Kids Forward, Author at Kids Forward

31 Ways in 31 Days – Way #4 Funding Cuts and Big Changes in Policymaking Authority for Wisconsin Shares Jeopardize Working Families’ Access to Quality Child Care

Wisconsin Shares is a child care subsidy program that helps working families afford quality care for their children while they are at work. Funding for the Wisconsin Shares child care subsidy program was cut from a base level of $342 million annually to $297.7 million in FY12 and $297.3 in FY13. But it could have been a lot worse; most...

31 Ways in 31 Days – Way #3 Using Federal Welfare Reform Dollars for Other Purposes, Such as Tax Cuts

Part of the budget bill’s strategy for closing the deficit while freeing up money for highways and tax cuts is to transfer $37 million per year from the federal block grant known as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). The budget and budget repair bills reduce by $111 million over three years the TANF funding that is...

31 Ways in 31 Days – Way #2 Unspecified, Unchecked Cuts and Changes to BadgerCare

Not only does the budget make $467 million in unspecified cuts to BadgerCare, but it establishes a new process for making fundamental policy changes that provides little to no legislative or public input. The bill includes a sweeping and unprecedented shift in decision-making authority from the Legislature to unelected officials in the...

31 Ways in 31 Days—Way #1 Massive Cuts to School Funding Threaten Wisconsin’s Tradition of High-Quality Education

A well-educated workforce is more important than ever to the state’s economic future. Yet this budget cuts nearly $750 million in general state aid from the public school system over the biennium. As a result, we risk weakening Wisconsin’s commitment to our public K-12 education system and jeopardizing educational opportunities for the...

WCCF Launches Month-Long Series Examining Impact of Budget on Kids and Families

"31 Ways in 31 Days" Begins the Process of Rebalancing Wisconsin’s Priorities Now that Wisconsin Act 32, the 2011-13 biennial budget, has been signed into law, the Wisconsin Council on Children and Families (WCCF) has turned its focus forward to promoting positive change for children and families in Wisconsin. Throughout the budget...

Early Care and Education Budget Scorecard

WCCF early learning policy analyst Dave Edie has put out a scorecard examining what happened in the 2011-13 Wisconsin biennial budget, including analysis on YoungStar, Wisconsin Shares,home visiting, 4-year-old Kindergarten, and Head Start. For more information, go to the Wisconsin Early Learning Coalition website.

Budget Project Updates Comparative Budget Summary

The Governor has signed the 2011-13 biennial budget after making some minor vetoes, and the Wisconsin Budget Project has updated – probably for the final time – the comparative budget summary in order to reflect those vetoes.The comparison shows how selected provisions were modified in the budget process, as well as the fiscal effect of...

A Child-friendly Veto Removes Change to Weight Based Taxation of Moist Snuff Tobacco Products

WCCF Commends the Governor on this Move to Help Discourage Kids’ Use of Harmful Tobacco ProductsAs we noted in a May 27th blog post, the Joint Finance Committee voted for a budget amendment to change the tax on moist snuff tobacco products to a weight-based tax. WCCF joined numerous other groups in opposing such a change, for the...

Will the Party of the First Part Subrogate the Rights of the Party of the Second Part? (We’re Not Sure What That Means, but We Think the Answer Is Yes)

Republicans Renew Rule Rescinding Readability RequirementsAs we noted in a May 3rd blog post, the WI Office of the Commissioner of Insurance (OCI) issued an emergency rule in February suspending improvements made in fall 2010 to the readability of private health insurance plans and electronic access to such plans. Last Thursday, the...

Enactment of Unemployment Benefit Changes Raises Questions about Future of Advisory Council

The Governor decided to sign into law the changes in the budget bill relating to unemployment insurance (UI) benefits, notwithstanding the unanimous recommendation of the UI Council to veto those changes. A Wisconsin Budget Project Blog post today examines the threat that poses to the future of the consensus process that has generally...

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31 Ways in 31 Days – Way #4 Funding Cuts and Big Changes in Policymaking Authority for Wisconsin Shares Jeopardize Working Families’ Access to Quality Child Care

31 Ways in 31 Days – Way #3 Using Federal Welfare Reform Dollars for Other Purposes, Such as Tax Cuts

31 Ways in 31 Days – Way #2 Unspecified, Unchecked Cuts and Changes to BadgerCare

31 Ways in 31 Days—Way #1 Massive Cuts to School Funding Threaten Wisconsin’s Tradition of High-Quality Education

WCCF Launches Month-Long Series Examining Impact of Budget on Kids and Families

Early Care and Education Budget Scorecard

Budget Project Updates Comparative Budget Summary

A Child-friendly Veto Removes Change to Weight Based Taxation of Moist Snuff Tobacco Products

Will the Party of the First Part Subrogate the Rights of the Party of the Second Part? (We’re Not Sure What That Means, but We Think the Answer Is Yes)

Enactment of Unemployment Benefit Changes Raises Questions about Future of Advisory Council

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