Home Visiting and Child Health Care are in Trouble

by | October 5, 2017

Home 9 Early Care and Education 9 Home Visiting and Child Health Care are in Trouble ( Page 12 )

BAD NEWS! Congress let funding expire for two crucial federal resources for America’s young children, the Maternal, Infant and Early Childhood Home Visiting program (MIECHV) and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). This is terrible news for Wisconsin’s children and their familiesMany of you have been involved in helping these programs grow:

  1. The Governor and the Legislature agreed to a $3.9 million increase, bringing the budget to $14.4 million, showing strong bipartisan support. But without action it looks like we will lose $8.7 million in federal funds, decimating Wisconsin home visiting programs. Wisconsin advocates, including the Early Learning Coalition and the Governor’s Early Childhood Advisory Committee, recommended expansion of home visiting.
  2. CHIP also has strong bipartisan support and has played a strong role in increasing the number of children with health insurance in Wisconsin. Cutting CHIP funding would have serious consequences.

Advocacy is needed to turn around the decision. My conversations with several of our legislative offices in Washington show there is an effort to fix the problem. Just call here to talk to legislative aides and express your opinions. It’s easy.

 

Dave Edie

Daithi Wolfe
Daithi Wolfe

Join us to build a Wisconsin where every child and family thrives.

Recent

Our Take: The Wisconsin 2023-25 Biennial Budget

Our Take: The Wisconsin 2023-25 Biennial Budget

We appreciate Governor Evers being a stop gap for some of the most egregious proposals from the Republican-controlled Joint Finance Committee (JFC). But, if we want to actually address Wisconsin’s racial disparities, we have a lot more work to do.

Proposed Tax Cut Privileges Wealthiest 1%, Leaves Struggling Families Behind

Proposed Tax Cut Privileges Wealthiest 1%, Leaves Struggling Families Behind

Wisconsin can be a place where we all—regardless of race or place—have what we need to make ends meet. However, last week the Republican-controlled Joint Finance Committee voted for a tax cut that would aid in gutting supports for families. Letting Wisconsin’s wealthiest off the hook from paying what they owe means many struggling families are left behind, particularly children and families of color and those furthest from opportunity. We are calling on Governor Evers to stand up for everyday families and veto this tax cut for the wealthy few.

Sign up for Emails

Your address helps us identify your legislators and the most relevant messages to send you.