ABOUT

The Wisconsin Mental Health Action Partnership (MHAP) is a broad, sustainable coalition that aspires toward equitable access and continuous improvement in integrated mental health care throughout the state. 

Mental health treatment in Wisconsin is complex and difficult to navigate for service recipients and providers. While there are many strengths and examples of excellence in mental health service delivery, an inadequate emphasis on prevention and early intervention and variation in availability of public resources, result in overuse of emergency services and preventable disability, justice system involvement and untimely death. Currently in Wisconsin there is a lack of mental health providers and a need to increase the mental health workforce and focus on disparities in access to person-centered and culturally informed care. Increased demand for mental health care sharply reveals gaps exacerbated by an outdated regulatory infrastructure, a need for improved financing, and an inadequate continuum of care.

  • The Mental Health Action Partnership launched in October of 2023 after 18 months of planning and collaboration among a group of mental health advocates who recognized the need for a community-led, coordinated effort to improve Wisconsin’s mental health system. Throughout the fall of 2023, MHAP interviewed a wide range of players in Wisconsin’s mental health field, inquiring about what they see as the greatest barriers and issues, best practices and models to replicate, and issues that have momentum and are poised to make progress in the short term. 

    In fall of 2023, MHAP workgroups were established, focusing on policy issues in the areas of Medicaid, Workforce, Criminal Justice, and Access & Equity. Throughout 2024, the workgroups identified issues related to their respective topic and categorized them into short-term, medium-term, and long-term. They then narrowed down the short-term issues, prioritizing those that would have the greatest positive impact and that already had momentum. For each of those issues, the workgroups developed issue papers with recommendations. At Summits, the whole Partnership reviewed each workgroup’s proposals and provided feedback. In total, MHAP produced 12 issue papers, with 10 of those proposals requiring legislative action. In 2025, MHAP is focusing on educating legislators on those 10 proposals and beginning to discuss the workgroups’ medium-term proposals.

  • The Mental Health Action Partnership is supported by the Core Group, which operates as a steering committee for the coalition. The Core Group meets every other week to share workgroup updates and plan learning sessions and summits. The Core Group aims to include representation from different communities and sectors of the mental health system, such as peers, family members, providers, and counties and representatives of adjacent systems such as substance abuse, health, education, and criminal justice. 

    The bulk of MHAP’s work is done in the workgroups. MHAP currently has four workgroups (link to workgroups page): Medicaid & Workforce, Access & Equity, Criminal Justice, and Data. There is a Governance workgroup that does not currently meet regularly but convenes as needed to clarify and further develop guidance on how MHAP operates. The four active workgroups currently meet monthly via Zoom but may reduce their meeting frequency as needed. 

    Three to four times per year, MHAP hosts Summits, where the whole partnership convenes to review the workgroups’ work, share feedback, and plan next steps for the coalition. Summits take place in person in warm months and virtually in the winter. 

    MHAP also hosts monthly Learning Sessions via Zoom to help MHAP partners learn about and discuss issues of shared interest. All Learning Sessions are recorded and can be found here.

    MHAP is currently facilitated by NAMI Wisconsin. MHAP is a community-led effort; NAMI Wisconsin has the privilege of providing administrative support to the coalition at this time, but MHAP’s facilitating agency may change in the future. 

  • Through the work of MHAP every person in Wisconsin who wants or needs mental health care will be able to easily access quality, affordable care in their community. Wisconsin will have a well-integrated, sustainable continuum of mental health services and supports that responds in a compassionate, timely, effective, culturally informed manner to any child, youth, or adult anywhere in the state. 

    1. Preserve and increase access to prevention, early intervention, and a continuum of evidence-based integrated care within the mental health system throughout the state. 

    2. Ensure choice in care for all with mental health needs, that is peer-driven, family-driven, culturally informed, and recovery-focused.

    3. Sustain, grow, diversify, and better utilize the workforce to meet demand and provide services for all with mental health needs throughout the state.

    4. Maintain a compassionate, safe, high quality, and accountable system of integrated mental health care.

    • Respect and trust within mental health community 

    • Choice by people with lived experience 

    • Emphasis on prevention and early intervention 

    • Compassionate care 

    • Equitable access 

    • Recovery focused 

    • Trauma informed 

    • Care in the least restrictive environment 

    • Sustainable funding 

    • Affordable care 

    • Mental health parity 

    • Meaningful, impactful public accountability 

    • Belief that mental health is integral to overall wellbeing

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