As we head into September and the beginning of a new school year, there are a number of opportunities to connect and engage with families around enrolling their children in BadgerCare (Wisconsin’s Medicaid/CHIP program). For Wisconsin children to reach their full potential in school and beyond, we need to make the most of those...
Increased Flexibility for States Has Meant Reduced Assistance for Low-income Families Some conservative lawmakers want to use the welfare reform block grant program known as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) as a model for major changes to Medicaid. The law creating the TANF block grant turns 20 this month, which makes this...
A week has passed since the death of Sylville Smith in Sherman Park. I am in no position to comment on the details of the events that led to his killing, or its aftermath. But I do think it is imperative that we see these tragic events within a larger context, a context that extends beyond the north side of Milwaukee, to the state of...
Early experiences can have a dramatic impact on young children, both positive and negative, according to research from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in a recent article, Children Left Behind: Early Environment Can Change Your Brain. The research indicates that childhood poverty can affect brain development with damaging outcomes....
Wisconsin Council on Children and Families has released a report, Are We at the Crossroads for Wisconsin Child Care? Policies in Conflict. The paper examines the conflicting public policies in child care and their implications. The policy analysis tracks the history of two major child care programs, the Wisconsin Shares child care...
The Wisconsin Shares child care subsidy program (WI Shares), launched in 1997 as part of new welfare reform measures, was developed to support low-income families coming off welfare going to work, and to help low-income working families stay off of welfare.
Kids in Crisis, USA Today Network’s lengthy investigation on challenges children with mental health issues face, has developed a 10-point Legislation Action Tracker. You can check out this list and follow it over time to see if our state’s leadership takes the kind of steps recommended to improve the lives of thousands of...
The Wisconsin Council on Children and Families (WCCF) is excited to announce the creation of the Farm to Early Care and Education project, which will bring the farm to table movement to child care programs across the state. The project is funded by a $150,000 grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation of Battle Creek, Mich. WCCF will...
A new study on Wisconsin's child care workforce shows that child care workers continue to face low pay, weak benefits, and high turnover. The painful truth is that there has been very little progress since 1997. The Capital Times ran an article on the child care study focusing on the low pay for child care workers in Wisconsin. The...
Wisconsin is no longer the leader it once was in getting children insured. A new WCCF report examines how Wisconsin lost its national prominence in insuring children and how our state could regain its leadership in that important area. Census Bureau figures show that Wisconsin went from having the 6th highest rate of insurance coverage...
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