The state budget and the taxes that help finance it have a huge impact on children and families. The budget provides most of the funding for vital government services, such as education, health care, transportation, child welfare and other safety net programs.
For more detailed analysis, visit the Wisconsin Budget Project website.
I stumbled across a very interesting blog post Monday on the subject of redistricting in Wisconsin. Written by Peter Wagner of the Prison Policy Initiative (PPI), it examines the consequences of counting prisoners in the communities where they are incarcerated, rather than the communities that they come from. One potential effect that...
One of the surprising changes to the budget bill was an amendment loosening Wisconsin’s child labor laws. Without any hearing or opportunity for public debate on the issue, the Joint Finance Committee (JFC) approved an amendment significantly reducing the constraints on hours that may be worked by children. The JFC amendment, which is...
The 2011-13 biennial budget withdraws more than $45 million in state support for specific programs in Wisconsin school districts programs that help prepare our students to become the leaders of future generations.This budget withdraws all support for a number of programs in school districts, including Advanced Placement courses. The...
YoungStar, Wisconsin's new quality rating and improvement system for licensed child care programs, suffered a major setback in the Governor's budget. Incentives for higher quality providers were either eliminated or reduced significantly. For example, a three- star (out of five) rated child care provider would receive no bonus payment...
In 2009, public transit services in Wisconsin provided more than 65 million rides. Whether by city bus, public taxi service, or commuter rail, public transit serves a vital purpose for Wisconsin’s families, especially the most vulnerable. Those who are unable to afford a car can utilize public transit to get to and from work, the...
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