thank you so much for joining us.
>> My pleasure. >> Governor Tony Evers
declared 2025 the year of the kid and his two year
budget called for more than $300 million in direct
spending on school mental health treatment and
staffing. Last night, the Joint Finance Committee
approved $20 million in One-Time funding to expand
K-12 mental health programs. Meanwhile, a bill in the
legislature calls for a two year pilot program in two
schools in Wisconsin providing wraparound, school
centered mental health services. Even through the
summer break. Senate. Author of the bill, Republican
Senator Jesse James of Thorp, joins us with more.
And thanks a lot for being here.
>> So you've said that advocacy for youth Mental
health is your number one priority. Why the urgency on
that? >> So, well, it comes from
my personal life. It comes from my outside career of
this building. As a law enforcement officer, as well
as what I've seen with and heard from constituents from
my district and from across the state. The impacts that
we've seen in our mental health, behavioral health
crises that our youth have been experiencing across our
state. Have have been on the rise. And I've dealt
personally more with more youth in crisis than I have
adults in my law enforcement capacity over the last five
years where I work as a part time police officer in the
village of Cadott. So that that raised some concerns
for me. And, you know, our state does okay when it
comes to these crises, whether it's an adult or
youth, but I think trying to get our youth the services,
resources, education, prevention, coping
strategies, everything that they need as a youth that
they can mature and grow into, into the young adult
life will set them up for success in the future as
they continue to reside in our state.
>> So the school centered pilot program proposed would
provide wraparound mental health services in two
schools. What would that look like?
>> So in two schools, one would be urban, semi-urban
school, and the other one would be a rural school. You
know, the things that happen up in the village of Cadott
happen in the city of Milwaukee. And I think the
key element to this is the data collecting. There will
be a report that will be have to be submitted from
whoever were to receive the grant. Funding for this, and
they have to provide a report back. And that's some
of the issues that we have in our state is the lack of
information sharing. We the schools, do a good job
tracking it, but at the state level, none of that
information is shared. So we would have to personally go
to each of our school districts to find out what's
going on with mental health. How many students are
impacted by it, whether it's elementary, middle school,
high school, and without that data, it's very hard
for us as a legislature to make decisions moving
forward. We can just say, yeah, there's a problem, but
we just throw money at it with no data reporting or
collecting. That's that's a foolish that's a foolish
decision in my opinion. >> And so what would those
wraparound services look like?
>> Well, it's huge in. The key element to this is that
the parents are involved in then also the community buy
in is there as well with the partnerships and
collaboration. But the wraparound, it's a year long
process. It's not just during the school year where
when the children are in crisis, they're receiving
the services and resources available to them. This is a
year long process. Yvonne continues on through the
summertime to where those continued treatment options
are available to the youth and the family.
>> So I understand that an agency like Lutheran Social
Services could hold the contract to provide the
program, and there are estimates there that it
would cost about $850,000 over two years. In the end
of those two years, if this proves super successful, how
could it be paid for in more schools than 2 across the
state? >> Well, that's that's a
good question. I think we're still waiting to see what's
happening at the federal level, with all the
decisions being made there. You know, this is our
attempt at at the state level to implement something
so that we can see the figures, we can get the
data. Once we get that kind of reporting done, and we as
a legislature in the stakeholders are interested
in this topic, this issue, we can bring forth further
decisions, further funding, further modifications that
would need to be taken place. I mean, this is going
to be a continued work in progress.
>> Is there is there some concern on the part of
lawmakers that just a lot of money is thrown at these,
you know, at mental health programs? Again, without the
return of the evidence based success? Is that kind of
what's partly driving the idea here?
>> 100%. So last session, I've had superintendents in
my office during budget talks this this spring and
summer. Here to where last session, they just funneled
out a whole bunch of dollars to our school districts. One
school district received $4,000. That's not going to
pay for staff. That's not going to, you know, get what
that school district may need to provide mental
health services to their students. Now, I did share
options with them, but for example, that school
district, they had a guest speaker come in and talk to
the students. So we can do better in with that funding.
They didn't have. They didn't have to report back
on what they use that money for. So and that was every
school district in our state. There's something
wrong with that. We need to know how our dollars are
being spent, the impact that it's having in our schools,
especially when it comes to our youth. So there's things
that we can do. It's all about communication,
negotiation and compromise. >> All right, all right.
Well, we leave it there. Senator Jesse James, thank
you so much for joining us. you so much for joining us.