31 Ways in 31 Days – Way #30 Reducing the Ability of School Districts to Raise Money at the Local Level

Earlier in this series, we noted that the state budget is reducing general aid to schools by nearly $750 million over the biennium (see Way #1: Massive Cuts to School Funding Threaten Wisconsin's Tradition of High-Quality Education), and withdrawing more than $45 million in state support for specific programs in Wisconsin school districts (Way #18: Cuts to K-12 Education Jeopardize Educational Opportunities for Future Workforce). The state budget also limits the amount of money districts can raise at the local level through the property tax.

To do so, the budget reduces the revenue limit for school districts, which restricts the amount of money schools can receive from general school aids and property taxes combined. The revenue limit will decrease by 5.5% in 2011-12 and stay at that same level for 2012-13.

The decrease in revenue limits means that not only will many school districts receive less in state aid, but they will also have to reduce the amount of revenue they raise at the local level (unless voters approve a referendum increasing the revenue limit). For example, if a school district loses $350 in general aid per pupil, but the revenue limit decreases $500 per pupil, the district will have to decrease property taxes by $150 per student to comply with the lower revenue limit. A study by University of Wisconsin professor Andrew Reschovsky projected that the majority of districts will need to decrease their levy to stay under the revenue limits.

31 Ways in 31 Days – Way #29 Making it More Difficult to Succeed on W-2

It’s a difficult time to get a job, especially a good job. So it’s not surprising that participation in the Wisconsin Works program, W-2, has risen. W-2 helps low-income parents develop a self-sufficiency plan that can include job placements, other work activities, and education and job training. The program works in tandem with employment supports like child care, transportation assistance, and health care through BadgerCare Plus to help families become independent and successful.

The biennial budget makes major changes to W-2, making it more difficult for families to participate and be successful in the program. A few of those changes were discussed in “Way #8, W-2 Changes Reduce Mother-Baby Bonding Time and Cripple Education and Job Training." Other changes include reducing payments for W-2 placements, removing the oral notice requirement before reduction or elimination of payment, and removing the “good cause” test and conciliation period.

31 Ways in 31 Days – Way #28 10% Cut to Public Health Programs

As noted in “Way #7: Mixed News for Community Health Centers and Dental Health Care” and “Way #9: Extra Cut to Tobacco Use Control Grants”, the budget bill contains cuts to a broad range of public health programs, some of which were lessened by the budget process and some worsened. However, in today’s post we will be discussing the general 10% cuts to public health programs.

The budget cuts about $7.7 million per year from 47 different programs. The largest of these cuts are: $1,062,800 General Purpose Revenue (GPR) from mental health treatment services; $959,200 Program Revenue (PR) from Department of Health Services (DHS) licensing and certification activities; $638,700 GPR from HIV/AIDS services; $610,000 GPR from community health centers; $417,500 GPR from Community Support Programs and psychological services; $316,000 GPR from services and operations for congenital disorders; $300,500 GPR from funding for dental services; $217,800 GPR from emergency medical service aids; $99,500 GPR from rural health dental clinics; and $99,400 GPR from lead poisoning and exposure services.

31 Ways in 31 Days – Way #27 Wisconsin Students Who Are Undocumented Immigrants Must Now Pay Three Times the UW Tuition of Their High School Peers

In a move that saves very little money, the budget bill eliminates the ability of undocumented but otherwise qualified Wisconsin students to attend college and pay in-state tuition. The change could have a huge impact on students’ ability to attend school. In Wisconsin, undergraduate students residing in the state pay about $8,900 per year to attend UW-Madison, while out-of-state students pay more than $24,200 per year.

The number of undocumented students taking advantage of in-state tuition rates is relative small. According to the Legislative Fiscal Bureau, in the 2010-11 school year about 100 undocumented students applied for in-state tuition at the University of Wisconsin System four-year institutions, up from 70 students in the previous year.

Undocumented students first qualified for in-state tuition rates in 2009, a change that finally acknowledged that for all intents and purposes, these children are American. Raised in the United States, they share more in common with their U.S.-born peers then with their parents' generation. They tend to be bicultural and fluent in English. Each year, these kids graduate from Wisconsin high schools, often at the top of their classes. Many have the potential to be future scientists, business owners, doctors, nurses and teachers, if they can afford higher education.

31 Ways in 31 Days – Way #26 Waiting Period for Jobless Benefits

One of the surprising changes to the budget bill was the Joint Finance Committee (JFC) amendment that makes newly unemployed workers ineligible for jobless benefits for the first week of their unemployment. It is expected to reduce benefits paid to unemployment insurance (UI) claimants by between $41 million and $56 million per year, aftr it takes effect in January 2012.

Proponents of the change argue that most states have a waiting period, and they contend the savings are needed to help reduce the deficit of about $1.3 billion in the state’s UI Trust Fund. Opponents of the waiting period argue that it hurts the newly unemployed and removes a disincentive for employers to engage in short-term layoffs, and that any UI policy changes should be reviewed and approved by the UI Advisory Council.

It appeared briefly that the waiting period might be one of the first budget measures to be repealed. As the Wisconsin Budget Project explained in a recent blog post, the state Senate voted on July 19 to add to Senate Bill 147 an amendment repealing the one-week wait. SB 147 makes a minor change needed to qualify Wisconsin for about $88 million for a federally-funded 13-week extension of UI benefits for the long-term unemployed. The amended bill was approved in the Senate by a vote of 30-3, but later in the week when the Assembly took up the bill, a Republican amendment adding back the waiting period was approved on a party-line vote.

The resulting impasse will be resolved when the Senate takes up the bill again on August 1, and Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald said yesterday that the Senate would concur with the Assembly amendment restoring the waiting period.

31 Ways in 31 Days – Way #25 Child Support Enforcement Takes a Big Hit

Spending for collection of child support by counties will decline by $12.5 million in the 2011-13 biennium. Because counties are being squeezed fiscally from all directions, it’s highly unlikely that they will be able to offset the substantial budget cut. Milwaukee County alone estimated that it would have to cut 38 workers in 2012, or 28 percent of its current child support staff.

The $12.5 million drop in combined state and federal funding for child support enforcement could reduce collections by about $85 million over the next two years, if the decline in collections is proportionate to the fall in spending for enforcement activities. As counties reduce their child support enforcement activities, their performance will almost certainly decline, and that is likely to reduce future federal performance-based incentive payments, causing a downward spiral in child support enforcement.

31 Ways in 31 Days – Way #24 Budget Increases Taxes on Low-Income Families

The budget bill increases taxes for low-income families in two ways. First, it cuts the state Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) for families with two or more children. Second, it will gradually reduce the Homestead property tax credit by repealing the law that adjusts the size of the credit and the eligibility standards for inflation.

The tax increases for low-income families and individuals are all the more disappointing because the budget bill cuts taxes for corporations and wealthy individuals. A short fact sheet recently prepared by the Wisconsin Budget Project summarizes the various tax cuts and increases in the budget bill, as well as tax cuts approved in other legislation enacted this year.

31 Ways in 31 Days – Way #23 Disinvesting in Success

Reductions in Youth Aids Come at the Wrong Time

The Youth Aids funding concept was established in 1980 as a way to both control state spending for juvenile correctional services and incentivize counties to develop alternatives to sending delinquent youth to the state juvenile system. Youth Aids funds are apportioned to counties based on a formula that is generally meant to reflect their need for support in dealing with delinquent youth, and if/when a youth is placed in the state juvenile correctional system by a circuit court that county pays a daily rate for the services provided (institutional care or aftercare supervision and services).

Over the years, counties have utilized these funds to pay not only for state juvenile correctional costs but also to help support local delinquency prevention, intervention, and placement programs. Although originally intended to cover most costs associated with delinquency services, Youth Aids funds now support only about one-half of all costs incurred by counties in this area.

The 2011-13 biennial budget reduces by $9.8 million the amount of funds in Youth Aids that can be distributed to counties for juvenile delinquency related services. This reduction comes on top of years in which the increase in Youth Aids funds has not kept pace with increase in the daily rates charged for services – and it may threaten the progress that has been made at the county level to develop cost-effective, community-based programs to work with youthful offenders.

31 Ways in 31 Days – Way #22 Cutting Off FoodShare for the New Neighbors

The FoodShare program (also known informally as food stamps) provides a valuable source of funding for low income individuals and families to purchase food. In May 2011, more than 800,000 people in Wisconsin received FoodShare. About 0.2 percent of those individuals were lawfully present adult immigrants who have lived in the U.S. less than consecutive five years.  Until July 1, that group of immigrants had been eligible for a state-funded FoodShare benefit, which was eliminated by the budget bill.

31 Ways in 31 Days – Way #21 School Choice Expands in Milwaukee and Beyond

The 2011-13 state budget expands the school choice program, which provides state-funded tuition vouchers for students in selected districts to attend private schools. The state will spend $27.4 million to support this expansion over the biennium, and reduce support to public schools by $10.5 million to account for these lost students, for a net cost of $16.8 million.

Up until now, the school choice program has only been implemented in Milwaukee. This budget widens the program’s operations in Milwaukee by lifting restrictions on the number of students who can participate in the program, and removing any geographical limitations on where participating schools must be located. (Students must still live in the City of Milwaukee to be eligible.)

The budget specifies that the school choice program can expand to other schools districts that fit a certain set of criteria. Right now, the only other district meeting the criteria is Racine, but other districts in mid-size cities – such as Green Bay – could come into the program as their demographics change. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has reported that some legislative leaders plan to introduce separate legislation to prohibit school vouchers from going beyond Racine.

31 Ways in 31 Days – Way #20 Tax Breaks for Corporations and the Wealthy

The state budget includes $93 million in tax cuts, virtually all of which go to corporations and high-income individuals. These tax cuts are part of the same budget that jeopardizes the state’s ability to create jobs because it relies so heavily on cutting vital services that help build a strong economy.

Here’s how that $93 million in tax cuts breaks out over the biennium:

• $46 million in corporate income tax breaks for multi-state corporations.
• $36 million in capital gains tax cuts, a break that overwhelmingly favors the highest earners. Those making $200,000 or more make up less than 2% of all tax filers, but would receive an estimated 46% of this benefit.
• $10 million in phased-in tax cuts for certain manufacturers in the state. This tax cut would grow each year until it reached an annual level of $129 million.

Will Census Counts of Prisoners Create Local Districts without Voters?

I stumbled across a very interesting blog post Monday on the subject of redistricting in Wisconsin. Written by Peter Wagner of the Prison Policy Initiative (PPI), it examines the consequences of counting prisoners in the communities where they are incarcerated, rather than the communities that they come from. One potential effect that hadn’t occurred to me is that a community with a very large prison could have a city or county district that has no voters! 

Redistricting isn’t a topic that WCCF has taken a position on this session, nor a topic about which I initially planned to blog – but I think there are a couple of interesting angles that merit more attention, including the potential for voter-less local districts. In addition, on the Wisconsin Budget Project blog I hope to take a look at the potential cost to local governments of rushing through a legislative plan that throws out and negates the progress local officials have been made in drawing new wards, which traditionally serve as the building blocks for creating new legislative districts.

31 Ways in 31 Days – Way #19 Budget Bypasses Public Input on Child Labor Law Changes

One of the surprising changes to the budget bill was an amendment loosening Wisconsin’s child labor laws. Without any hearing or opportunity for public debate on the issue, the Joint Finance Committee (JFC) approved an amendment significantly reducing the constraints on hours that may be worked by children.

The JFC amendment, which is now law, eliminates the restriction that 16- and 17-year-olds cannot work more than 8 hours per day, nor more than 6 days or 40 hours per week. It removes any restrictions on their total hours, but adds a prohibition against permitting a minor to be employed during the hours when the minor is required to attend school.

In addition, the JFC amendment removes the former standard that children under age 16 cannot be employed (except on farms and in domestic service) for more than 24 hours per week. Instead, it allows young children to work up to 40 hours per week, but not more than 3 hours on a school day or 18 hours during a school week.

31 Ways in 31 Days – Way #18 Cuts to K-12 Education Jeopardize Educational Opportunities for Wisconsin’s Future Workforce

The 2011-13 biennial budget withdraws more than $45 million in state support for specific programs in Wisconsin school districts programs that help prepare our students to become the leaders of future generations.

This budget withdraws all support for a number of programs in school districts, including Advanced Placement courses. The budget also eliminates grants for alternative education, extra assistance for elementary programs in high-poverty districts, tutoring assistance in Milwaukee Public Schools, and other programs. Programs that the budget did not eliminate were subject to a 10% cut, including programs for school day milk, gifted and talented services, and 4-year-old kindergarten, among others.

31 Ways in 31 Days – Way #17 YoungStar Quality Bonus Program (Tiered Reimbursement) Takes a Big Hit

YoungStar, Wisconsin's new quality rating and improvement system for licensed child care programs, suffered a major setback in the Governor's budget. Incentives for higher quality providers were either eliminated or reduced significantly. For example, a three- star (out of five) rated child care provider would receive no bonus payment at all, instead of the 5% increase passed in 2010 by the Joint Finance Committee. Higher quality in early childhood education deserves to be rewarded with higher payments, and unfortunately this budget decimates those incentives.

After several unsuccessful attempts, Wisconsin finally joined 20 other states by establishing a quality rating and improvement system (QRIS) for child care. The program, YoungStar, was originally passed by the Joint Finance Committee in a bi-partisan unanimous vote last year.

YoungStar will help child care centers and family child care homes provide effective early learning programs, with an emphasis on those receiving Wisconsin Shares funding. A well-designed child care program is an effective vehicle for providing children with essential early learning experiences and for strengthening families. The state should have an interest in ensuring that tax dollars paid to child care programs are going to programs that meet reasonable standards of quality, and not going to programs that could be harmful to children. YoungStar helps accomplish this.

31 Ways in 31 Days – Way #16 Shortsighted Cuts to Public Transit Hurt Working Families, the Disabled

In 2009, public transit services in Wisconsin provided more than 65 million rides. Whether by city bus, public taxi service, or commuter rail, public transit serves a vital purpose for Wisconsin’s families, especially the most vulnerable. Those who are unable to afford a car can utilize public transit to get to and from work, the disabled in our communities can use paratransit services to go about their lives, and children ride the bus to school and back home.

Unfortunately, the strength of Wisconsin’s public transit is at risk. The budget signed into law by Governor Walker includes a 10% cut to state public transit funding, which is likely to severely reduce transit services in some parts of the state.

31 Ways in 31 Days – Way #15 Cuts to Higher Education

The two-year budget recently signed into law by Governor Walker contains significant cuts to higher education in Wisconsin. Over the next two years, core state support for UW universities and colleges is reduced by $250 million, and state support for the technical colleges is reduced by more than $70 million.

These cuts follow a trend of reduced support for higher education, as state funding continues to make up a smaller portion of the funds Wisconsin public universities use to operate. In fiscal year 2001, state funding made up one out of every three dollars the UW System schools utilized. Ten years later, state funding makes up only one out of every five dollars. Over a similar period, state support for Wisconsin’s technical colleges went from approximately 20% of costs to less than 14%. You can read this May 2011 Wisconsin Budget Project blog post for more about the state's declining support for technical colleges.

Mississippi Takes a Positive Step in Juvenile Justice

On July 1st, Mississippi amended a law that prevents most 17-year-old misdemeanor and nonviolent felony offenders from being tried as adults. Felonies including rape, murder, and armed robbery may still warrant charges in the adult court system. Mississippi is the latest and 38th state to make this positive step in juvenile justice. Juvenile advocates see this as a positive step in juvenile justice; on the other hand Mississippi law enforcement and juvenile officials worry that this may negatively affect an already over-burden Youth court system. Their biggest concern is Legislators failed to allocate additional funds to Youth Court system to deal with added expenses.


Juvenile correctional facilities cost more than adult prisons up front but in the long run they are less expensive and better for our communities. Correctional facilities for Juveniles have resources like education and counseling and due to these resources kids show a much lower rate of recidivism.

There has been a national trend the past five years, mostly due to research in brain development in adolescents. Only 11 states, including Wisconsin, still try offenders younger than 18 in adult courts for nonviolent crimes. So, why not Wisconsin??                                         by Allan Goetsch

31 Ways in 31 Days – Way #14 A One-Year Reprieve for the Transitional Jobs Program

The budget bill brought both good and bad news for the Transitional Jobs program, which provides subsidized job placements and training for unemployed, non-custodial parents who are ineligible for both unemployment insurance and the Wisconsin Works (W-2) program. It was initiated in September 2010 as a two-year demonstration program, but was provided just one year of funding.

Although Governor Walker’s budget proposed ending the Transitional Jobs program on July 1, 2011, the Legislature appropriated $12 million of TANF funding in the 2011-13 budget bill to allow the demonstration program to continue for 12 months.

In addition, the Legislature’s revisions to the budget extend the statutory authority for the program for the duration of the 2011-2013 budget period, though no funding was set aside for the second year of the biennium. Those changes give the demonstration program another year to prove its worth, and give the Joint Finance Committee or full Legislature an opportunity to extend the program for an additional year, if a funding source can be found.

31 Ways in 31 Days – Way #13 The Read to Lead Task Force: Is It Enough?

Despite extensive cuts to education, including the elimination of the educational Wisconsin Covenant program, the 2011-13 biennial budget added funding for a reading task force called “Read to Lead.” The Read to Lead task force is budgeted for $1.2 million dollars over the next two fiscal years, with the aim of bolstering the reading skills of third graders.

Reading skills of Wisconsin students could use some bolstering. According to an editorial in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel by a member of the task force, Wisconsin’s rank among states in the share of fourth graders who are able to demonstrate age-appropriate reading ability has dropped from 3rd to 30th over the last decade, and the achievement gap between minority and white populations is larger in Wisconsin than in any other state. You can click on this map to see how Wisconsin compares to other states on other measures of reading skills.

31 Ways in 31 Days – Way #12 Removing Men from the Medicaid Family Planning Waiver Program and Restricting Eligibility for Women

The Governor’s proposed budget eliminated men from the Medicaid Family Planning Waiver Program, and the Joint Finance Committee restricted the program further by reducing income eligibility for women from 300% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) to 200% FPL. Joint Finance also imposed parental notification and use of family income to determine eligibility for women under 18. The Governor, in his veto, gave the Department of Health Services (DHS) more power to determine potential changes to the program, without legislative oversight. To make these changes to this program, which serves over 57,000 individuals, DHS will need to apply for a federal waiver.

Recent polling shows that 84% of Americans view family planning, including contraception, as important to basic preventive health care services; and only 31% agree that budget concerns should require cuts in funding for family planning. In this way, Wisconsin’s budget is clearly out of touch with the priorities of a majority of citizens.

31 Ways in 31 Days – Way #11 Phase-Out of Wisconsin Covenant Program Represents Another Obstacle to Higher Education

The Wisconsin Covenant, championed by Governor Doyle, was launched in 2006. It was seen as a way to inspire young people, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds, to plan early for successful high school careers that would lead to higher education.

Eighth graders, beginning in the spring of 2007, were invited to sign a Wisconsin Covenant Pledge, in which they commit to achieve good grades and display good citizenship. In return for keeping their pledge, they were guaranteed spots in the University of Wisconsin System, the state technical college system, or one of the state’s private colleges. The program also provided financial aid packages based on family need.

The 2011-13 state budget begins a phase-out of the Wisconsin Covenant program. Students who previously signed and kept their pledge will still get their spot in higher education facilities and financial aid package for the first two years of their program. High school freshmen will be able to sign the pledge by September of this year. After this wave of students, the program will be eliminated.

New One-Page Fact Sheet on Unemployment Benefits in Wisconsin

The Wisconsin Senate has scheduled committee hearings this week to take up a law change that would allow for 13 weeks of federally-funded extended unemployment benefits in the state.  With Wisconsin’s unemployment rate above 7%, these benefits would serve as a lifeline for those who are unable to find work.

The Wisconsin Budget Project recently published a one-page fact sheet on unemployment benefits in Wisconsin.  Click here to learn more about what is currently offered to those looking for work and why the legislature should act to draw down the additional 13 weeks of extended benefits. 

31 Ways in 31 Days – Way #10 Internet Crimes Taskforce Gains Staff

Despite widespread cuts in the budget, a few programs received increased funding. One such program is the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, housed within the Department of Justice. The Task Force investigates crimes against children that take place online, including child pornography and child enticement. Task Force members also provide training about these crimes to law enforcement personnel and other individuals and organizations.

The Task Force received an additional $1 million in funding for 11 positions in the budget. Three of those 11 positions will replace positions previously funded by federal stimulus dollars, while the remaining ones will add capacity to the Task Force with new criminal analysts, special agents, and other personnel.

31 Ways in 31 Days – Way #9 Extra Cut to Tobacco Use Control, Including Cuts to Successful Youth Smoking Cessation Programs Grants

The budget bill proposed by Governor Walker included a 10% across-the-board reduction to all Department of Health Services (DHS) non-staff appropriations, including the tobacco use control grants. However, the Joint Finance Committee, after approving the 10% reduction to the tobacco use control grants, doubled the cut to this valuable program in a subsequent motion.

Since 2000, the Tobacco Prevention and Control Program has helped more than 150,000 Wisconsin smokers quit, has helped cut the state’s youth smoking rate by more than half, and has helped reduce the adult smoking rate to an all-time low of 20 percent.

These kinds of results are only possible through an adequately funded, comprehensive approach to tobacco prevention and cessation. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that the state of Wisconsin spend $64.3 million a year to have an effective, comprehensive tobacco prevention program. After this funding cut, Wisconsin will allocate a mere $5.3 million annually.

It’s Simple – Kids Should Not be in Adult Facilities

Lost sometimes in all the rhetoric about this budget – and prior ones – and how we can’t afford to return 17-year olds to the juvenile system is the simple fact that kids should not be housed with adults. 

No one speaks more eloquently and passionately about this issue than Vicky Gunderson from Onalaska whose son Kirk committed suicide while being held in the La Crosse County Jail in 2005.  Vicky has taken her message around Wisconsin and the country, speaking simple truths about the dangers of placing youth in adult facilities.

Despite being broke, we found money to give additional tax breaks to corporations, more to building highways and roads, and more for private voucher schools - all of which cost way more than it would cost to solve the problems associated with holding youth in adult facilities.      

Jim Moeser

31 Ways in 31 Days – Way #8 W-2 Changes Reduce Mother-Baby Bonding Time and Cripple Education and Job Training

The bond between mothers and babies has tremendous lifelong implications. It is widely recognized that the first relationships between an infant and her parent(s) form the basis for all future relationships. This is no less true for low-income moms and babies. A warm, nurturing environment with consistent, loving caregivers is critical for healthy brain development.

With the high cost of infant care and the rapid turnover of childcare workers, many child care arrangements available to low-income families can’t provide the kind of nurturing environment they need. Since the beginning of the program, W-2 has provided three months (12 weeks) of benefits with no additional work requirement, to allow participants to bond with their newborn babies.

The 2011-13 state budget cuts by one-third -- from twelve weeks to eight -- the length of time a new mom can receive a Caretaker of a Newborn Infant (CNI) benefit, and make corresponding cuts to funding for CNI of $268,500 FED in 2011-12 and $537,100. The cut in W-2 benefits is about $2 million over the biennium, but the actual savings to the program is only $800,000 after allowing for the projected costs to the WI Shares child care subsidy program for an increased need for infant care.

31 Ways in 31 Days – Way #7 Mixed News for Community Health Centers and Dental Health Care

The budget bill contains 10% cuts to a broad range of public health programs, including Community Health Centers, yet it also has a couple of positive developments relating to targeted funding for dental health care.

Community Health Centers are a critical part of the health care safety net. They help uninsured Wisconsinites get access to preventive health care services, and they also deliver care to many people on BadgerCare or Medicaid. Community Health Centers had more than 1 million patient visits in 2009, roughly twice as many as in 2000.

Wisconsin’s Community Health Centers have been playing a steadily growing role in providing access to dental health care for low-income state residents. Dental care is extremely difficult to obtain for many people in rural areas of Wisconsin and for low-income families and individuals all across the state. In 2008, only 23 percent of enrollees in BadgerCare and Medicaid received dental care. (See the Healthiest Wisconsin 2020 – Oral Health Profile.)

31 Ways in 31 Days – Way #6 Closing of Juvenile Detention Centers Saves Money, Costs Jobs

In his budget proposal, the Governor accepted the Department of Corrections’ recommendation to close two secure juvenile institutions. Ethan Allen School for boys is going to close, meaning residents will be transferred to Lincoln Hills. The plan also calls for the closing of Southern Oaks Girls School, forcing the transfer of those girls to a newly created institution, Copper Lake School, on the grounds of Lincoln Hills. The closing of the two facilities will save the state over $23 million in fiscal years 2012 and 2013.

The closing of these facilities is in part a result of a positive development: Fewer children are being incarcerated for committing “petty crimes.” Research has shown that locking up children increases recidivism. Since fiscal year 2005, the number of boys and girls at Wisconsin’s three secure juvenile institutions has dropped by 40 to 55 percent. As of March 2011, the institutions were operating at 20 to 30 percent of their capacities.

Transition and Opportunity – Challenges Being Met During Consolidation of JCIs

A recent Administrator Memo released by the Division of Juvenile Corrections outlines some of the changes occurring as the result of consolidating three juvenile correctional institutions into one location – at Lincoln Hills School (LHS). While practical challenges remain as a result of the distance from Lincoln Hills to where most of the youth are from, the Memo reflects thoughtful choices being made in order to deliver high-quality services to incarcerated youth.

31 Ways in 31 Days – Way #5 Tuition Hikes and Financial Aid Freeze are Double Whammy for College Students

Higher education in Wisconsin was hit hard by the two-year state budget Governor Walker recently signed into law. While the UW System received significant cuts, legislators and the Governor made that up in part by providing for a 5.5% tuition increase for in-state undergraduates at system schools in both 2011-12 and 2012-13. At the same time, however, state financial aid grants are frozen at last year’s levels for the next two years.

Undergraduate tuition has increased steadily in recent years. Over the last ten years, tuition at UW System comprehensive schools has increased 8.5%, while that number is higher for the Madison and Milwaukee campuses. General inflation over that same period was just 2.4%.

From 2008 to 2011, funding for state financial aid grants increased by 17%, mitigating the impact of tuition increases on working families in Wisconsin. Unfortunately, there has been no similar effort in this budget to provide financial aid increases at a pace to keep up with tuition.

31 Ways in 31 Days – Way #4 Funding Cuts and Big Changes in Policymaking Authority for Wisconsin Shares Jeopardize Working Families’ Access to Quality Child Care

Wisconsin Shares is a child care subsidy program that helps working families afford quality care for their children while they are at work. Funding for the Wisconsin Shares child care subsidy program was cut from a base level of $342 million annually to $297.7 million in FY12 and $297.3 in FY13. But it could have been a lot worse; most of the decrease stems for a steep reduction in actual spending on the program over the last couple of years. Once the cost of continuing the program was re-estimated, this reduction amounted to a relatively modest cut of 2.5%.

More disturbing than the funding cut is language in the budget giving the Department of Children and Families (DCF) sweeping authority to decide what cost-saving measures can be applied to Wisconsin Shares—such as changes in eligibility, copays, provider payment rates (which have been frozen since 2006), and the establishment of a waiting list—without a rulemaking process or holding so much as a single public hearing.

31 Ways in 31 Days – Way #3 Using Federal Welfare Reform Dollars for Other Purposes, Such as Tax Cuts

Part of the budget bill’s strategy for closing the deficit while freeing up money for highways and tax cuts is to transfer $37 million per year from the federal block grant known as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). The budget and budget repair bills reduce by $111 million over three years the TANF funding that is available for intended purposes like the Wisconsin Works program (W-2) and child care subsidies for low-income workers.

Under federal law, TANF funding must be used for programs serving low-income families. One permissible use is to fund a state Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). Both the budget and budget repair bills increase the TANF being used for the state EITC from $6.7 million to $43.7 million per year.

31 Ways in 31 Days – Way #2 Unspecified, Unchecked Cuts and Changes to BadgerCare

Not only does the budget make $467 million in unspecified cuts to BadgerCare, but it establishes a new process for making fundamental policy changes that provides little to no legislative or public input. The bill includes a sweeping and unprecedented shift in decision-making authority from the Legislature to unelected officials in the Department of Health Services (DHS).

DHS will use this new authority to achieve the level of savings dictated by the deep cut to Medicaid and BadgerCare funding in the budget. This $467 million in cuts could jeopardize health care coverage for many of the more than 1 million state residents who depend on these programs for their insurance and quality of life.

31 Ways in 31 Days—Way #1 Massive Cuts to School Funding Threaten Wisconsin’s Tradition of High-Quality Education

A well-educated workforce is more important than ever to the state’s economic future. Yet this budget cuts nearly $750 million in general state aid from the public school system over the biennium. As a result, we risk weakening Wisconsin’s commitment to our public K-12 education system and jeopardizing educational opportunities for the next generation of Wisconsin workers.

In addition to the $750 million cut in general state aid, the state is also cutting support for specific school programs, and implementing new restrictions on how much revenue districts may raise at the local level. All told, the total cut to districts amounts to more than a billion dollars over the biennium.