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Mike Lappen. Photo from Milwaukee County.
The leader of Milwaukee County’s Behavioral Health Services (BHS) has reportedly been forced out.
Mike Lappen, who has served as administrator of the county’s mental health agency since May 2016, was recently asked to resign, according to a report by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Lappen told the Journal Sentinel DHHS leaders did not offer an explanation for seeking his resignation.
BHS, which is a part of the county’s Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), has an annual budget of approximately $216 million as of 2026, which is overseen by the Milwaukee County Mental Health Board. The agency is responsible for the county’s major mental health programs, including crisis intervention, youth mental health services, addiction treatment and recovery, as well as the Mental Health Emergency Center.
In a statement to Urban Milwaukee, DHHS Director Shakita LaGrant-McClain confirmed Lappen’s resignation, effective March 30, but declined to comment on whether Lappen was asked to resign, saying, “We are unable to discuss additional personnel matters.”
DHHS had not yet started looking for a replacement for Lappen at the time of his separation from the county, but LaGrant-McClain told Urban Milwaukee the search would begin soon and that her department was working “to ensure there continues to be seamless service delivery during this leadership transition.”
“I thank Mr. Lappen for his service to Milwaukee County. Looking ahead, DHHS and BHS will continue working with County Executive David Crowley and the Milwaukee County Mental Health Board to expand the No Wrong Door model of care, enhance behavioral health resources, and ensure residents can access the help they need through quality community partnerships, mobile crisis intervention, and comprehensive wraparound services,” LaGrant-McClain said.
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Mary Neubauer, a member of the Milwaukee County Mental Health Board (MCMHB), told Urban Milwaukee the board chair, Kathy Bottoni, informed her of Lappen’s resignation Wednesday. Neubauer said she could not comment further on the departure.
Lappen came into the role in 2016. At the time, DHHS was led by Héctor Colón, who led the agency when state legislation transferred oversight of the county’s mental health system from the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors to the newly created mental health board. The legislation was lobbied for by then-County Executive Chris Abele.
Lappen presided over BHS through a shift from a centralized, institutional mental health system to a “community-based” model of care, made up of a network of community clinics, the new Granite Hills inpatient hospital in West Allis. He previously worked as the director of the Ozaukee County Department of Human Services and as the Ozaukee County Behavioral Health Division Manager.
In 2025, the agency faced public scrutiny after it failed to notify the Milwaukee County district attorney’s office that an individual previously charged with homicide had been released back into the community from a state mental health hospital.
Amando Lang, 25, of Greenfield, was charged in 2019 with homicide and found not competent to understand the charges or the violent act because of mental illness. An order for conditional release from state custody was signed in March 2025, according to circuit court records. Under state law, BHS was supposed to notify the district attorney that Lang was returning to the community, and did not.
Not long after the Lang incident, the agency’s chief medical officer, John Schneider, resigned. Scheider, a psychiatrist, had served in the role since 2014.
Lappen led the subsequent audit of the BHS system for civil commitments. In September, the audit results were presented in closed session to the mental health board’s Quality Committee. The following month, the mental health board released a statement supporting the findings of the audit and announcing that policies are in place to correct past errors.
“The audit findings, while concerning, provided a necessary opportunity for reflection and immediate course correction,” Neubauer, then chair of the mental health board, said in a statement in October 2025. “We are encouraged by BHS’s transparent response and swift implementation of corrective actions.”
Urban Milwaukee was unable to reach Lappen for comment.