Wisconsin schools struggle to maintain mental health initiatives during budget crisis
Outpatient mental health services for minors in Wisconsin have an average wait time of three months. Such delays can also vary at walk-in clinics and hospitals depending on the number of patients seeking care that day. Most children are not finding immediate accessibility to the help they need.
Governor Tony Evers has raised concerns regarding the decline in mental well-being in Wisconsin, which is a cause and effect concerning delayed guidance.
“As governor and as a grandfather, the state of our kids’ mental health is particularly concerning for me. From struggles at home to cyberbullying and what they see on the news, our kids are struggling perhaps now more than ever,” Evers stated. “That’s why, a few years ago, in 2023, I declared it the Year of Mental Health in Wisconsin because it’s a crisis that I believe will have catastrophic consequences for generations if we don’t treat it with the urgency it requires.”
With mental health problems rising, psychology teacher Erron Hundt is concerned about the increased number of minors needing mental health care.
“I think it is an abundance of patients needing to be seen and not enough healthcare workers being able to see them,” she said. “It is unfortunate that this is the reality for many because this is so important, and there shouldn’t be a long wait time for someone to be seen.”
Junior Milo Kasubaski worries about his academics, social media, and his fellow friends who find it challenging to seek guidance on their mental health here at West.
“I just think that over time, school has definitely become more demanding, and that definitely hasn’t helped students’ mental health, which is a main reason that many people, primarily students’ mental health, are starting to decline, including my friends, which is very worrying to me,” he said. “I have not really touched the support that is offered inside of West, and I think it is very uncommon for somebody, a student, to reach out and get that support. I believe that most people really do not want to involve the school for their support unless it is their last option.”
Jean Manecke, the OASD Secondary Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) Coordinator believes these stressors have impacted all students, not just those at West.
“There’s those pressures to always be performing at that level, to get that job, to get into the college, [and] all those things,” she said. “That is not just a Wisconsin thing, it is across the nation.”
Matthew Kaemmerer, the OASD Director of Pupil Service, believes the rise of social media is a significant factor that contributes to student mental health.
“At the same time, we are seeing some newer or increasingly prominent challenges related to social media, technology use, sleep, social isolation, and the pressure young people feel to constantly compare themselves to others,” he said. “For some students, technology can provide connection and support, while excessive or unhealthy use can contribute to sleep disruption, social comparison, cyberbullying, or difficulty disconnecting.”
The increasing screen time and social expectations all can contribute to rising mental health issues. Manecke emphasized the importance of this problem, coordinating community viewing for the distinct.
“In 2022, we actually did community viewing of a movie called Like, and it was all about the like button on Facebook and about the person that created the like button and said if they had realized the negative impact, they never would have created it,” she said. “Kids were staying up all night trying to create these accounts to get the likes and everything.”
However, the rising demand of mental health care means that Oshkosh is struggling to provide support for all teens.
“The demand for children's mental health services has increased significantly, while the number of providers who specialize in working with children and adolescents has not necessarily kept pace with that demand,” Kaemmerer said. “A child may need a provider with specific expertise, such as working with trauma, autism, eating disorders, or a particular age group. Insurance networks, provider availability, appointment schedules, and the complexity of a child’s needs can further limit the available options.”
As Oshkosh faces major budget cuts, a resulting consequence is the decrease in mental health guidance. More challenges following include location and insurance as the city provides a few clinics that specialize in outpatient mental healthcare for minors. If the clinics are full, families are left with external choices, such as Appleton or Green Bay to get access to more healthcare options.
“There are also geographic differences in access, with some communities having far fewer providers than others,” Kaemmerer said. “This has traditionally been the case in northeast Wisconsin.”
Manecke also agrees that location plays a huge role for student accessibility.
“Transportation might be a factor that limits you being able to get to a resource. We’ve offered those services, but you have to go through intake,” Manecke says.
Intake is one of the problems that arises with long clinical wait times.
“You have to show up at the meeting to go through the intake, right? So, we can say, ‘Yes, you need the service.’ ‘Yes, I'd like the service,’ but if I don't go through and fill out the paperwork, insurances don't always cover all of it,” she said. “Then that’s a drawback.”
Manecke describes that insurance does not cover care, but the budget cuts have impacted the quality and number of care providers available.
“We’re just losing some of our state funding, our national funding, and that’s really hurting those programs, because providers want to get paid,” she said. “Without some of those additional funding sources, it makes it more difficult for us to get that extra time in here, and the number of care providers that are out there.”
Severe budget cuts have affected not only the OASD School District, but the entirety of Wisconsin. Evers dislikes this ongoing struggle, one that motivates his work for mental health accessibility.
“Unfortunately, Wisconsin has faced workforce shortages in critical areas, including mental healthcare professionals, especially in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic,” he said. “Our ‘Get Kids Ahead’ initiative has helped make sure every school district across our state has resources to help support our kids’ mental health needs, and I’m especially proud I fought to continue those investments in our recent state budgets.”
Following the Get Kids Ahead initiative, Evers announced one of his most significant projects yet, implementing major budget plans and policies.
“I created our Interagency Council on Mental Health to bring our state agencies together to reduce barriers and address gaps in mental health services statewide,” he said. “By focusing on expanding access to mental health resources and destigmatizing getting and receiving help, we can work to cut back on some of the roadblocks that have hurt young folks’ access to mental health care and bolster our mental healthcare workforce for years to come.”
By creating the Interagency Council on Mental Health, some of the council’s recommendations are prioritizing state funding for healthcare, helping agencies promote mental health resources, and streamlining service access.
Currently, there are numerous other programs that run through the OASD schools, including West. Manecke believes that these programs can help teach children to regulate their emotions, contributing to the overall well-being of students.
“West really started the whole movement of the ‘Who's Your Person,' so we have that sense of belonging,” she said. “We do the MySabers and we ask those questions about, do you like school, do you argue a lot, are you feeling like you're prepared. We ask those questions and then we look at that and then use that to identify some students that say, ‘Oh, we maybe need some more supports.’”
With the current imbalance of outpatient demand and the workforce, Wisconsin faces increasing difficulty with providing services, and young students are the ones who face these challenges that directly affect their education and cognitive development.
“While my time as governor is coming to an end, I believe that we have laid the groundwork needed to expand Wisconsin’s mental healthcare system so that future administration can take up the mantle and move forward,” Evers said. “From creating our ‘Get Kids Ahead’ program, investing millions of dollars into supporting school-based mental health services, and supporting the creation of the 9-8-8 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline to releasing the state’s first-ever action plan to address the state of mental health in the state, Wisconsin is well on its way to building a future where every Wisconsinite can live their best and fullest lives.”
by Yui Watanabe
Published October 5, 2026
Oshkosh West Index Volume 123 Issue 1