Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle's proposal to cut more than $70 million in the Wisconsin Shares program was turned down by the Joint Committee on Finance during a meeting covering the biennial budget bill on May 22.
The budget bill, as introduced, would have reduced the funding of the Wisconsin Shares program by $14 million in 2007-08 and $13 million in 2008-09 and would include provider payment rate freezes, family co-pay increases, family income eligibility cuts and waiting lists for children.
According to the Wisconsin Council on Children and Families (WCCF), as of February 2006, ��,688 families and 53,145 children were receiving child care subsidy help.”
“Wisconsin Shares has been hugely successful in enabling the parents of over 50,000 children each month to go to work this year,” said Charity Eleson, executive director of the WCCF.
Child care services have become extremely expensive with costs around $775 a month for full-time care for preschoolers and $1,000 a month for full-time infant-toddler care in major urban areas.
Even with the high costs, the WCCF has found that the spending amount for Wisconsin Shares has increased by 1 percent per child and has decreased by 10 percent when measured in real (inflation-adjusted) dollars.
Eleson said, Doyle tried to remedy part of the problem with a recommendation for additional funding for the program early in the budget process, but the proposal still contained policies that would substantially reduce the funding needed to meet the child care expenses of poor working families.
The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) motion, offered by co-chairs Sen. Russell Decker, Rep. Kitty Rhoades, Sen. Robert Jauch and Rep. Jeff Stone, passed the Joint Committee on Finance on a 14-2 vote.
“We are very thankful for the commitment of the Joint Finance Committee co-chairs and the committee members for making Wisconsin Shares their top priority for low income working families,” Eleson said. “This is clearly a victory for working families that comes with a need for a recommitment on all sides to look for a successful future for TANF funded programs including Wisconsin Shares.”
Laura Pearson of the Kiddie Ranch Daycare and Learning Center in Beloit said the motion will help day cares a lot.
Full text available at the Beloit Daily News
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