Supervisor Peggy Romo West Critizes Mental Health Bill
Says Reform Bill Under Consideration by Legislature Will Not Help Patient Care
Milwaukee County Supervisor Peggy Romo West said today that a Milwaukee County mental health reform bill under consideration in the State Legislature does nothing to improve patient care.
“Patient care should be the number one priority, and this bill does nothing to improve it,” Romo West said. “To be effective, this legislation needs to hold the administration accountable for failures in service delivery.
“The Milwaukee County Board has no control over day- to- day operations of the mental health system. Staffing, policies of the Mental Health Complex, training and other day-to-day operations are in the hands of the administration. Let’s concentrate on patient care rather than playing the blame game.”
In addition, she said, the Combined Community Services Board already provides the type of oversight that this legislation seeks. The Board consists of consumers, advocates, providers, County Board members and administration officials.
Romo West said the State Legislature has added to its biennial budget funding to overhaul the mental health system for the entire State. At the same time, she said, Milwaukee County is in the middle of its Mental Health Redesign and is waiting for a capacity study to show what the next steps need to be as the County continues to move to a community based system.
“The County Board is closest to the people, and to remove the Board’s role in developing, executing and overseeing policy role makes no sense,” Romo West said.
NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.
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