header-logo
Physician Patient

Milwaukee Coalition for Children’s Mental Health (CCMH)

The Milwaukee Coalition for Children’s Mental Health (CCMH; originally the Milwaukee School, Home, and Community Collaboration to Improve Youth Mental Health) was formed in 2016 out of a community call to action to bring together partners committed to improving the behavioral health of children in Milwaukee. Recognizing the interaction between a child’s biological predispositions and the effects of their environments on future outcomes, the coalition identified the need to take an ecological approach to improving children’s behavioral health.
Milwaukee Coalition for Children's Mental Health Map

Impact

Many of the coalition’s founding members had long-standing relationships with one another, creating a stable base to start the difficult work of aligning efforts and agreeing upon what community behavioral health needs the coalition would address. After convening, CCMH began outreach efforts to representatives of related initiatives and service providers in Milwaukee, while also constructing a plan to authentically engage people with lived experience in the coalition from the very beginning.

While CCMH originally included representatives from 12 local healthcare, education, and community-based organizations, they expanded membership to include faith-based communities, governmental agencies, education, academia, community-based organizations, and people with lived experience – mainly parents and caregivers.

Membership ultimately expanded considerably, moving from 12 members across 16 organizations and initiatives to 130 members representing over 50 organizations. The coalition worked collaboratively to develop effective strategies that promote prevention efforts and early identification of developmental and mental health concerns among Milwaukee’s young children, focusing on those 0-8 years old.

A relationship-based and power-sharing approach was adopted to ensure CCMH leadership would take the time needed to form authentic relationships and bring in the voices of those most impacted by racial disparities in outcomes and build opportunities for shared leadership.

Connecting Families to Resources and Each Other

Developed a Community of Practice for community health workers and caregivers with lived experience in the youth behavioral health system to advocate for systems change through community-building, training, and other workforce development activities.

Building Awareness and Knowledge of Issues Impacting Child and Family Mental Health

Developed a coalition culture focused on creating brave spaces to foster authentic relationships, personal and professional growth, and multidirectional sharing of knowledge and resources, including a biweekly newsletter with resources for a diverse audience of providers, community health workers, parents, and caregivers.

Developing Innovative Solutions to Disparities in Child Developmental Outcomes

Created a free clinic to address barriers to diagnosis in underserved communities with a focus on autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and behavioral concerns. The clinic provides family navigation, ASD screening and evaluation, therapies for young children and their caregivers, and training/professional development for graduate and PhD students, as well as numerous practitioners in pediatric and youth behavioral health-related fields.

Select Coalition Members

Government

  • City of Milwaukee, Office of Early Childhood Education
  • Milwaukee County Behavioral Health Services
  • Wisconsin Office of Children’s Mental Health

Education

  • Marquette University
  • Milwaukee Public Schools
  • Mount Mary University

Healthcare

  • Children’s Wisconsin
  • Institute for Child and Family Wellbeing
  • Rogers Behavioral Health – WISE

Community-Based Organizations

  • Milwaukee Succeeds
  • MIRACLE Network
  • The Parenting Network
  • Next Door, Inc.
  • United Way’s Empowering Minds
  • Wellpoint

Highlights