Wisconsin’s Department of Children and Families (DCF) has again drawn down federal funds to continue and expand voluntary, evidence-based home visiting services to women during pregnancy and to parents with young children up to age five. Wisconsin has been very successful in expanding the program with federal funding and state match. DCF is the lead agency, working closely with the Department of Health Services.
According to officials of the federal Department of Health and Human Services, the Home Visiting Program helps to ensure that young families have the option to participate in a program that promotes their children’s healthy growth and development. The home visiting program is part of a prenatal to five continuum, including Head Start and Early Start, child care funding, services to children with disabilities, and other programs.
TANF at 25: Failing to Meet the Needs of WI Families
On August 22 of this year, the law creating the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families program (TANF) turns 25 years old, and that’s not a cause for celebration. At the national level and here in Wisconsin, TANF is serving only a small fraction of the families who are...