Ensure Health
No matter where we live or what we look like, we all deserve to live safe and healthy lives. However, over decades, Wisconsin lawmakers have chosen the wealthy few over our communities. This has resulted in unprecedented disparities in education, income, housing and more—the social determinants of our communities’ health. And, some lawmakers have chosen to play politics instead of providing the health care that our communities desperately need. When we work together and address the root causes of health inequities, we give everyone the opportunity to live happier, healthier lives.
With partners at the Noble Community Health Center’s Children’s Health Day, August 2024, in Wautoma.
Badgercare vs Medicaid
Medicaid provides health insurance for more than one million people in Wisconsin. BadgerCare, one of several Medicaid programs, is health insurance for kids, parents, and adults with low incomes who typically don’t have access to coverage through their job. Medicaid also offers long term care for people with disabilities and older adults who need support to stay independent in their communities.
Learn more about Medicaid vs BadgerCare here.
Advocating for Health Care Coverage for All Wisconsin Residents
Physical and mental health care is a human right and access to care is essential for a just society. No matter someone’s race, how much money they make, or where they were born we all deserve comprehensive, affordable, quality health care. We are working for that future, but we know we have a long way to go.
Medicaid and the Affordable Care Act provides health care for one in four people living in Wisconsin. Through community and partner informed research, data-analysis, advocacy, and education we work to strengthen, protect, and improve Medicaid and access to affordable health coverage and care.
We team up with providers, patients, workers, advocates, and other stakeholders to push for policies such as extending postpartum Medicaid coverage, fully expanding Medicaid, and making it easier for people to get the care they need Medicaid and insurance providers covering care provided by doulas, community health workers, and other trusted sources of care close to communities.
Sharing personal stories that we can bring to the state capital is one of the most powerful ways to join the fight for a just healthcare system.
Extending “Safer at Home” is the Right Call for Wisconsin’s Health
Governor Evers is right to extend the Safer at Home Order to protect the lives of the people of Wisconsin. The total number of infections and deaths in Wisconsin is much lower than it would have been without the order, and it is premature to change tactics now...
Comparing Health Care Changes Proposed by the Governor and the Legislature’s COVID-19 Response Bill
PDF Version Governor Evers has proposed temporary changes to Medicaid and broad investments for health providers, public health, and health systems to help mitigate the calamitous impact COVID-19 is having on the health and well-being of Wisconsin people and...
Evers Proposes Investments in Public Assistance to Cushion the Health and Economic Crisis
The COVID-19 pandemic is creating severe economic hardship for many Wisconsinites, and especially for those who were already furthest from opportunity. It has helped reveal the stark disparities in our nation, particularly for people of color, because it has amplified...
Healthy Food & Active Kids
Nourishing food and safe, inviting physical activity are a basic need for every child in Wisconsin. But, some lawmakers choose to line the pocketbooks of Wisconsin’s wealthy few instead of reinvesting our tax dollars back into our communities. Both Wisconsin’s urban and rural communities are too often in food deserts where healthy food is expensive and hard to access. Many communities and neighborhoods don’t have safe, inviting playgrounds and outdoor spaces. Mental health is suffering.
Kids Forward helps lead two statewide coalitions that work to improve nutrition security and physical activity, as well as opportunities for outdoor learning and play. Learning where our food comes from: gardening and cooking are essential as we “Grow Healthy Kids”.
Together we have developed resources and trainings, provided financial support, and partnered with state agencies and local organizations to get kids outside and eating locally grown food.
Lake Michigan School Food System Innovation Hub
We have partnered with the USDA and Illinois Public Health Institute to launch the Lake Michigan School Food Systems Innovation Hub. We’re funding collaborations with farmers, food suppliers, food service directors, community-based program leaders and more to strengthen the K-12 food supply chain.
Healthy Early
A statewide, cross-sector partnership, Healthy Early is working to create equitable opportunities for healthy eating and physical activity for Wisconsin kids and families. Kids Forward currently serves as a convener for the coalition.
To learn more, contact Daithi Wolfe.
Healthy Early leaders at their first in-person retreat in April 2024.
Improving Language Access in Wisconsin
In 2024, Kids Forward and the Multicultural Coalition launched our Language Access Awareness Campaign. This partnership grew out of a need to address language barriers not only at the direct service level, but also at the systems and policy level. To ensure families can access services and meet their basic needs, communities must work collectively to provide meaningful language access services up front, not just translations by request.
Wisconsin currently does not have a statewide language access plan, although some counties and state agencies have prepared their own. Now is the time for local and state governments to get proactive about creating robust language plans and ensuring that all families, regardless of language, can access the critical resources they need. Contact your legislators and Governor Tony Evers to ask them to support the implementation of a statewide language access plan.
To learn more, contact Amanda Martinez.
With the Multicultural Coalition Inc, in October 2024 we brought together advocates and service providers in the Fox Valley to share challenges and solutions around language access.
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Research & Publications
Health Access in the Fox Valley
Many residents of the Fox Valley area face barriers to receiving health care, including lack of access, extremely high cost, and lack of insurance coverage.
New Study Shows Heavy Cost of Unmet Maternal Mental Health Needs
Healthy mothers and healthy babies contribute to the health of Wisconsin’s communities. Yet nationally, 1 in 7 women experience depression and anxiety during pregnancy and after they give birth. Only half of these women receive treatment. A new study reveals the cost...
Wisconsinites Strongly Support Expanding BadgerCare
A recent poll from Marquette University shows seven out of ten Wisconsinites support accepting federal funds to fully expand BadgerCare in order to cover more low-income adults. Wisconsin is one of only 14 states that has not yet decided to expand Medicaid. Both red...
Key Initiatives for Children in the Governor’s 2019-21 Budget
April 2019 Printable version of this document One of the clearest themes of Governor Evers’ 2019-21 budget bill is the importance of making Wisconsin stronger by investing in children, families and communities. Giving children the opportunity to thrive is not just a...
A Blueprint for Stronger Growth and Shared Prosperity
Everyone in Wisconsin deserves the opportunity to fully benefit from the state’s economic growth. Our economy, our communities, our schools, and our families will fare better when every person in the state has full access to opportunity. But Wisconsin’s economic...
New Poverty Guidelines Shed Light on Health Care Debates
The new federal poverty guidelines, which were recently adjusted for inflation, are worth examining because they help illustrate the challenges faced by low-income working families. They show, for example, that single parents with one child are currently ineligible...
State Legislature Cannot Protect Those with Pre-Existing Conditions like the ACA Can
If state legislators want to protect people with pre-existing conditions, they should work to defend and strengthen the Affordable Care Act and help expand access to affordable, comprehensive health insurance. Since being signed into law, state and federal opponents...
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