by the Survival Coalition of Wisconsin Disability OrganizationsThe biennial budget and subsequent action by the legislature get mixed reviews by parents of children with disabilities. Among the most fragile families in Wisconsin are those with a child with a significant disability. While these families often have extraordinary needs...
Thanks to the deep recession and anemic recovery, there has been unprecedented demand for classes in the state’s technical colleges. Record numbers of young people recently out of high school and older displaced or underemployed workers are looking to Wisconsin’s technical college system as their best option for getting education and...
Most children and families in Wisconsin are covered by private health insurance, but many people will tell you that the private insurance market is not working for children and families. Too many find themselves underinsured – losing their coverage when they need it most because they have cancer and hit their annual limit on coverage,...
The national economy has been slow to emerge from the Great Recession, and Bureau of Labor Statistics data show that Wisconsin has had the slowest rebound in employment of any state during 2011 and 2012. Yet despite the ongoing need for assistance for those desperately seeking work, the last Wisconsin budget bill cut benefits that are...
This week, we celebrate Cover the Uninsured Week with our colleagues at Covering Kids and Families – WI (CKF). With more than 525,000 Wisconsinites uninsured, including 65,000 children, we have more work to do in our state. Our strong BadgerCare program is a cost-effective and quality way to reach many uninsured residents, but it...
State Government is not Keeping Its Promises to our Public Schools Tom Beebe, Outreach CoordinatorOpportunity to Learn - Wisconsin In today’s global environment, students in Wisconsin are no longer competing just with those in nearby school districts or states, but rather with kids all over the world. That’s why it’s now more critical...
What do low-income families need to thrive economically? For starters, they need jobs, a way to get to those jobs, and health care that enables them to hold onto those jobs and be productive workers. They also need a tax code that helps families make the climb to the middle class.Unfortunately, actions by state policymakers have made it...
This paper highlights the brief history of access to in-state tuition for undocumented students in Wisconsin, comparing what we have done to other states and summarizing both the personal and economic loss created by the 2011-13 budget decision to eliminate this opportunity for many youth.
Quality early childhood education (ECE) is one of the most cost-effective and potent economic development tools available. The quality of early experiences has an enormous impact on the developing brain and mind. Investing in young children supports economic development by boosting the long-term productivity of the labor force and...
Over the past year, the Wisconsin state government has made a number of decisions that reflect a significant directional shift in our approach to the well-being of children and families. We have seen our public investments in education, environmental protection, and a variety of social services shrink dramatically. Our tax structure has...
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