Latest news with #ChildCareCountsProgram
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Governor Evers visits Chippewa Falls to talk childcare
CHIPPEWA FALLS, Wis. (WLAX/WEUX) – Governor Tony Evers made a stop in Chippewa Falls to hear from community members and business leaders about making childcare accessible and affordable. He was joined by Secretary Jeff Pertl of the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families. After declaring 2025 the 'Year of the Kid' during his State of the State Address, Evers is aiming to continue the Child Care Counts Program, which increases childcare providers' benefits, wages, and recruitment efforts. That program is set to expire in June. Evers says it needs to continue to maintain a strong workforce in the industry, 'It's getting to a point… someone said they raised their rates and 20 people walked out the door with their kids because they couldn't afford it anymore. We have to do something. We have the resources to do it.' The budget also calls for millions of dollars in after-school program support as well as filling childcare gaps in tribal areas. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
25-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Gov. Evers discusses childcare funding in CF stop
CHIPPEWA FALLS — Deanne Patten owns the Firehouse Friends childcare center in Stanley, where she is licensed to have up to 104 children. When she raised rates two summers ago, Patten said she had 21 children almost immediately drop out, because the families couldn't afford it anymore. Patten told Gov. Tony Evers about the challenges facing rural childcare centers like her business during a sit-down conversation Monday in Chippewa Falls. Patten said she was 'scared and nervous' about what could happen without permanent Child Care Counts state aid. 'I appreciate his time and energy he's putting into the childcare field, and hopefully he'll be able to make some changes,' Patten said. The governor's 2025-27 budget proposal would invest more than $500 million to lower child care costs, support the industry, invest in employer-sponsored child care, and make the successful Child Care Counts Program permanent, a press release from his office reads. The proposal 'makes meaningful investments in Wisconsin's child care industry to help lower the cost of childcare for working families, ensure child care providers can recruit and retain dedicated workers, and make child care more accessible by filling available slots and preventing further child care closures,' the statement reads. Evers noted there are fewer childcare centers today than pre-pandemic. 'The state has to step up and do something financially,' Evers said. 'If we don't, the industry itself might dissipate. The thought of thousands of children not having access to childcare — (their parents) just won't go to work.' Evers, a Democrat, is optimistic that the Republican-controlled state Assembly and Senate will work on childcare funding with him this session. 'I feel good. Is it going to be easy? No,' Evers said. 'If we don't, our economy will absolutely struggle. It's not just important for our kids; it's important for our economy.' Jeff Pertl, secretary of the Department of Children and Families, joined Evers in the roundtable discussion with childcare center providers. 'It's a difficult business to run, and it's not going to make you rich,' he said. Pertl noted that parents with two children in childcare are likely spending 70% of their earnings between housing and childcare. 'You need a system that supports work,' Pertl said. State Sen. Jeff Smith, D-town of Brunswick, said he has visited numerous struggling childcare centers, including one in Menomonie earlier in the day. He noted that workers are not 'babysitters.' 'No one has called their staff anything but educators,' Smith said.
Yahoo
11-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Evers visits Eau Claire, talks support of Head Start
EAU CLAIRE — Gov. Tony Evers didn't mince words Monday about what would happen if President Donald Trump were to eliminate the Head Start program. 'It will be a disaster,' Evers said during a stop at the Western Dairyland Head Start in Eau Claire. '[Kids] will not go into the K-12 system prepared and you'll have parents leaving the workforce. That's going to have a huge impact on our economy.' Evers said the effects would be immediate, but also would show up in 12 years when high schoolers are unprepared upon graduating. 'We'll be a third-class country,' he said. During his stop, Evers read a book to children, played with Play-Doh, and ate lunch alongside the kids. Evers, a Democrat, urged the state Legislature to get behind his proposal to increase funding for childcare programs in the state by $480 million over the biennium. It would make the Child Care Counts Program permanent in the state budget. He acknowledged it will be a tough fight, as Republicans control both the Assembly and Senate, although the margins have narrowed. 'I think we have more folks who are in favor of it,' Evers said of the childcare funding proposal. 'If you don't know [the value of childcare centers], you need to visit some of these places.' Evers said the 'very lifeblood for our young kids is up for grabs in Washington.' Last week, six of the 39 Head Start programs in Wisconsin — including Western Dairyland Head Start — were suddenly unable to access the federal dollars to pay for their programs. Anna Cardarella, CEO of the Western Dairyland Economic Opportunity Council, said they have nine Head Start locations between Eau Claire, Buffalo, Jackson and Trempealeau counties with 442 children in the programs, with many considered to come from low-income families. The Eau Claire program has 64 children, with a current waiting list of eight kids. 'For our kiddos, this is school,' she said. 'But for our parents, this is their lifeline to work.' Cardarella said it was alarming when they couldn't access the aid, and weren't sure when they would be able to get the money. 'We had to cover a $300,000 payroll for a week,' she said. 'We were able to cover that, but we aren't able to do that indefinitely.' She added that 'it was the 'not knowing,' and no communication,' that left her concerned about if the money would arrive, which it did several days later. Cardarella noted that there are few childcare locations outside of Eau Claire. 'Head Start in rural counties is imperative,' she said. 'It would be devastating for the communities we serve if Head Start were to no longer exist.'
