Take Action Mental Health in Your State

Wisconsin

By The Numbers

871,000

Number of K-12 Students (2022 Projection)i

71,000
Children with major depressionii
36,000

Children with major depression who do not receive treatmentiii

1:901

Ratio of School Psychologists to Students
(Recommended Ratio 1:500)

1:1,750

Ratio of School Social Workers to Students
(Recommended Ratio 1:250)

1:414

Ratio of School Counselors to Students
(Recommended Ratio 1:250)

Take Action
in Wisconsin

There is a national emergency in children’s mental health. Children and youth are experiencing soaring rates of anxiety, depression, trauma, loneliness, and suicidality. 

Take Action

Children and youth are experiencing soaring rates of anxiety, depression, trauma, loneliness, and suicidality. Mental health challenges can affect success at school and in life, yet few students get the help they need to thrive.

The Hopeful Futures Campaign, a coalition of national organizations, is committed to ensuring that every student has access to effective and supportive school mental health care. The campaign’s school mental health report cards highlight accomplishments and provide important action steps to help address the children’s mental health crisis in every state.

At A Glance: State School Mental Health Policies

School Mental Health Professionals:

School-Family-Community Partnerships:

Teacher and Staff Training:

Funding
Supports:

Well-Being Checks:

Healthy School Climate:

Skills for Life Success:

Mental Health Education:

Little or no progress achieved

Some progress achieved

Meaningful progress achieved

Substantial progress achieved

HOW WISCONSIN COMPARES

State Rankings from Mental Health America iv

2015

2020

2021

2022

Overall State Rank for Youth Mental Health

3

6

15

11

Youth with At Least One Major Depressive Episode in the Past Year

39,000 / 8.57%

61,000 / 13.66%

68,000 / 15.31%

71,000 / 15.99%

Youth with Major Depressive Episodes in the
Past Year Who Did Not Receive Treatment

Not Asked

27,000 / 44.3%

33,000 / 47.2%

36,000 / 55.10%

Youth with Major Severe Depressive Episodes in the Past Year

Not Asked

47,000 / 10.8%

58,000 / 13.4%

55,000 / 12.70%

Youth with Severe Major Depressive Episodes
Who Received Some Consistent Treatment

Not Asked

22,000 / 47.60%

23,000 / 40.4%

19,000 / 36.40%

Students Identified with Emotional Disturbance
for an Individualized Education Program

12,427 / 16.44%

12,217 / 16.18%

* / 16.18%

* / 16.18

Youth with Private Insurance That Did Not
Cover Mental or Emotional Problems

27,877 / 31.3%

20,000 / 7.0%

16,000 / 5.5%

12,000 / 4.50%

Youth with Substance Use Disorder in the Past Year

28,000 / 6.24%

19,000 / 4.23%

18,000 / 4.07%

19,000 / 4.34%

i. Projections of education statistics to 2022. National Center of Education Statistics. (n.d.). Retrieved November 11, 2021, from https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2014/2014051.pdf.
ii. The state of Mental Health in America. Mental Health America. (n.d.). Retrieved November 9, 2021, from https://mhanational.org/issues/state-mental-health-america.
iii. The state of Mental Health in America. Mental Health America. (n.d.). Retrieved November 9, 2021, from https://mhanational.org/issues/state-mental-health-america.
iv. The state of Mental Health in America. Mental Health America. (n.d.). Retrieved November 9, 2021, from https://mhanational.org/issues/state-mental-health-america.
Wisconsin

By The Numbers

871,000

Number of K-12 Students (2022 Projection)i

71,000
Children with major depressionii
36,000

Children with major depression who do not receive treatmentiii

1:901

Ratio of School Psychologists to Students
(Recommended Ratio 1:500)

1:1,750

Ratio of School Social Workers to Students
(Recommended Ratio 1:250)

1:414

Ratio of School Counselors to Students
(Recommended Ratio 1:250)

Take Action
in Wisconsin

There is a national emergency in children’s mental health. Children and youth are experiencing soaring rates of anxiety, depression, trauma, loneliness, and suicidality. 

Take Action

Children and youth are experiencing soaring rates of anxiety, depression, trauma, loneliness, and suicidality. Mental health challenges can affect success at school and in life, yet few students get the help they need to thrive.

The Hopeful Futures Campaign, a coalition of national organizations, is committed to ensuring that every student has access to effective and supportive school mental health care. The campaign’s school mental health report cards highlight accomplishments and provide important action steps to help address the children’s mental health crisis in every state.

At A Glance: State School Mental Health Policies

School Mental Health Professionals:

School-Family-Community Partnerships:

Teacher and Staff Training:

Funding
Supports:

Well-Being Checks:

Healthy School Climate:

Skills for Life Success:

Mental Health Education:

Little or no progress achieved

Some progress achieved

Meaningful progress achieved

Substantial progress achieved

HOW WISCONSIN COMPARES

State Rankings from Mental Health America iv

2015

2020

2021

2022

Overall State Rank for Youth Mental Health

3

6

15

11

Youth with At Least One Major Depressive Episode in the Past Year

39,000 / 8.57%

61,000 / 13.66%

68,000 / 15.31%

71,000 / 15.99%

Youth with Major Depressive Episodes in the
Past Year Who Did Not Receive Treatment

Not Asked

27,000 / 44.3%

33,000 / 47.2%

36,000 / 55.10%

Youth with Major Severe Depressive Episodes in the Past Year

Not Asked

47,000 / 10.8%

58,000 / 13.4%

55,000 / 12.70%

Youth with Severe Major Depressive Episodes
Who Received Some Consistent Treatment

Not Asked

22,000 / 47.60%

23,000 / 40.4%

19,000 / 36.40%

Students Identified with Emotional Disturbance
for an Individualized Education Program

12,427 / 16.44%

12,217 / 16.18%

* / 16.18%

* / 16.18

Youth with Private Insurance That Did Not
Cover Mental or Emotional Problems

27,877 / 31.3%

20,000 / 7.0%

16,000 / 5.5%

12,000 / 4.50%

Youth with Substance Use Disorder in the Past Year

28,000 / 6.24%

19,000 / 4.23%

18,000 / 4.07%

19,000 / 4.34%

i. Projections of education statistics to 2022. National Center of Education Statistics. (n.d.). Retrieved November 11, 2021, from https://nces.ed.gov/pubs2014/2014051.pdf.
ii. The state of Mental Health in America. Mental Health America. (n.d.). Retrieved November 9, 2021, from https://mhanational.org/issues/state-mental-health-america.
iii. The state of Mental Health in America. Mental Health America. (n.d.). Retrieved November 9, 2021, from https://mhanational.org/issues/state-mental-health-america.
iv. The state of Mental Health in America. Mental Health America. (n.d.). Retrieved November 9, 2021, from https://mhanational.org/issues/state-mental-health-america.

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School Mental Health Professionals

Little or no progress achieved

School psychologists, social workers, and counselors who, together, provide a range of necessary mental health services in schools.

 

Current Policy:

  • School Psychologists: Wisconsin has one school psychologist for every 901 students (the recommended ratio is 1:500).
  • School Social Workers: Wisconsin has one school social worker for every 1,750 students (the recommended ratio is 1:250).
  • School Counselors: Wisconsin has one school counselor for every 414 students (the recommended ratio is 1:250).

 

Policy Opportunity:

  • Invest in significantly improving the ratios of school psychologists, school social workers, and counselors in K-12, including through telehealth partnerships and workforce programs that incentivize careers in mental health.

School-Family-Community Partnerships

Meaningful progress achieved

Policies that support and enable schools to engage with families and community partners.  

 

Current Policy:

  • Family/community engagement: State policy encourages districts to adopt plans, policies, or strategies to engage parents and families in the educational process.
  • Mental health partnership: Stat. § 115.367 (2021) offers funding, through a competitive grant program, for school districts to partner with community mental health providers to offer direct mental health services in schools.

 

Policy Opportunity:

  • Require, rather than encourage, school districts to adopt family engagement plans.
  • Expand and require partnerships between school districts and community mental health providers that ensure access to services for students with ongoing needs.

Teacher and Staff Training:

Little or no progress achieved

Policies that support training of teachers and staff in mental health, substance use, and suicide prevention.

 

Current Policy:

  • Teacher/staff training: Stat. § 115.365 requires districts to publicize suicide prevention resources and training but does not require teachers or staff to take training. 

Policy Opportunity:

  • Require regular training to ensure K-12 teachers and staff receive regular training on mental health conditions, substance use conditions, and suicide awareness and prevention, including available school and community-based services and resources.

Funding Supports

Little or no progress achieved

Policies that help support funding of school mental health services for Medicaid-eligible students.  

 

Current Policy:

  • Medicaid coverage: State Medicaid program does not cover school-based mental health services for all Medicaid-eligible students.
  • Medicaid telehealth: State Medicaid program only covers school-based mental health services delivered via telehealth for students with Individualized Education Plans (IEPs).

 

Policy Opportunity:

  • Expand Medicaid billing to include school-based mental health services, including via telehealth, for all Medicaid eligible students (beyond students with an IEP).
  • Ensure the state Medicaid program covers services delivered by school psychologists, social workers, and school counselors. 

Well-Being Checks

Little or no progress achieved

Regular checks of mental wellness that help identify students and staff who may need support.  

 

Current Policy:

  • No well-being checks required.

 

Policy Opportunity:

  • Require annual well-being checks for all students and staff in K-12.

Healthy School Climate

Some progress achieved

Policies that foster safe, supportive schools, including anti-bullying policies, school climate surveys, inclusive environment (anti-discrimination) policies, excused absences for mental health, alternatives to exclusionary discipline, and suicide prevention programs.

 

Current Policy:

  • Anti-bullying: Stat. § 118.46 (2021) requires schools to adopt an anti-bullying policy and distribute it annually to students and parents.
  • Mental health excused absences: Stat. § 118.15 (2021) provides for excused mental health absences, but may be asked to furnish a written statement from a health or mental health care professional.

Policy Opportunity:

  • Enact legislation to address additional healthy school climate policies, such as requiring annual school climate surveys, promoting an inclusive environment through anti-discrimination policies, requiring age-appropriate suicide prevention education for students, and requiring adoption of alternatives to exclusionary discipline that keep youth in school, with services and supports to get their lives on track.

Skills for Life Success

Meaningful progress achieved

Skills, such as responsible decision-making, relationship skills, and self-management, that help students succeed in school and life.  

 

Current Policy:

 

Policy Opportunity:

  • Establish existing education standards for K-12 life skills competencies in statute.

Mental Health Education

Some progress achieved

Health education in K-12 that includes instruction on mental health.  

 

Current Policy:

  • Mental health education: Wisconsin statute 118.01 (2021) for health education does not include mental health; state education standards for health education includes references to mental or emotional health in grades 3-5 and 9-12. 

Policy Opportunity:

  • Require K-12 health education to explicitly include education on mental health, similar to legislation passed by New York and Virginia.