Crowley Seeks to Mend Fences With Mental Health Board

Marcia P. Coggs Health & Human Services Center, 1230 W. Cherry St. Photo taken June 13, 2025, by Graham Kilmer.

Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley seems to be looking to make peace with the Mental Health Board.

After concerns were raised about its abrupt dismissal of a top administrator, the Crowley administration is inviting board members to help evaluate 19 candidates interviewing for the job.

In March, the administration forced Mike Lappen, the long-serving administrator of Behavioral Health Services, out of his job. He had served in the role since 2016 and is well regarded by members of the board and other professionals in the field of health and human services.

The administration maintains that Lappen resigned. Lappen told Urban Milwaukee he was told to resign or be fired, and offered no explanation. The administration has similarly offered no explanation to the Mental Health Board or elected county supervisors, instead saying it cannot discuss personnel matters.

The abrupt dismissal did not go over well with some members of the Mental Health Board, and when they expressed concern at a meeting in April, Crowley’s chief of staff, Mary Jo Meyers, suggested they should resign if they can’t “continue to support the vision and mission of Milwaukee County and represent the duties that you’re here for on behalf of the county exec.”

During a meeting of the Mental Health Board’s Executive Committee Monday, Department of Health and Human Services Director Shakita LaGrant-McClain told the board she was open to having one member sit on each of the two hiring panels that would interview candidates.

Board Chair Kathy Bottoni, who pushed for greater transparency from the administration after Lappen’s dismissal, said she had spoken with Crowley and “he absolutely values each and every one of us.”

One board member, Joy Tapper, said she thought it would be better if two board members were allowed to sit on the hiring panels. LaGrant-McClain responded, saying she thought an agreement for one board member had already been reached after a private meeting with Bottoni. “You and I agreed that one was fine, so that would have been helpful to know,” she said.

Bottoni responded, saying it was just a conversation over coffee and that she is only one member of the board and does not speak for the body. “I don’t think what we’re asking is unreasonable at this point,” Bottoni said.

The board was created in 2014 through state legislation as part of a sweeping reform of the county’s mental health system. It oversees system policy and the annual budget.

Ultimately, LaGrant-McClain agreed to include two members on each of the panels. Board approval is required for confirmation of a final candidate. Including members at the beginning of the hiring process gives the board real input, as opposed to a “perfunctory” final approval, Tapper said.