Wisconsin Budget Project Releases New Analysis of Education Spending & Staffing

A new analysis by the Wisconsin Budget Project finds that Wisconsin is no longer much ahead of the curve on school spending and staffing. Once a national leader in educational innovation and performance, Wisconsin’s investment in K-12 education has slipped significantly relative to other states over the past decade, and it now ranks near the national average on many measures of support for public education.

LFB Clarifies Effect of ARRA Funds on the Medicaid Deficit, But Newer Estimates Coming Soon

The Legislative Fiscal Bureau (LFB) issued new figures last week relating to the effect of the extended federal fiscal relief for Medicaid on Wisconsin’s Medicaid (and BadgerCare Plus) deficit. The LFB memo clarifies a number of important fiscal issues, but it will be superseded in a couple of weeks by new DHS estimates of the deficit.  A new Wisconsin Budget Project blog post examines the LFB numbers and the recent news that the executive branch would need legislative approval to address the deficit by delaying Medicaid payments until the next biennium.   Read more.

New Study on Itemized Deductions Released

Itemized deductions for income tax disproportionately benefit higher-income tax filers, but Wisconsin is better than many states in how we approach this issue. Click on over to the Wisconsin Budget Project blog to read more.

Walker Says He’ll Keep YoungStar

According to this Wisconsin Public Radio report, Republican gubernatorial candidate Scott Walker says that if he is elected, he will keep the child care rating system started this year by Governor Jim Doyle's administration. Walker was asked at a forum by the group Disability Rights Wisconsin whether he'd support it as Governor. Walker gave an unequivocal "yes."

How Will Competing Tax Cut Proposals Affect Wisconsinites?

With the Bush tax cuts set to expire at the end of this year, Democrats and Republicans have put forward different proposals for extending selected aspects of the cuts. The Wisconsin Budget Project Blog takes a look at the two proposals to see how they would affect Wisconsin residents.

Wisconsin Will Be Part of Pilot Effort, “Get in the Game,” To Help Enroll More Children in BadgerCare Plus

The Department of Health Services announced at a news conference in Milwaukee Thursday (Aug. 19) that Wisconsin will be one of seven states piloting a new state and federal initiative to boost enrollment in children’s health insurance programs. The initiative, called Get Covered, Get in the Game, will bring together coaches, schools, and communities to educate families with children about the immediate availability of children’s health coverage programs, such as BadgerCare Plus.

Wraparound Milwaukee – Telling the Story

Check out the Wraparound story through the PBS Visionaries series, a video produced following Wrap’s receiving the Harvard Innovations in Government Award. The video illustrates how the wraparound approach has been successful for so many children and families in Milwaukee. Some good information – and inspiring stories!

Wisconsin Budget Project Releases Analysis of Stimulus Benefits

Tomorrow marks the 18-month anniversary of the Recovery Act. At the Wisconsin Budget Project, we're breaking out the cake and candles and have also released a new report that focuses on direct benefits that Wisconsinites are receiving as part of the stimulus effort. Between February 2009 and May 2010, Wisconsin residents received more than $3 billion in tax cuts, extended unemployment benefits, and other benefits. These direct benefits have helped Wisconsin families who are struggling to make ends meet, and bolster our state's economy when the dollars are spent. Read the whole report here.

They're Back - A Policy Platform on Youth Reentry/Aftercare

The National Juvenile Justice Network has released a new policy platform document on Youth Reentry/Aftercare - providing policy makers and advocates some basic guidelines and ideas to work toward when youth are placed in residential or correctional facilities.  One of the things we do know about almost all youth who are placed in a facility is that they will be coming back to the community.  Even in the best of worlds where the facility programs are well-run, in which youth learn new useful skills, and youth are motivated to make positive changes, making that transition back successfully will not just happen.  Like other platforms from NJJN, this one covers the basics of what can be a pretty complex component - but, the bottom line is that we need to spend as much, if not more,  time and resources on reentry as we do on placement.  Check it out!

Can We Kiss Refund Anticipation Loans Goodbye?

The IRS has announced a change that makes it harder for tax preparers to offer refund anticipation loans to income tax filers. The newest Wisconsin Budget Project blog post explains why this is a welcome development.

The Number of Youth Held in Secure Detention Continues to Decline

Recent news about the decline in the number of youth placed in Juvenile Correctional Institutions in Wisconsin (see Where Have all the Children Gone?) is mirrored by the continuing decline in the number of youth held in one of the 17 juvenile detention facilities in the state. As recently as the first half of 2008 there were, on average, 317 youth held in detention facilities. That number declined through 2008 and 2009, with the average during the 2nd half of 2009 being 211. Recent data from the Office of Justice Assistance and Department of Corrections indicates that during the 1st Quarter of 2010, there was an average of approximately 179 youth being held each day, representing only 37% of the capacity of facilities overall and over a 40% decline within the last two years! No county’s ADP averaged more than 50% of their capacity during the 1st quarter.

Puerto Rico Law Prompts WI Changes to Minimize Administrative Burdens

A law enacted in Puerto Rico last year is likely to complicate the process of verifying citizenship status and identity for people who have Puerto Rican birth certificates and are applying for public benefits.  However, the WI Dept. of Health Services (DHS) has made changes that will mitigate the potential negative effects for Puerto Ricans and administrators of public benefit programs. At the request of the Center for Children and Families at Georgetown University, I wrote a recent post for CCF's“Say Ahhh!” Blog on the subject of the steps DHS has taken to minimize the adminsitrative burdens.

Brush up on your knowledge of the Constitution

The immigration debate has once again sparked discussion by some on the extreme right of the 14th amendment to the US Constitution. The 14th Amendment, adopted after the Civil War and the emancipation of the slaves, restated a fundamental principal of American civil rights that had been temporarily erased by the Supreme Court's "Dred Scott" decision, which denied birthright citizenship to the U.S.-born children of slaves. The amendment restored the right that people born in this county are citizens of the United States. The Immigration Policy Center has a number of resources on their web site to help readers better understand the history and purpose of the 14th Amendment as well as the current debate surrounding undocumented immigrants. Check it out at http://www.immigrationpolicy.org/just-facts/defending-fourteenth-amendment.

Lower Unemployment Rate Means Fewer Weeks of Benefits

Wisconsin's unemployment rate, though still high, is slowly dropping. What could be bad about that?

Today's post at the Wisconsin Budget Project blog manages to find the dark cloud around the silver lining, and explains why lower state unemployment rates can result in fewer weeks of unemployment benefits available for out-of-work Wisconsinites. Then we go find a parade to rain on.

Wisconsin Will Be Part of Pilot Effort, “Get in the Game,” To Help Enroll More Children in BadgerCare Plus

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced last week that Wisconsin will be one of 7 states piloting a new initiative called Get Covered. Get in the Game. The pilot effort will bring together coaches, schools and communities to educate families with children who are eligible for Medicaid or CHIP about the immediate availability of children’s health coverage programs.

Is your member of Congress hosting a town hall meeting soon? If so, perhaps they’d like a question on juvenile justice rather than taxes!!

As soon as Congress finishes off work on a few last-minute items, your Representative and our Senators will be on recess – through September 13. If a member of Congress is holding a town hall/open meeting in your area, go and ask them about what they can do to make sure that the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act reauthorization gets done this fall. The Judiciary Committee in the Senate has passed S.678 reauthorizing JJDPA, but it awaits a vote on the floor and introduction in the House. To give them a welcome break from questions about health care and taxes, take the time to ask them about what they are doing to make sure JJDPA gets reauthorized SOON! You can check for more information on the Coalition for Juvenile Justice web-site dedicated as a Call to Action.

WCCF Analyzes Role of Medicaid Fiscal Relief in Protecting Health Care Access in Wisconsin

The U.S. Senate voted 61 to 39 Thursday to pass a deficit-neutral bill that provides funding to states for Medicaid relief and education. The House plans to take up the bill, H.R. 1586, next week, probably on Tuesday, August 10. Although House passage seems likely, it is by no means assured.

The Real Benefits of Change in Juvenile Justice

The National Juvenile Justice Network has just released The Real Costs and Benefits of Change: Finding Opportunities for Reform During Difficult Fiscal Times, a compilation of reform efforts and strategies that make sense both in terms of producing better outcomes for youth and communities and saving money.  Reform efforts such as Youth Aids in Wisconsin, Reclaim Ohio, and Redeploy Illinois are highlighted as strategies in which funding strategies can help promote more successful community-based work with delinquent youth along with tips for policy-makers and advocates about how to promote change when funding is tight.  This document lends support to the need for Wisconsin to move forward in closing one of the two male Juvenile Correctional Institutions so that funds going to counties to promote successful community strategies are not further diminished.

Meet the New Poverty Levels, Same as the Old Poverty Levels

Perhaps nostalgia isn’t what it used to be, but the new (2010) poverty levels are just what they used to be – in 2009. You can find the new, old poverty guidelines in the August 3 Federal Register.

I won’t "tip my hat to the new constitution," but will tip it instead to a post yesterday on the Say Ahhh! blog by the Center for Children and Families at Georgetown, which explains why the guidelines are unchanged this year.

Stimulus Effort Creates or Saves 63,000 Jobs in Wisconsin

A new report estimates that the Recovery Act has created or saved 63,000 jobs in Wisconsin so far, and between 2.5 and 3.6 million jobs nationally. Check out the Wisconsin Budget Project Blog for the full scoop, including an estimate of what the Wisconsin unemployment rate would have been without the stimulus.

Gallup Survey Ranks Wisconsin 4th in Health Insurance Coverage

Only three other states have a lower percentage of uninsured adults than Wisconsin, according to a Gallup Survey released last Friday. The survey provides further evidence that BadgerCare Plus has been successful in offsetting the loss of employer-sponsored insurance during the recession.

U.S. Senate Vote Delayed until Wednesday on Funding for Medicaid and Teachers

The U.S. Senate had scheduled a vote for late Monday afternoon (Aug. 2) on a bill that would provide Wisconsin an estimated $365 million, according to the State Budget Office. However, the vote has been delayed for a couple of days, because the Congressional Budget Office said today that the costs exceed the offsets by $5 billion. Senator Reid and others will take the next two days to recraft the package so it's deficit neutral.

A new blog post by the Wisconsin Budget Project provides an overview of the bill and provides links to related resources.