Home > 2008-10 WCCF Policy Priorities

Moving All Wisconsin Families Forward

Wisconsin Council on Children and Families’
2008-2010 Policy Priorities

Wisconsin’s state motto, “Forward,” suggests a place where all families have the opportunity to prosper. For children, that means growing up in a nurturing family and a just community. The Wisconsin Council on Children and Families (WCCF) is dedicated to ensuring that every child in Wisconsin enjoys that kind of environment. To move all families forward, we have identified the following policy priorities, which, taken together, point toward a future that fulfills the promise of our state motto—a promise of safe, smart, healthy kids with bright prospects and no unnecessary barriers to success.

Support Quality Early Care and Education Initiatives to Meet the Needs of Working Families

Increase families’ access to early care and education by maintaining a strong child care tuition assistance program, expanding 4K, and assuring Head Start for eligible families;

Develop a statewide quality improvement initiative to ensure that children have access to high quality early learning opportunities;

Improve the quality of early care and education for at-risk children by rewarding higher quality programs in the Wisconsin Shares child care subsidy program.

Increase Family Economic Security by Ensuring All Wisconsin Parents Have Access to Jobs, Training and Income Supports

Create and expand career pathway opportunities for low-skilled, low-income adults;

Expand funding and eligibility for post-secondary financial aid for low-income working parents;

Support funding and policies that provide low-income parents with strong workforce supports .

Improve Health Outcomes by Ensuring Every Family Has Access to High Quality Health Care and Preventive Services

Implement and improve BadgerCare Plus to ensure meaningful access to health care for all children;

Fund innovative strategies to increase access to dental care;

Eliminate racial disparities in access to high quality, culturally competent, preventive health care.

Achieve an Equitable Tax System to Meet Families’ Needs

Limit corporate tax avoidance by supporting changes such as combined reporting to ensure that businesses pay their fair share of taxes and contribute sufficient revenue to promote economic growth in Wisconsin;

Increase the Homestead Tax Credit and index it for inflation.

Ensure Developmentally Appropriate Treatment for All Kids in the Juvenile Justice System

Return 17-year-olds to the original jurisdiction of the juvenile courts;

Create a statutory preference for diverting non-violent juvenile offenders;

Require data tracking by race and ethnicity of kids waived into adult court.

Develop and Implement a Plan for a High Quality Child Welfare System

Support policies that lead to the creation of a continuum of services for the prevention of child maltreatment;

Support the development of trauma informed services in all systems that serve children and families.

Print the Wisconsin Council on Children and Families’ 2008-2010 Policy Priorities above (pdf version).

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