Latest news with #ADVOCAP
Yahoo
28-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Help for the Homeless Hygiene Drive receives record donations topping $44,000
OSHKOSH – The community played its part. This year's Family Radio Network's 91.9FM Help for the Homeless Hygiene Drive proved to be a record-setting one after collecting more than 145 donation boxes with more than $44,000 worth of hygiene and cleaning supplies. Help for the Homeless Hygiene Drive Oshkosh Coordinator John Nieman confirmed the numbers, saying they easily bested last year's total donations of $40,287. 'The success of this year's drive is a testament to the passion and generosity of local businesses, volunteers and the entire Oshkosh community,' Nieman said. 'We are grateful for the unwavering support of our participants, and we're thrilled to see more businesses getting involved this year, many of them running their own internal donation campaigns and raising awareness for the need that exists in our community.' Read more: Workforce across northeast Wisconsin will be impacted by immigration policies. Here's how. Eight community organizations — ADVOCAP, Bella Medical Clinic, COTS Oshkosh, Father Carr's, Oshkosh Area Community Pantry, Read Elementary School, The Salvation Army and Tiny House Village — benefited from this year's drive. Donated items included cleaning supplies, personal care products, paper goods and other essential hygiene items. Read more: UW-Oshkosh invites public to forums with finalists for chancellor post April 7-10 'We are incredibly proud of what we have accomplished together, and we can't wait to continue serving our community in the years ahead,' Nieman said. The Help for the Homeless Hygiene Drive supports more than 130 crisis programs across 22 Wisconsin communities. For more about the Oshkosh campaign, contact John Nieman at 920-279-9873 or jnieman@ Contact Justin Marville at jmarville@ and follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @justinmarville. This article originally appeared on Oshkosh Northwestern: Help for the Homeless Hygiene Drive collects record amount
Yahoo
07-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Head Start funding holds persist for some programs in Wisconsin
Children and a teacher sit at a table at a child care center. In Wisconsin, at least five Head Start child care centers have not yet gotten funds they've applied for from the federal government despite having incurred the expenses the money would cover. (Getty Images) At least five Wisconsin Head Start child care programs for low-income families have reported that they're still unable to collect federal funds to cover their routine costs in the last two weeks. On Thursday, Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.) sent a letter to Trump administration officials demanding they address the unexplained halt in payments. 'It continues to be a very significant problem,' said Jenny Mauer, executive director of the Wisconsin Head Start Association, the membership organization of Wisconsin's 39 Head Start providers. Mauer said that as of late Thursday afternoon, at least five of those providers have not yet been able to receive payments for routine expenses submitted under their contractual agreements with the federal government. The funding halt coincided with a broad freeze ordered by the Trump administration in federal grant and loan disbursement starting the last week of January. Administration officials said the funding freeze did not include Head Start funds. Despite those assertions, Since Tuesday, Jan. 28, Head Start programs in Wisconsin and across the country have reported being unable to get paid through the online portal that processes their routine payment draw requests. The delays have persisted a week after two federal court orders to the administration to lift its freeze on payments. 'Up until Monday last week, these were not issues that our programs experienced,' Mauer told the Wisconsin Examiner on Thursday afternoon. She said Head Start directors around the state who have been with the program for up to a decade have confirmed the current problem is unprecedented. 'Typically we have really stellar communications with the Office of Head Start,' Mauer said. 'Typically things work very smoothly.' In the lower Fox Valley, a three-county community action agency in Fond du Lac has yet to receive a payment for monthly Head Start expenses submitted 10 days ago. ADVOCAP provides community services for Fond du Lac, Winnebago and Green Lake counties, including operating a Head Start child care program with three centers in Fond du Lac County and one in Green Lake County. The centers combined enroll 202 children, serving 191 families. April Mullins-Datko, ADVOCAP's Head Start director, said the program's expenses for January were submitted on Tuesday, Jan. 28 through the federal payment management system website. The expenses are usually about $250,000 a month. Instead of the usual automatic acknowledgement message when the information is uploaded, 'we got a 'pending review' message,' Mullins-Datko told the Wisconsin Examiner. She is accustomed to seeing the payment deposited in the agency's account in 24 to 48 hours. As of Thursday, however, 'we still cannot access our funding,' Mullins-Datko said. 'This morning, the payment management website is not even online. It's having a pretty big impact.' On Wednesday, ADVOCAP released a statement outlining the halt in funds and its potential impact on the program. 'ADVOCAP is doing everything in our power to continue providing uninterrupted Head Start programming while we await resolution. However, if the funding delay extends into next month, we will need to assess the implications for the future of our program,' the agency's statement said. ADVOCAP's current Head Start contract with the federal government runs through Dec. 31, 2028, Mullins-Datko said. The federal rules for the grant require the recipient agency to incur the expense, then submit those documents for reimbursement. Usually 'it's dependable. It's just recently that it's not,' she said. Mullins-Datko said she has tried contacting federal Head Start staff in Chicago and Washington, D.C., but received no response. 'Right now we're having to start February services without cash flow coming in,' she said. 'Currently we're staying open, but we're running on a line of credit that only goes so far.' The vast majority of families the ADVOCAP Head Start program serves — 93% — 'are working families,' Mullins-Datko said. 'They're working and trying their very best to make ends meet.' In December, some child care providers in the Fond du Lac area closed, she added. 'Child care is already difficult to find, and it's very expensive,' Mullins-Datko said. Without Head Start, 'Our families wouldn't have access to child care.' Mullins-Datko said she made 39 calls to the offices of Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) and U.S. Rep. Glenn Grothman (R-Glenbeuhlah), as well as Baldwin. On Thursday, a member of Baldwin's staff called her, several days after her first inquiry. 'They let me know that they've been flooded with calls and they apologized for not getting back sooner,' Mullins-Datko said. 'Still no access to funds, but I remain hopeful.' She said she has not heard back from the other lawmakers, however. In a letter Thursday to Dorothy Fink, acting secretary of the federal Department of Health and Human Services, and Tala Hooban, acting Head Start director, Baldwin called attention to the persistence of the delays. 'Head Start programs in Wisconsin are continuing to have problems accessing their funds, which raises continued uncertainty about their ability to keep their doors open,' Baldwin wrote. 'This is unacceptable and requires your immediate attention.' Baldwin demanded an accounting of directives from the Trump administration in freezing funds as well as directives after the court orders to suspend the freeze. She also demanded information on the number of Head Start grant recipients who had trouble or were unable to access the payment system from Jan. 28 on, as well as details on the reasons recipients were unable to get access to the system. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
07-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Several Wisconsin Head Start programs struggling to stay open after Trump's federal freeze
Wisconsin Head Start programs are still struggling to recover from the federal freeze on grants and loans ordered by President Donald Trump on Jan. 28. Even though the White House clarified that the freeze wouldn't affect Head Start programs and rescinded the order on Jan. 29, several organizations are still unable to access funds due to website glitches and are scrambling to keep their doors open for families who rely on Head Start's free childcare services. As of Thursday, Wisconsin Head Start Association Executive Director Jennie Mauer said six of the 39 Head Start programs across the state still couldn't access payments. Roughly 3,000 children are enrolled in those six programs, she said. "Programs are really having to move things around in their budgets, and this is going to get dire very soon," said Mauer. April Mullins-Datko, the Head Start director for Fond du Lac nonprofit ADVOCAP, said funds for their four locations are still frozen. She hasn't had to shut down services, but said she will have to if she doesn't receive funding by the end of this month. ADVOCAP's Head Start program serves 202 children from 191 families, Mullins-Datko said, and 93% of the parents who are enrolled are working while their child is in their care. Mullins-Datko said Head Start programs have received little to no communication about when funds will be available again. "We're hearing nothing," she said. U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin called for the Trump administration to "immediately resolve" Head Start payment issues on Thursday in a letter to Dorothy Fink, acting secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and Tala Hooban, the acting director for Head Start. Baldwin's letter said she spoke to Head Start programs across Wisconsin about the "devastating impact" of the federal funding freeze. "Head Start is a critical lifeline for families," Baldwin wrote. At a press conference Thursday at the Madison childcare center the Playing Field, Sen. Kelda Roys, D-Madison, said Wisconsin was already in a childcare crisis long before Trump took aim at federal grants because of underinvestment by the Republican-controlled Legislature. Parents are already battling yearslong waitlists to get their children into places like the Playing Field, Roys said. 'This is a very scary moment for anyone with young kids,' she said. 'And I think it's really important that people know that.' State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jill Underly, who joined Roys at the press conference, said losing even one Head Start program could have a ripple effect on the community. 'Simply put, childcare is a cornerstone of our economy," said Underly. "It is foundational to both stability of our families and the vitality of our workforce." Though the Department of Public Instruction does not oversee Head Start programs, Underly said the agency has submitted its proposed budget to Gov. Tony Evers and she is hopeful lawmakers will invest in childcare and early learning. Chelsea Fields, a mother of a 1- and 2-year-old who attend Head Start at the Playing Field, fought tears as she explained how the possibility of losing childcare has been devastating. She is the sole breadwinner in her household. 'I know the workforce needs us," said Fields. "So we're gonna have to compromise somewhere." Quinn Clark is a Public Investigator reporter for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. She can be emailed at QClark@ Follow her on Twitter at @Quinn_A_Clark. Laura Schulte is a politics reporter for the Journal Sentinel. She can be reached at leschulte@ and on X at @SchulteLaura. Molly Beck of the Journal Sentinel contributed to this article. This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin Head Start programs still reeling from federal freeze
Yahoo
29-01-2025
- Yahoo
Wisconsin police officer, community member use social media to help recover stolen bicycle
LA CROSSE, Wis. (WFRV) – A police officer in western Wisconsin and a community member utilized a social media post to help find a stolen bicycle that was missing for several days. In a Facebook post from the La Crosse Police Department, Officer Alex Vang and a community member were credited for recovering a stolen bike reported on January 23. ADVOCAP in Fond du Lac welcomes community to new 'Opportunity Center' According to the post, the three-wheel bicycle was locked in the backyard; however, somebody cut the lock and stole the bike overnight while it was snowing. Officer Vang followed the bike's snow tracks for about a mile, to no avail. The bike's owner posted on social media asking for assistance. A few days later on January 27, Officer Vang received a tip from a community member who read the post and saw somebody riding a similar bike on the north side of La Crosse Officer Vang searched the area and found it leaning against a sign with nobody around, then contacted the owner. The owner and the friend who built the bike responded, recovering the stolen three-wheeler. Neenah Police Department celebrates International LEGO Day with set giveaways 'We want to thank the owner for posting the information on social media,' the post said. The post concluded by commending the community member who reported the location of the bike rider as well. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
