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Milwaukee Coalition for Children's Mental Health

Creating lasting solutions to improve children's mental health services and outcomes in Milwaukee and beyond

Full Project Name:Milwaukee Coalition for Children's Mental HealthPrimary Community Organization:Mental Health America of WisconsinPrimary Academic Partner:Michelle Broaddus, PhD, Psychiatry and Behavioral MedicineAward Amount:$300,000
Award Date
July2022
Project Duration:24 months

Project Description Narrative:


Although multiple initiatives focused on youth mental health have been launched in Milwaukee in recent years, the community continues to demonstrate a need for systems change to improve children's mental health and address disparities in care and outcomes. Moreover, local and national evidence shows that the COVID-19 pandemic has further exacerbated the massive racial and socioeconomic disparities that already existed, and additional resources and initiatives are being deployed in response.

As the Milwaukee Coalition for Children's Mental Health moves into phase three of the Advancing Behavioral Health Initiative, it looks to build upon what it has learned and accomplished over the past six years to promote alignment of these resources and support system changes that have the potential to significantly impact children's mental health services and outcomes in Milwaukee and beyond.

Community partners: Acelero Learning, Children's Wisconsin, Institute for Child and Family Wellbeing, Marquette University Center for Teaching and Learning, Marquette University Department of Psychology, Mental Health America of Wisconsin, Milwaukee Bucks Corporate Social Responsibility, Milwaukee Chapter of the Links, Inc., Next Step Clinic, Next Step Clinic Community Advisory Board, Unite Us, Wisconsin Initiative for Stigma Elimination/Rogers In Health, Wisconsin Office of Children's Mental Health

Outcomes & Lessons Learned:


  • Developed and grew a coalition to connect organizations and engage parents/caregivers and community voices to lead collective efforts to address youth mental health
  • Launched the Mental Health Community of Practice, bringing together community health workers and parents/caregivers to inform community-driven efforts to improve youth mental health
  • Leveraged the strength of the coalition to secure funding to open the Next Step Clinic, which provides family navigation, autism spectrum disorder (ASD) medical evaluations and therapies for young children and their caregivers, reaching more than 200 families since 2019

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