Children, parents and child care workers take part in a 2023 demonstration urging lawmakers to include money in the state budget to support child care. Gov. Tony Evers' request was denied that year, but advocates and the governor are trying again. (Photo by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner)

Child care advocates and Gov. Tony Evers are campaigning once again for a significant infusion of state money to bolster child care, a little more than a year after their last attempt ended in deadlock.

“The cost of putting two young kids in child care costs more than the average rent or mortgage in Wisconsin and exceeds the annual cost of tuition to send two students to the University of Wisconsin-Madison,” Evers told lawmakers in his State of the State message Wednesday evening.

Evers is calling on state lawmakers to put $500 million in the 2025-27 budget “aimed at lowering child care costs, supporting this critical industry, and investing in employer-sponsored child care.”

The governor’s proposal would use state money to renew and make permanent a child care subsidy that began during the COVID-19 pandemic with federal funds. A previous attempt to extend the support ended in a deadlock in late 2023. Without it, however, providers say they will remain in a crisis that has been building over the last year.

A September 2024 report by the University of Wisconsin Institute for Research on Poverty for the state Department of Children and Families found that nearly 60% of providers surveyed said they were caring for fewer children than their capacity allowed. Almost half of those said they weren’t able to take more kids because they lacked staff.

The survey found that if child care providers were able to hire enough educators to fill their empty rooms, at least 33,000 more children in Wisconsin could get child care.

Federal COVID-19 pandemic relief funds supported Wisconsin’s Child Care Counts program from 2020 through 2023, granting $20 million a month in subsidies that providers used to raise wages and keep staff without hiking the fees they charged parents.

Evers pressed the Legislature to continue the subsidy program with state funds in the 2023-25 state budget, but the Republican majority rejected their appeals. Evers renewed the proposal along with several others in a special session later in 2023, but the legislators rebuffed him a second time.

Evers subsequently cobbled together $170 million from other unspent federal funds for a scaled-down version of Child Care Counts that will soon run out.

“When Child Care Counts was reduced we saw child care tuition increase by almost 15%,” Ruth Schmidt, executive director of the Wisconsin Early Childhood Association (WECA), said in an interview Thursday.

For families whose incomes qualify them for the state’s Wisconsin Shares child care subsidy program, the tuition increases meant that their subsidy would only pay 50% of the market price for child care instead of 75%, Schmidt said, increasing the corresponding copayment for parents.

Without a renewal of Child Care Counts or the equivalent, “some programs may be able to stay open by raising tuition, and some families may be able to afford it,” Schmidt said. “Some programs may raise tuition and lose families, because they’re tapped out.”

During a panel discussion in the Capitol Thursday with lawmakers, providers and parents, Corrine Hendrickson, a New Glarus provider, said that some providers have closed after raising their rates because they’ve lost parents who can no longer afford their services.

“Until we act, we’re going to continue to shed programs,” said Hendrickson, a cofounder of WECAN, an advocacy group for providers and parents. The name stands for Wisconsin Early Childhood Action Needed.

Providers say that as rates go up, child care is getting out of reach for people who aren’t well-off.

“If we invest in our child care system, it will not be a system just for the wealthy any more,” said Brooke Legler, co-owner of a New Glarus child care center, WECAN’s other cofounder and a panel participant.

Child care providers play an important role in young children’s brain development and in helping them learn social skills, Legler and Hendrickson said. For that reason, at state-licensed child care centers teachers must meet certain educational requirements.

“This is not a field where you just want a warm body,” said Legler.

 Average wages for child care workers with a high school diploma are 40% less than the average wage for all Wisconsin high school graduates, according to data collected by the Wisconsin Economic Development Commission (WEDC). Early child care workers with a master’s degree have an average salary of less than $36,000 a year, less than half  the average for all master’s degree holders in the state.

To hire and keep qualified child care workers requires paying them “living wages,” Legler said. “We need to treat this field with the respect it deserves.”

Participants in the Capitol panel said that despite the failure to enact a support program in 2023, they believe the case is even stronger this year and with this budget.

“This is one of the most challenging policy problems in our state,” said panel participant Sen. Kelda Roys (D-Madison). “But we know what to do.”

This week, the Wisconsin Early Childhood Association launched a new division focused on policy research and engagement. Schmidt said that was made possible by the organization’s success at raising private support for the new operation.

It was also aimed at ensuring a bright line between that work and the federally funded services that WECA offers child care providers around the state, assisting with licensure, training and other operational requirements, she said.

The new policy arm is preparing research to further document the condition that the child care sector is in.

“First and foremost, I think everyone in the Legislature, the governor’s office and organizations that are working on this issue understand that there’s no backup plan for Child Care Counts,” Schmidt said.

The forthcoming reports from the new policy arm will further underscore the case, she added: “It’s more compelling this time around than it was when we were doing this a year and a half ago now.”

GET THE MORNING HEADLINES.

SUBSCRIBE

Gov. Tony Evers delivers his seventh State of the State address while standing in front of Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and Senate President Mary Felzkowski. Photo by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner

In his seventh State of the State address Wednesday night, Gov. Tony Evers started to outline his budget priorities — declaring 2025 the “Year of the Kid” and laying out investments and policies to support children and their families. 

The address came at the start of a legislative session in which Republicans continue to hold majorities in the state Senate and Assembly, though with smaller margins than last session, and a $4.5 billion budget surplus remains unspent. Wisconsin also has about $1.9 billion in the state’s rainy day fund. 

“We begin the new year with a new Legislature elected under new, fair maps,” Evers said in his address. “For the first time in a generation, this Legislature was not elected under some of the most gerrymandered maps in America. I am hopeful this will mean more collaboration, more partnership, a little less rancor and a renewed commitment to do right by the will of the people.”

Evers announced an array of proposals to support schools, including by providing free meals to students, expanding mental health resources, supporting child care for families and implementing better gun violence prevention measures.

Bipartisan collaboration will be necessary for Evers to accomplish the priorities he laid out, and the road could be difficult as Republican lawmakers were mostly critical following the address.

“What we heard tonight was Gov. Evers’ longest State of the State address and it was chock full of liberal wishes, empty promises and a whole lot of things that are not going to happen in Wisconsin,” Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) told reporters. 

“The things the governor talked about tonight, every single thing that he talked about, was a new government program, new government spending,” Assembly Majority Leader Tyler August (R-Walworth) said. “I really am at a loss for words at how ridiculous the things he talked about were tonight.”

Highlighting lower taxes

Before speaking about his proposals, Evers highlighted the state of taxation in Wisconsin, pointing to a recent Wisconsin Policy Forum report that found the local and state tax burden has fallen to the lowest level on record. 

“Just two decades ago, Wisconsin was in the top five states for our tax burden and the taxes Wisconsinites paid as a share of their income. Today, Wisconsin is in the bottom 16 states in the country,” Evers said. “We have seen the largest drop in our tax burden of any state over the last 20 years.”

Evers said tax cuts have been a bipartisan priority. He noted that he has proposed tax cuts in each of his budget proposals targeted at middle class Wisconsinites. He has also accepted some of the proposals that Republicans have sent him. Evers’ emphasis on  the state’s declining tax burden came as Republicans have said their top priority for the next state budget will be to further cut taxes. 

August accused Evers of taking credit for work that Republicans did — pointing out that Evers vetoed Republicans’ major tax proposals last session.

“[Evers] actually vetoed the biggest tax cut that has ever been proposed in the state of Wisconsin. He vetoed that,” Rep. Tyler August told reporters. “Everything that he took credit for tonight economically was because of legislative Republicans’ work over the last 20 years. He’s an educator, he should know you can’t take credit for somebody else’s work.” 

Evers pivoted from taxes to his vision for increasing spending and implementing new policies that would help children across the state.

“I will soon introduce our next state budget, laying out our state’s top policy priorities for the next two years. Every budget I have ever built began first by doing what is best for our kids, and this one will be no different,” Evers said. 

Proposals to support kids in school 

“If we want to improve our kids’ outcomes, then we have to shorten the odds,” Evers said. “If we want our educators and schools to be able to do their very best work in the hours our kids are with them, we have to set them up for success, and we have to start by making sure our kids can bring their full and best selves to our classrooms.” 

Evers said he would propose “historic investments in K-12 education” and “meaningful” investments in early childhood education, the University of Wisconsin system and the state’s technical colleges. 

Evers also called for lawmakers to release $50 million that was allocated in the last budget to support new literacy efforts in classrooms. Republicans on the Joint Finance Committee have withheld the money due to disagreements over exactly how the money should be spent, and if the money isn’t released before June 30, it will lapse back into the state’s general fund. 

“Our kids and their futures are too important for petty politics,” Evers said. “Republicans, release those investments so we can get to work improving reading outcomes statewide.” 

In addition, Evers said that he would propose ensuring that children have access to food and clean water by reintroducing his “Healthy Meals, Healthy Kids” plan, which would provide free lunch and breakfast in schools, as well as by seeking to address the issue of lead in water. 

“Making sure our kids are healthy — physically and mentally — is a crucial part of improving outcomes in our classrooms. But we have to connect the dots between school achievement and the challenges our kids are facing at home and in our communities,” Evers said. “Take lack of access to clean and safe drinking water, for example. There is no safe level of lead exposure for kids.” 

Evers is proposing that the state dedicate $154.8 million for his “Healthy Meals, Healthy Kids” initiative. The initiative, he said, would use the money to provide free breakfast and lunches to students as well as for other programs including modernizing “bubblers” in schools to remove harmful contaminants.

Evers called for urgency when it comes to addressing a mental health crisis among Wisconsin children. 

“The state of our kids’ mental health continues to be concerning for me, both as a governor and as a grandfather. A kid in crisis may be distracted or disengaged and may not be able to focus on their studies, if they are able to get to school at all,” Evers said. 

Evers noted that the 2023-25 state budget included $30 million for school-based mental health services, but it was “just a fraction of what I asked the Legislature to approve.” His renewed call for more mental health resources comes as children in Wisconsin have reported increasing levels of  anxiety, depression, self-harm, and suicidal thoughts over the last decade, especially among girls, kids of color and LGBTQ youth.

Evers said he’ll propose dedicating almost $300 million to supporting mental health services in schools. This would include about $168 million for comprehensive school mental health services aid, $130 million to modify the existing aid for school mental health programs to provide 20% reimbursement for the costs of pupil services professionals, $500,000 for peer-to-peer suicide prevention programs and $760,000 to increase the amount and types of mental health trainings provided to schools. 

“Making sure our kids are healthy—physically and mentally—is a crucial part of improving outcomes in our classrooms. But we have to connect the dots between school achievement and the challenges our kids are facing at home and in our communities,” Evers said. 

Violence prevention — including for gun deaths

Highlighting the recent school shooting in Madison and the recent death by suicide of a former state lawmaker, Evers said  gun violence prevention will be another priority this year. 

“Thirty-seven days ago, a shooting at Abundant Life Christian School in Madison took the lives of Erin and Rubi — a student and an educator — who woke up and went to school that morning and will never return home. Six others were injured, and countless lives will never be the same,” Evers said. 

Evers urged lawmakers to come together to work to prevent the next school shooting.

Specifically, Evers called for a law that would require background checks for any person seeking to purchase a gun, and implementing “red flag” laws in Wisconsin so “law enforcement and loved ones” have a way to remove guns from people who pose a risk to themselves or others.  

“We aren’t here in Madison to quibble about the semantics of the last shooting. We are here to do everything we can to prevent the next one,” Evers said. “We do not have to choose between respecting the Second Amendment or keeping kids, schools, streets and communities safe.” 

Evers said that he would also propose a $66 million investment to support services for crime victims statewide and help critical victim service providers, which would help address recent reductions in federal funding under the Victims of Crime Act. 

Evers also outlined proposals that would help address deaths by suicide, and spoke about the recent loss of Former Milwaukee Rep. Jonathan Brostoff, who died by suicide in November.  

“We are so deeply saddened that he is no longer with us,” Evers said before asking the room to recognize Brostoff’s wife and parents, who stood in the gallery looking over the lawmakers. 

According to the Department of Health Services, Wisconsin reported 932 deaths by suicide in 2022 with almost 60% of those deaths involving a firearm. 

“If you talk to someone whose loved one died by suicide, many will tell you their loss was not a foregone conclusion. That maybe — just maybe — if the person they loved had just made it through one more dark night to see with certainty that the sun again would rise, things might have ended up differently,” Evers said. “I’m asking this Legislature to give the next family and the next one, and the family after that, hope for that same opportunity.” 

Evers proposed the creation of a “Self-Assigned Firearm Exclusion” (SAFE) Program, which would allow people to temporarily and voluntarily register to prevent themselves from purchasing a firearm. 

Evers also called for lawmakers to reimplement a law that would require a 48-hour waiting period for buying firearms.

“The window for intervention is very short. Being able to purchase and possess a gun in minutes significantly increases the risk of firearm suicide — and firearm homicide, as well,” Evers said. 

Republican lawmakers said they likely wouldn’t take up any of Evers’ proposals related to guns. 

Vos said that there are already some measures in place including background checks and that some money has gone into helping schools protect against shootings. Background checks are required for purchasing a handgun or long gun from a licensed dealer, but aren’t required for private sales or at gun shows.

“Unfortunately, sometimes people do bad things and there’s only so much that we can do to prevent it,” Vos said. 

Vos said that everyone feels “bad for Jonathan Brostoff’s death,” but accused Evers of using it as a “cheap political stunt to try to get a piece of legislation passed.” He said Evers’ response “demeans Jonathan’s death.”

Lower costs for family through supporting child care 

“There are a lot of ways we can lower everyday, out-of-pocket costs to make sure Wisconsinites and working families can afford basic needs,” Evers said. 

Describing child care as “too darn expensive,” he highlighted a bipartisan bill that he signed into law last year that will expand the child care tax credit once it goes into effect this year.

Evers also said he will propose investing $480 million to continue the state’s Child Care Counts program, which has provided funding assistance to eligible child care providers to support operating expenses, investments in program quality, tuition relief for families, staff compensation and professional development. The program was started in March 2020 using federal funds and Evers wants to keep it going with state funds. He also wants to dedicate another $20 million to other programs, including Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), and he wants to use the budget to create the framework for community-based 4K.  

Cautions against forgetting immigration history

Evers cautioned Wisconsinites about forgetting the state’s historical ties to immigrants during his address, appearing critical of President Donald Trump, who was inaugurated on Monday and immediately issued orders sending troop to the U.S.-Mexico border, calling for mass deportation of undocumented immigrants and even attempting to end constitutionally protected birthright citizenship. 

“A lot has happened in Washington in the last 72 hours, and I know there is a lot of angst about what may happen in the days, months and years ahead,” Evers said. “I want to talk about what that means for Wisconsin and how we move forward together.” 

“Wisconsin began as a land of many people, of many origins, each important and none any better than any other,” he continued, “and that is still who we are 177 years later. The state of Wisconsin was born of immigrants, but today, there are those who would have us forget this fact.” 

“Let’s agree to be honest about the fact that, in this state, some of our state’s largest — and most important — industries and companies have always welcomed the hard work of immigrants,” Evers said. “Let’s agree to be honest about the fact that the story of our state’s success today is told in the labor of over three million Wisconsinites, including tens of thousands of workers whose only transgression to date was not having the good fortune of being born in this country.” 

Evers and Attorney General Josh Kaul have joined a multi-state federal lawsuit that was filed in Massachusetts to challenge the order trying to deny birthright citizenship. 

Republicans, meanwhile, were supportive of Trump’s work, saying that Wisconsinites voted in favor of it when the state voted for Trump in November. 

“[Evers is] clearly pushing back against the president. He’s lashing out because Joe Biden and Kamala Harris were not only resoundly rejected by the American people, but by the state of Wisconsin,” August said, adding that Republicans would be ready to lead on the issue of immigration in Wisconsin. 

Vos said that a proposal will be coming from Republicans next week that will require cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to ensure that “if someone is here illegally and committed a crime” they are deported. 

Vos said that he is “open” to the idea of repealing birthright citizenship. 

“I certainly think that there’s a legal case to be made. It wasn’t enacted until sometime, I think, around the year 1900, so it’s only been part of our country for about half of our nation’s existence,” Vos said. 

Apart from immigration legislation, Vos said that Republican priorities would include a tax relief proposal, which he says would provide $1,000 to Wisconsinites, and a proposal to ensure “high educational standards” if there is an increase in funding for schools.

Evers will deliver his budget address and announce his full 2025-27 budget proposal on Feb. 18. 

GET THE MORNING HEADLINES.

SUBSCRIBE