State agency representatives and mental health advocates testified Tuesday about how Wisconsin could improve when it comes to addressing mental health issues, asking lawmakers to consider supporting different policies and additional investments, including certain items proposed by Gov. Tony Evers for the upcoming biennial budget.
Rep. Paul Tittl (R-Manitowoc), chair of the Assembly Mental Health and Substance Abuse Prevention committee, said he wants to turn mental health into a “casserole illness”.
“I’ve had surgeries recently and people brought over casseroles, people brought over food. It doesn’t seem that we embrace people that are going through a mental health crisis,” Tittl said. “And I think we need to. We need to bring over that casserole.”
Representatives for the Wisconsin Department of Corrections identified psychologist and correctional officer staffing shortages as one of the biggest problems when it comes to supporting mental health issues among Wisconsin’s prison populations.
Milwaukee Secure Detention Facility was fully staffed about a year and half ago, Kevin Kallas, director of psychiatry in the DOC’s division of adult institutions, told lawmakers. He said the departure of a supervisor, who left for a job with less responsibility that paid her $20,000 more per year, caused an exodus of staff from the detention facility in downtown Milwaukee.
Kallas said once a facility gets to a critical vacancy point — around half staffed— then “the remaining staff just...
FDA and consumer protection officials suspended production at a Samut Sakhon canned fish factory after alleged false labelling Thai food and consumer protection authorities have ordered a canned f...