As universal public 4-year-old kindergarten (4K) continues to expand across the state, many are not aware that 4K has a history going back over 160 years. The first kindergarten in the United States was founded in Watertown, Wisconsin in 1856, shortly after the first “kindergarten” was opened in Germany in 1837 by Friedrich Fröebel.
This Sunday, Sept. 12, is National Grandparents Day, an appropriate time to consider the crucial and growing role grandparents are playing in caring for America’s kids, and the economic challenges they face in providing that care. • 4.5 million children lived in their grandparents’ home in 2009, according to the U.S. Census Buresu.• In...
A new study released today by the Urban Institute Health Policy Center estimates that there were 7.3 million uninsured children in the U.S. on an average day in 2008, and five million of them (65%) were eligible for Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) but were not enrolled in either plan. The study was published...
The Wisconsin Budget Project website has a brand-new page devoted solely to Recovery Act issues. The information on this new page ranges from two-paragraph blog posts to in-depth papers. Whether you’re looking for updates about direct benefits in Wisconsin or details about additional FMAP dollars flowing to the state, this is a good...
A new analysis by the Wisconsin Budget Project finds that Wisconsin is no longer much ahead of the curve on school spending and staffing. Once a national leader in educational innovation and performance, Wisconsin’s investment in K-12 education has slipped significantly relative to other states over the past decade, and it now ranks...
The Legislative Fiscal Bureau (LFB) issued new figures last week relating to the effect of the extended federal fiscal relief for Medicaid on Wisconsin’s Medicaid (and BadgerCare Plus) deficit. The LFB memo clarifies a number of important fiscal issues, but it will be superseded in a couple of weeks by new DHS estimates of the deficit. ...
Itemized deductions for income tax disproportionately benefit higher-income tax filers, but Wisconsin is better than many states in how we approach this issue. Click on over to the Wisconsin Budget Project blog to read more.
According to this Wisconsin Public Radio report, Republican gubernatorial candidate Scott Walker says that if he is elected, he will keep the child care rating system started this year by Governor Jim Doyle's administration. Walker was asked at a forum by the group Disability Rights Wisconsin whether he'd support it as Governor. Walker...
With the Bush tax cuts set to expire at the end of this year, Democrats and Republicans have put forward different proposals for extending selected aspects of the cuts. The Wisconsin Budget Project Blog takes a look at the two proposals to see how they would affect Wisconsin residents.
The Department of Health Services announced at a news conference in Milwaukee Thursday (Aug. 19) that Wisconsin will be one of seven states piloting a new state and federal initiative to boost enrollment in children’s health insurance programs. The initiative, called Get Covered, Get in the Game, will bring together coaches, schools,...
Your address helps us identify your legislators and the most relevant messages to send you.