States Now Provide Considerably Less Funding for Mental Health Services

National Alliance on Mental Illness

Wisconsin’s mental health system braces for major cuts under Walker. (Wisconsin Watch, 4/3/2011)

Excerpt: States, desperate to close cavernous budget gaps, have cut $2.1 billion from their mental health budgets over the past three fiscal years, according to a study from the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors’ Research Institute, an independent nonprofit that collects and analyzes mental health services data.


Waukesha County officials declined to detain Kuester before triple homicide. (Wisconsin State Journal, 5/4/2013)

Excerpt:   The head of the Waukesha County mental health system stands by the April 25 assessment from one of its most experienced crisis managers that Kuester didn’t meet any of the criteria defined by state law that would have allowed the county to detain him against his wishes. 


Civil Commitment and Voluntary Treatment.  By Dianne Greenley, Attorney Wisconsin Coalition for Advocacy.

An excerpt.

Dangerousness This final part of the test which must be met before commitment can be ordered is very important and also very complex. The description which follows is only an outline of what the law requires and should be treated accordingly. There are five different tests of dangerousness under Wisconsin law. Only one must be satisfied before commitment can take place. These standards were enacted as the result of a federal court case which required that only individuals who pose a danger to themselves or others may be committed.

Dangerousness to self, Sec. 51.20(1)(a)2.a., Wis. Stats.

Dangerousness to others, Sec. 51.20(1)(a)2.b., Wis. Stats. 

Impaired judgment, Sec. 51.20(1)(a)2.c., (Wis. Stats. Sec. 51.20(1m), Wis. Stats.

Unable to satisfy basic needs,  Sec. 51.20(1)(a)2.d., Wis. Stats. 

Fifth standard, Sec. 51.20(1)(a)2.e., Wis. Stats. (which is described as "quite complex"; see page 357)