Episode 2 of the "Budget Bob Show" Hits the Web

Episode 2 of the "Budget Bob Show" is now available for your viewing pleasure. If you liked the first episode, you'll love this one. Even if you hated the first one, you might love this one. Episode 2 is about the process through which the Wisconsin state budget is created. It's lively. It's informative. And, most importantly, it's a MUSICAL. You can view the "Budget Bob Show" on the 2009-11 Budget Essentials page of the WCCF website.

Journal Sentinel Column: Improve County Services

In an opinion piece published in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Feb. 21, Barbara Beckert of Disability Rights Wisconsin and Karen Avery of IndependenceFirst raise important concerns as advocates for people with disabilities. Beckert an Avery call for an end to the finger-pointing in Milwaukee and argue passionately that it is long past time for “the state, Milwaukee County, union workers, advocates and consumers to come together and craft a better system that puts people first and provides greater government and worker accountability and responsiveness while reducing the barriers for people in need.”

Register for WCCF Advocacy Camp

The Wisconsin Council on Children and Families' annual advocacy training is being held in Madison this year. It's a great opportunity to connect with other advocates from all over Wisconsin, and to hone your advocacy skills so you can put them to use on any issue you're fired up about. The training will take place Tuesday, March 17, 9:00-5:30; and Wednesday, March 18, 8:30-12:00 on.

The registration deadline is Friday, February 27, but it may be extended if spots are still open.

Wisconsin State Journal Endorses Child Care Rating System

The Wisconsin State Journal endorsed the Governor's proposal for a child care rating system in a February 23 editorial. The editorial indicates, "If highlighted online and tied to financial incentives, the ratings will be a powerful incentives for better child care." In a February 22 editorial, the paper also supported a rating system: "By steering higher subsidies to those centers that provide high-quality care to low-income clients, Doyle's proposal could give tnes of thousands of disadvantaged children a better shot at a good start in life."

WCCF Response to Governor's Budget

Governor Doyle released his budget proposal last night. In general, WCCF applauds his balanced approach, which includes a number of revenue uppers in addition to a host of inevitable cuts. While we do have some concerns, we appreciate the Governor's commitment to key spending areas like health care and education. For our initial reaction, read our press release. For ongoing, more comprehensive analysis of the budget as the process unfolds, check our 2009-11 budget resources page often, and read this blog constantly for quick updates on matters related to the state budget.

Illinois Raises the Age

Illinois passed legislation last week that will return 17-year-olds who are charged with a misdemeanor to the juvenile court. Once this takes effect, Wisconsin will be one of only 11 states with an age of adult court jurisdiction lower than 17. By passing this legislation, Illinois became the second state in two years to return 17-year-olds to the juvenile justice system. The law also creates a task force to recommend how to move 17-year-olds charged with felonies back to the juvenile court.

Implications of Economic Recovery Act for Wisconsin

The Wisconsin Council on Children and Families has issued a comprehensive summary of how the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will affect Wisconsin. The document examines 60 parts of the bill, and in many instances indicates how much funding Wisconsin can expect. It focuses primarily on the portions of the stimulus package that relate to state and local aid or providing assistance to struggling families.
The Center for American Progress estimates that the bill will bring more than $9 billion into Wisconsin, with much of that for new and expanded tax credits or beefed up safety net programs for people hurt by the recession. Some of the major provisions affecting Wisconsin include:

• Creating a new Making Work Pay tax credit of $400 for nearly all workers, which is expected to yield about $2.4 billion for more than 2 million Wisconsin taxpayers.
• Increasing Unemployment Insurance benefits for Wisconsin jobseekers by an estimated $679 million this year.
• A temporary 14% increase in Food Share benefits for more than 490,000 Wisconsin residents.
• Increasing the Child Tax Credit for the low-income families of an estimated 279,000 Wisconsin children.
• An additional $157 million for home weatherization in our state.
• Increasing Pell grants by $500 over the next two years, benefiting more than 91,000 Wisconsin students.
• About $34 million for child care, which should help the state from lowering the income eligibility standard.

The two major sources of state and local aid are the following:

• About $1.2 billion for Medicaid and BadgerCare Plus.
• A total of $878 million for a Fiscal Stabilization Fund, which is intended primarily to help K-12 and higher education.

Governor Proposes Child Care Reforms

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported today that the governor is proposing a series of reforms, including addition of a quality rating system, to the Wisconsin Shares child care subsidy program. Several of the changes will be included in his budget proposal, which he is unveiling this evening.

In addition to the rating system, the reforms would:

• Limit the percentage of children in care related to the provider;

• Create a statewide fraud hotline;

• Cut the hours of operation for providers receiving subsidies to 12 hours from 16;

• Beef up training of county workers to recognize fraud or signs of other abuse of the program;

• Give greater authority to regulators to suspend child-care providers who falsify paperwork.

Gov. Doyle had earlier announced plans to fund a new fraud squad, and switch to a swipe-card system that would require parents to log their children in and out of day care centers electronically.

WCCF Executive Director Charity Eleson is quoted in the article as calling the quality rating system "an important first step."

Benefits of preschool cited in research review

A review of 123 studies carried out over five decades concluded that there are substantial positive cognitive benefits for children who attend preschool education programs prior to entering kindergarten. Positive results were also found for children's social skills and school progress. This summary of the meta-analysis was led by Gregory Camilli and included Steve Barnett, both of Rutgers University.

Debut of the "Budget Bob Show"

Well, he's no Johnny Depp, but WCCF's own Budget Bob has taken the tiny screen by storm. Visit the 2009-11 Budget Essentials page of our website to view the first installment of the "Budget Bob Show," our series of short, lo-fi videos that provide an overview of the Wisconsin State Budget. The series covers such topics as where the money comes from, what it is spent on, how the budget is developed, how the current deficit came into being, and how that deficit might best be addressed. The information is presented in an accessible, jargon-free, and even occasionally entertaining way. The first episode, "Budget Basics," is an overview of the ingredients that go into our budget pie and how the pie gets divvied up. Let Budget Bob help bring you up to speed on all things budget in Wisconsin.

Girls Study Group Series: Juvenile Justice

The US Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) funds research on girls in the juvenile justice system. They are specifically looking at patterns of delinquency for girls, how they differ from boys, and risk and protective factors associated with girls’ delinquency. A series of short briefs have been released ; the two latest releases are on resiliency in girls (January 2009) and group violence among girls (June 2009).

The resiliency study found that the factor that most consistently predicted less delinquency was a girl’s perception that she had a caring adult in her life. Other factors studied include school success, school connectedness and religiosity. Risk factors studied included physical assault, sexual assault, poverty and neglect.

Here is the link to the most recent study: http://girlsstudygroup.rti.org/docs/OJJDP_GSG_Resilience_Bulletin.pdf

Here is the link to the girl’s study group website: http://girlsstudygroup.rti.org/

US Senate Passes SCHIP Bill

On Thursday, January 29, the US Senate voted 66 to 32 to extend and strengthen federal support for the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). Similar legislation was approved by Congress twice in 2007 with bipartisan support, but was vetoed by President Bush.

“Passage of the SCHIP bill will enable Wisconsin to come extremely close to the goal of health
insurance for all children,” said WCCF Executive Director Charity Eleson.

Our press release about the Senate's passage of the SCHIP bill is online at http://www.wccf.org/pdf/SCHIP_passage_013009pr.pdf.

Governor's Juvenile Justice Committee Endorses Returning 17-year-olds to the Juvenile System

The Governor's Juvenile Justice Commission unanimously endorsed returning 17-year-olds to the juvenile justice system. Following a presentation by WCCF, WCHSA and the Sheriff's Association, the Committee took up the issue formally for the first time in December. In their statement regarding age of jurisdiction, the Commission endorsed the following conclusions and recommendations:

• The Commission supports legislation that would raise the age of general adult criminal jurisdiction to 18 as the sole modification of Chapter 938.
• The Commission endorses a balanced approach to juvenile justice.
• The Commission recommends that this change be contingent on the provision of sufficient fiscal resources to the effected entities.

The full statement by the Commission, including their reasoning for endorsing the change and more specifics on their conclusions and recommendations can be found at our website: http://www.wccf.org/pdf/commission_statement_17-year%20olds_091108.pdf.

This is the second Governor's Commission to endorse returning 17-year-olds to the juvenile justice system. The Governor's Commission on Reducing Racial Disparities in the Wisconsin Justice System endorsed this policy change last February.