Legislative Council, which will then be reviewed by the council and voted on at a later date.
