Federal Court Allows BadgerCare Core Lawsuit to Proceed

Ruling May Set Important Precedent, but Appears to Be Too Late to Affect BadgerCarePeople on the BadgerCare Plus Core waiting list won a preliminary legal victory last week when a federal court allowed their lawsuit against the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) to proceed. The ruling could be an important precedent, but it’s...

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New Survey Findings Reinforce Success of ACA Option for Insuring Young Adults

One of the successes of the federal health care reform law is highlighted by new survey data released on Friday (July 19). The new Gallup data indicates a decline of almost one fifth over the last several years in the number of young adults who are uninsured, thanks to the provision in the Affordable Care Act (ACA) allowing young adults...

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Economic Security out of Reach for Many Wisconsin Families

How much money does a family need to be economically secure in Appleton, Wisconsin? How about Eau Claire? Janesville? These questions can be answered by a new family budget calculator, developed by the Economic Policy Institute. The family budget estimated by EPI includes expenses for:housing;food;child care;transportation;health...

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Potential SNAP Cuts Would Hit Close to Home for Many Wisconsinites

Low-income Wisconsinites could bear the brunt of a variety of actions by House Republicans aimed at cutting SNAP benefits. Reductions in SNAP benefits – formerly known as food stamps – would jeopardize the economic security of many people in Wisconsin who depend on SNAP to make ends meet. More than a million people in Wisconsin received...

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How the 2013-15 Budget Affects Children and Families

The budget bill as amended by Joint Finance is a litany of missed opportunities. It benefits the wealthy few while shortchanging children and families by failing to address the most pressing needs of our communities, our economy, and our collective future.

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Getting Your Brain Around Early Childhood Development

Whether you’re a pediatrician, teacher, policymaker or parent – we can all agree that the future rests in the development and well-being of our children. One of the best ways to ensure their success and strengthen our community is making sure every child has access to quality early childhood education in the first five years of life....

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Flurry of Press on Child Care During 4th of July Week

Gone the 4th of July week? Here’s a way to catch up on a flurry of press about child care. A front-page two-part series in the Wisconsin State Journal (WSJ) led to several reactions focusing on YoungStar’s impact on improving quality and the challenges of an underfunded child care system. Altogether there were 7 articles, columns, and...

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YoungStar in the News

Check out the excellent two-part series on YoungStar and its impact on the child care workforce in the Wisconsin State Journal June 30 and July 1. The two articles were both front-page lead stories, written by veteran reporter Doug Erickson. The articles focused on:• Earning Their Stars: The state’s YoungStar rating system sends droves...

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A Valuable Resource for Researching Child Well-Being

A valuable resource for researching child well-being just got easier to use. A major overhaul of the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s KIDS COUNT Data Center has streamlined the process for accessing hundreds of child well-being indicators related to education, employment and income, health, poverty and youth risk factors. The Wisconsin...

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DHS Releases BadgerCare Waiver and Announces Three Public Hearings Next Week

Today, the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) announced three public hearings and one tribal consultation on the proposed BadgerCare waiver, which would make the changes required by the state budget. The changes would cause nearly 100,000 adults with income above the poverty line to lose BadgerCare coverage, in order for...

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