2022-2026 CHIP Progress & Impact Report

What happens after a community identifies its most pressing health priorities? The work begins, and so does the responsibility to share what changed, what we learned, and where we go next. The 2022-2026 CHIP Progress & Impact Report follows up on the strategies introduced at our 2024 CHIP launch, highlighting collaborative work across three priorities: Healthy Aging, Mental Health, and Substance Use.

Behind this work are community organizations, healthcare partners, schools, residents, and people with lived experience who contributed their time, expertise, and perspectives. The report brings their efforts together, sharing accomplishments alongside challenges and plans for sustaining the work.

The report also takes an honest look at ongoing challenges and what we’ve learned along the way. Those lessons will help guide our next CHIP cycle.

Much of this work happened through Action Teams and smaller subgroups, where community partners came together to address specific needs and develop solutions. Here’s how they were organized during this cycle:

Turning Shared Goals into Action

Healthy Aging Action Team

Healthy Aging partners strengthened prevention outreach and created shared tools to better measure community reach and participant outcomes.

Desired Results:

1. People age 60 and older in Waukesha County will be safe from falls.
2. All people in Waukesha County will have social connections.

Progress & Impact:

• 5 CHIP ARPA grants funded initiatives focused on falls prevention and social connectedness.
• 126 community events reached 4,090 participants during the first half of 2026.
• Developed two shared measurement tools to track community outreach, participation, and outcomes related to falls prevention and social connection.
• Expanded community education through falls prevention and social connectedness resources distributed by local partners.
• Promoted the Waukesha and Milwaukee Counties Community Calendar to help older adults find activities, programs, and opportunities for connection.
• Established long-term sustainability by transitioning ongoing data collection and analysis to the ADRC of Waukesha County.

Read more about the work of the Healthy Aging action team here: 2022-2026 CHIP Progress and Impact Report.

Mental Health Action Team

The Mental Health CHIP Action Team advanced important access and awareness strategies for the youth they were targeting. This desired result is long term and population-level and will take additional time and work.

Desired Result:

1. All adolescents ages 12–18 in Waukesha County will have improved access to mental-health support.

Progress & Impact:

• 60 Ending the Silence presentations reached nearly 2,500 students across 13 Waukesha County schools.
• 96% of surveyed students reported knowing the early warning signs of mental health conditions following presentations.
• 95% of surveyed students reported knowing how to help themselves or someone else experiencing mental health warning signs.
• Launched a coordinated 988 awareness campaign to increase visibility of the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline among youth and families.
• Established a referral pathway connecting youth ages 12–22 who accessed crisis services with peer support and therapeutic programming.
• Expanded community partnerships through a Mental Health Awareness Day at the Glacial Community YMCA.

Read more about the work of the Mental Health action team here: 2022-2026 CHIP Progress and Impact Report.

Substance Use Action Team

Desired Results:

1. People who use or are in recovery from opioid use in Waukesha County have access to lifesaving interventions.
2. Waukesha County residents who use opioids have access to stable housing.

Progress & Impact:

• Opioid-related deaths decreased 71% among Waukesha County residents ages 18–44, from 73 in 2021 to 21 in 2024.
• Certified Peer Specialist support increased 596%, from 106 individuals served in 2023 to 738 in 2025.
• 895 individuals accessed peer recovery support through the WCS All Peer Program and Drop-In Center between 2024 and May 2026.
• Expanded peer recovery services through CHIP ARPA funding that helped launch the WCS All Peer Program and increase access to community-based recovery support.
• Developed harm reduction training for first responders, healthcare professionals, and community organizations, with two facilitators trained to deliver education.
• Partnered with the Medical College of Wisconsin and Carroll University to research the connection between substance use and housing instability and develop interactive educational resources.

Read more about the work of the Substance Use action team here: 2022-2026 CHIP Progress and Impact Report

5 Years of Dedication

On behalf of Waukesha County Public Health and the Department of Health and Human Services, thank you to the partners, Action Team members and chairs, and volunteers who brought this work to life.

We invite you to explore what we’ve accomplished together and consider how you or your organization can help shape what comes next.

Looking ahead

In 2026, the Waukesha County Community Health Collective was established, bringing together Waukesha County Public Health, a division of Health and Human Services, and four major hospital systems: Aurora Health Care, Ascension, Froedtert ThedaCare, and ProHealth Care.

Through the Collective, partners are working together to gather community health data, share findings, and coordinate efforts. This partnership helps reduce duplication, brings different perspectives to the table, and supports a shared understanding of the health challenges and opportunities facing Waukesha County.

As we prepare for the 2027–2029 Community Health Improvement Plan, the Collective will help connect updated data and community voices with decisions about future priorities. We look forward to welcoming additional organizations and building on the relationships and lessons reflected in this report.

Help shape what comes next at Data 360 on November 19 at the WCTC Education Center in Pewaukee. Hosted by the Waukesha County Community Health Collective, this event brings together community organizations, healthcare partners, businesses, and residents to explore findings from the recent Community Health Survey, participate in a data walk, and help identify priorities for the 2027–2029 CHIP. Your perspective can help turn these findings into meaningful action for Waukesha County. Space is limited, reserve your spot today.