Wisconsin Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and Mental Health (IDD-MH) System Improvement: Step-Down Subcommittee
The Wisconsin IDD-MH System Improvement Step-Down Subcommittee Subcommittee is working on recommendation 1.2. It aims to create a way for people to "step-down" from a crisis stay for up to 180 days. Check out the Wisconsin IDD-MH System Improvement Report, Recommendation 1.2 (PDF), for all the background information about this recommendation.
Status—in progress
This recommendation is in progress! Here's what to know:
Who's working on it?
- County agencies
- IRIS agencies
- Managed care organizations (MCOs)
- Advocates
- Mental and behavioral health providers
- Residential providers
- Self-advocates
- State center staff
- Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) staff
Who will benefit and how?
People recovering from a crisis. Someone leaving a place they went to during a crisis should have options before going back home. This would be a time to learn how to avoid crises in the future. They could also get more care and services to help get them back home.
This subcommittee is creating a strategy for how Wisconsin can provide these step-down spaces.
When will it be done?
July 31, 2026
What is the goal?
Create a strategy for how to provide more opportunities for people to stabilize between being at an institution for mental disease (IMD) and returning to a community home.
Key milestones
- Subcommittee formed (June 2025)—The steering committee asked the Community of Practice in April 2025 for volunteers to join the subcommittee for recommendation 1.2. They announced selections in June 2025.
- Day of brainstorming (September 2025)—The subcommittee met in person for a day of brainstorming and collaboration.
- Began exploring services and case studies (January 2026)—The group:
- Spoke with MCOs about clinical consultative therapeutic services and how they could be used to support people in a step-down setting.
- Began looking into case studies to help focus on step-down specifically.
- Learned from DHS about different settings that already exist or are under development in Wisconsin.
- Draft of step-down recommendations for adults complete (May 2026)—The group finished a first draft of a report sharing strategies for how adults can stabilize before returning home after a crisis stay. DHS began reviewing the draft and gathering additional data and information.
Ways to get involved
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