Protecting maltreated children is one of the most important functions of state government as these children are among the most vulnerable among us. Thus, it is good news that compared to many areas of child and family programming, child welfare is doing relatively well. This is for two main reasons:

First, in a budget where there were cuts to almost every area that supports children and families, the state contribution to child welfare budgets was relatively stable. In Wisconsin, child welfare services are provided mainly by county government; the state contributes approximately 40% of the overall spending on child welfare with the remaining 60% paid for by counties. With the funding squeeze that counties are in, with less state aid in general and limits on the amount of funding they can raise locally, it seems likely that child welfare spending has decreased in many counties, but that information is not currently known statewide in aggregate.

Second, the state’s child welfare leadership, particularly of the Bureau of Milwaukee Child Welfare, has been very effective. As was stated in a recent Milwaukee Journal Sentinel editorial:
“The Bureau of Milwaukee Child Welfare has made significant strides in protecting some of the most vulnerable children in the state. . . . One case of neglect is one too many. But so far, the Bureau of Milwaukee Child Welfare is making good progress at fixing what had become a broken system.”

That said, there are still significant challenges the state must address in order to improve the effectiveness of its child welfare system. For example, a recent report showed that counties failed to meet state standards in over 1/3 of “egregious incidents.” In addition, there is a great deal of variability between the responses of counties to child maltreatment incidents. For example, some counties investigate over 80% of their maltreatment referrals while others investigate less than 20%. While the context in counties differs substantially, children deserve a more consistent response from the adults assigned to protect them.

In the weeks and months ahead, Wisconsinites who care about protecting vulnerable children should ask candidates where they stand on strengthening the child welfare system in our state.

Ken Taylor
————————————
This is one in a series of blog posts providing perspectives on some of the state policy changes and fiscal decisions made during the past legislative session, and the impact they are having on Wisconsin’s children and families. We hope the public will consider these impacts and will urge candidates to talk more about these issues as elections approach.