Race to Equity's Racial Equity Community Impact list is a preliminary compilation of over 125 racial equity initiatives that have been implemented throughout Dane County since the release of the Race to Equity Baseline Report. The list is comprised of initiatives developed by the Madison and Dane County governments, non-profit...
Lead Harms Wisconsin Children
The Flint water crisis has highlighted the damage that lead exposure inflicts on children, families, and communities. In Flint, residents were exposed to high levels of lead in the drinking water after a governor-appointed city manager, with an eye towards saving money, switched the city's water source. Exposure to lead in childhood can...
Sheboygan County Launching Community Partnership for Children
Early learning and development has been a hot topic for Sheboygan County, and exciting new efforts are underway. In a 2014 blog I wrote about Brown County’s breakthrough effort to make sure all newborn babies receive a Welcome Baby visit. (https://kidsforward.org/welcome-babies-brown-county-reaching-newborns/) Well, good ideas can be...
Insurance Marketplace Enrollment is Strong, as Deadline Approaches
With about two weeks to go until the end of the 2016 open enrollment period, Wisconsin was on target to sign up substantially more people in the federal health insurance Marketplace than a year ago. The most recent Marketplace enrollment report from the federal Dept. of Health and Human Services (HHS), with data on sign-ups through...
A Moral Imperative to Fix an Unfair Transportation Bill
Affordable, reliable bus service is critical for many Wisconsinites, particularly low income workers and people who are elderly or have disabilities. Unfortunately, bus systems and other public transportation services have long been underfunded in Wisconsin, and a transportation funding bill the legislature is considering will compound...
The Business Case for Investing in High Quality Child Care: Wisconsin Focus
“Quality child care matters” is the theme in the new report and summaries from the Committee for Economic Development (CED). Besides the overall economic analysis, the report includes Wisconsin-specific key findings and talking points. A few samples: The report, Child Care in State Economies, examines the child care industry’s effect...
The 2016 State of the State for Wisconsin’s Children
Tonight Governor Walker delivers his State the State address. He is expected to talk about his vision of where Wisconsin should be headed, outline his priorities for the remainder of his second term, and describe how he thinks the state should move forward economically. Traditionally, governors haven’t used the State of the State...
Reflecting on the Legacy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
As I reflect on Martin Luther Kings’ legacy, and the distance that we have travelled over the 52 years since his “I Have a Dream Speech,” I am struck by how much farther we have to go, as a nation, and as a state. A recent study by the Annie E. Casey Foundation showed that the well-being of Wisconsin’s African-American children is the...
Health Coverage for Hispanic Children – Great Progress and the Work Ahead
No matter who you are, or what you do, we can all agree that we want what’s best for Wisconsin’s kids. Access to health coverage is a critical piece of the puzzle to set children up for success. A recent report from the Georgetown Center for Children and Families (GCCF) and the National Council of La Raza (NCLR) found that we’re making...
The Case for Family Leave
Child Trends has released a blog on paid family leave, finding that family leave laws in the United States lag behind those in other countries. It is embarrassing that the United States and Papua New Guinea are the only two countries in the world to not provide any income coverage during maternity, according to the report. Wisconsin has...
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