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.
Congress Should Set Aside Its Differences and Work Together to Protect Health Care for Kids
It has been nearly two months since Congress failed to renew funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). Funding for program expired on September 30 of this year. If Congress does not act soon, it will force many states to notify parents and begin the...
Trump Doubles Down on ACA Sabotage
The Republican controlled congress has tried and failed multiple times to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, but the Trump administration continues its sabotage efforts and attempts to undermine the health law that’s helped 20 million people get health...
Despite Trump Administration Actions Creating Turmoil, Affordable Care Act Will Insulate Many from Insurance Rate Hikes
The Trump administration has taken numerous steps to hinder the Affordable Care Act and could eventually cause many state insurance marketplaces to collapse, but the majority of Wisconsinites who get coverage through the ACA will be protected from the increased...
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
Tax Changes in Budget Bill Thwart Efforts to Advance Equity
For Wisconsin’s economy to thrive, the state needs to invest in the building blocks of shared prosperity, including high-quality early education and schools, affordable higher education, healthy workers, and strong communities. The Governor’s budget proposed making...
Health Insurance Coverage Expands Dramatically in U.S., but More Slowly in Wisconsin
A new report from the from the Georgetown Center for Children and Families finds that across the nation the rate of uninsured children declined sharply in 2014 following the implementation of key Affordable Care Act (ACA) provisions. The percentage of children in the...
WI is Falling Behind Neighboring States in Covering Kids
Wisconsin’s leadership in providing access to health insurance has been gradually slipping, and the latest Census Bureau data on coverage of children illustrates a continuation of that trend. Although Wisconsin continues to have one of the lower uninsured rates in the...
Number of Children in Poverty in Wisconsin Stays High
The number of Wisconsin children living in poverty has risen dramatically since the recession and stayed high, according to recent numbers released by the U.S. Census Bureau. In 2014, nearly a quarter of a million children in Wisconsin lived below the poverty line,...
Poverty in Wisconsin Infographic
Every person in Wisconsin deserves a chance to climb the economic ladder. But too many in Wisconsin are still trapped in poverty, years after the recession has ended. By making sure that everyone has the opportunity to succeed, we can build broad prosperity in...
Report: New Census Data Won’t Fully Reflect Health Insurance Gains
In a preview to the new Census Bureau data on health insurance set to be released this week, WCCF has prepared a new report outlining areas in which the new 2014 American Community Survey (ACS) data will shed light on the growth in access to health insurance since...
Food Stamp Photo ID Plan is Costly and Impractical
Imagine if the state issued just one driver’s license per family and continued to prohibit people from driving without a state-issued driver’s license. Needless to say, state lawmakers wouldn’t subject themselves and their families to that sort of extremely...
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