The recession has forced more than 7 million people out of jobs, and millions more are now under-employed. Many of those workers and their families have lost their health insurance, and others who still work full time have also seen their health care benefits eliminated or cut back. In May and June of this year, the Kaiser Family...
A top priority of President Obama and Congress this year was extending and improving the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). That legislation was approved in early February, and the President promptly signed the CHIP Reauthorization Act (CHIPRA).The new law gives states increased funding and new policy options that should enable...
Survey data released by Gallup yesterday highlight the importance of health care reform. Gallup reported an increase in the number of uninsured adults nationwide from 14.8% in 2008 to 16.2% in the first six months of 2009.According to the Gallup figures, Wisconsin is still doing considerably better than the national average, but not as...
Time Magazine recently published an article called Bad Crowd: Why Juvenile Detention Makes Teens Worse which takes note of a recent longitudinal study of 779 Montreal youth that adds to previous findings indicating thatinteraction between juvenile offenders often increases the odds of future offenses. The study, Iatrogenic Effect of...
One of the emerging controversies in the juvenile justice world is whether juvenile offenders, perhaps as young as 13, should be sentenced to life without parole in adult court. As noted in a previous posting - May 13 - the Supreme Court is set to take on two such cases, challenging the appropriateness of essentially sentencing such...
A Wisconsin Department of Revenue report released on Friday shows that total property values in Wisconsin fell about 0.5 percent between January 1, 2008 and January 1, 2009. According to the department’s historical data, the $2.5 billion reduction is only the second decrease in total property values statewide in the last 50 years.The...
On Wednesday, the WI Department of Children and Families (DCF) announced the release of a new strategic plan for improving recruitment and retention of foster parents in Milwaukee County. DCF enlisted the aid of the Utah Foster Care Foundation in preparing the plan. DCF undertook the project as part of a public-private partnership with...
Why is there such an unusual consensus about the effectiveness of high-quality early learning programs from leaders in business, economics, law enforcement, and government? The answer has a lot to do with scientific evidence about brain development and the effectiveness of early childhood intervention efforts.
What if for every dollar you invested, you could be guaranteed a return of between $17 and $221 dollars? Even in financially strapped times, you’d come up with the cash, right?Well, a new cost-benefit analysis by the Economic Policy Institute estimates that by eliminating lead exposure to young children, we could save a bundle through...
WCCF has put together a summary of key federal early learning initiatives being deliberated in the Congress. With President Obama’s strong interest in early learning, the proposals on the table offer excellent opportunities for Wisconsin if they pass. The proposals include: the Early Learning Challenge Fund Home Visiting proposal Head...
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