As each of the 72 Wisconsin counties address funding for mental health independently, legislators are looking to address disparities in both funding and mental health care services that exist across the state.

Rep. Sandy Pasch, D-Shorewood, a member of the Assembly Task Force on Mental Health, said the current system of counties harboring the burden of mental health creates a broad interpretation of how mental health should be addressed statewide.

Pasch said she is critical of pending mental health legislation because it is outdated and leads to different interpretations of involuntary or coercive treatment.

Rep. Joe Sanfelippo, R-West Allis, he agreed with Pasch’s proposal to revive the “unsustainable” system because counties cannot support the demand for mental health care.

“We have this system of care put in place that wasn’t even adequate the day it started,” Sanfelippo, a former Milwaukee County executive, said. “When it comes to health care, mental health is like the red-headed stepchild.”

Sanfelippo added he suspects most counties in Wisconsin are in similar financial situations as Milwaukee County.

Shel Gross, public policy director at Mental Health America-Wisconsin, said each county treats mental health differently due to funding issues, which come from both the federal and state level, but mostly from county taxes.

“We find every county has a very different set of services and capacity to provide services,” Gross said. “What people get often is where they live.”

Lynn Green, Dane County Human Services director, said of her $250 million budget proposal for 2014, $24 million goes to adult mental health services.

Green added the demand for mental health exceeds the funding but Dane County is still able to do good work.

“We are in better shape than most counties, but we have waiting lists,” Green said.

She said more support from the state and federal level is needed.

Ronald Diamond, UW professor of psychiatry, said funding becomes an issue when some money is given in the name of mental health but is actually given to forensic services in hospitals and prisons, rather than “ordinary people” with mental illnesses.

Since there is a lack of adequate funding for mental health, involuntary treatment often becomes the only treatment option, Diamond said.

“If you have a variety of different options, the likelihood of some option where a person will accept treatment goes way, way up,” Diamond said. “The vast majority of them are willing to accept treatment, but not the treatment we want to impose of them.”

He said the definition of involuntary versus voluntary treatment in the original legislation changes between counties, leading to varied interpretations of personal freedom and protection.

“The balance between personal autonomy and protection are very different in Dane County than in northern Wisconsin,” Diamond said. “In some counties, the law is applied to people who would never get commitment in Dane.”

Gross said Gov. Scott Walker’s budget initiatives released in February include more mental health funding and help steer the state in the right direction.

Walker’s plans included nearly $30 million in funding for children with behavioral problems, adult community-based care and forensic treatment units.