Hundreds of children in Wisconsin's child welfare and juvenile justice systems who have complex behavioral health needs are being sent for care to facilities outside of the state — as far away as New Hampshire and New Mexico.
Children who suffer abuse or neglect or who live in dysfunctional homes often carry the burdens of these experiences into adulthood. Behavioral health professionals call these ordeals "adverse childhood experiences," or ACEs.
A sweeping shift over the past few decades in the practice of behavioral health has come to be known as trauma-informed care, an approach adopted by dozens of counties and tribes in Wisconsin.
The same aspects of rural life that are attractive to many Wisconsinites — solitude, space, smaller communities — can often make getting the health care they need a challenge that ranges from mere inconvenience to life-threatening.
While Wisconsin's laws on marijuana have stayed largely the same — and federal law continues to ban use and sales — bordering states have begun to move on the issue.
