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?
April 30, 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 in exist in Wisconsin, such as psychiatric residential treatment facility, CCFs, crisis hostels, and current crisis stabilization facilities.
Ways to get involved
Stay up-to-date on this group's progress—sign up to get email notices!