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The Wisconsin Department of Health Services is preparing to implement new federal Medicaid work requirements that could put health insurance coverage at risk for tens of thousands of BadgerCare Plus members.

Department of Health Services Secretary Kirsten Johnson and Wisconsin Medicaid Director Amanda Dreyer answered reporters’ questions Thursday about how the state plans to implement the new requirements and what members should do now.

Here’s what you need to know.

Who is impacted

The new requirements were created under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which requires states to implement Medicaid work requirements for some adults.

In Wisconsin, the requirements apply to BadgerCare Plus members ages 19 to 64 who do not have a dependent child younger than 19 living with them.

About 200,000 Wisconsin adults will be subject to the new requirements. The agency estimates about 63,000 people are at immediate risk of losing their health care coverage because the state does not currently have documentation showing they meet the requirements or qualify for an exemption.

New requirements

To keep Medicaid coverage, affected members must show they completed at least 80 hours of employment, volunteer work, school, job training or another qualifying activity in a single month during the 12-month period since they were last approved for health care coverage.

Some people may qualify for exemptions, including those who are medically frail or family caregivers, but Department of Health Services leaders say they are waiting for federal guidance on what documentation will be required. 

Work requirements will take effect for new Medicaid applicants early next year. Starting in January 2027, new applicants must meet the federal work requirement in the month before they apply.

Current BadgerCare Plus members will be subject to the requirements when they renew their coverage starting in March 2027.

What you can do

State officials say the most important step is making sure the department has current contact information.

Medicaid members should keep their mailing address, phone number and email address up to date to ensure they receive important notices about the upcoming changes. Members can update their information through the ACCESS Wisconsin website or the ACCESS smartphone app.

The department also recommends keeping documentation such as pay stubs, volunteer records or school enrollment information that may be needed during the renewal process.

Where possible, the Department of Health Services plans to use existing medical records and diagnosis codes to identify people who qualify for exemptions rather than requiring new paperwork. During the program’s first year, members who believe they are medically frail may self-attest while the department obtains supporting documentation.

Resident outreach

The Department of Health Services is working with health care providers, counties and community organizations to prepare for the changes, with a particular focus on helping people experiencing homelessness and others who may have difficulty meeting the new reporting requirements. 

The department has also created a “Medicaid: New Federal Work Requirement” webpage that it will update with new information about eligibility, exemptions, reporting requirements and implementation timelines.

Johnson said the state’s goal is to ensure everyone who qualifies for Medicaid can keep their coverage despite the new federal requirements.

Department of Health Services leaders estimate the first year of implementation will cost about $10 million in system upgrades. The agency is still finalizing staffing and training costs. Officials say they will continue working with local partners to help members understand the new rules and avoid unnecessary loss of health coverage.

Jonathan Aguilar is a visual journalist at Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service who is supported through a partnership between CatchLight Local and Report for America.

New Medicaid work requirements are coming. Here’s what you need to know.  is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

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As a daughter of Milwaukee, Koren Dennison has always been passionate about her community. 

Looking out for others is the way she was raised. 

But it wasn’t until she lost her job last November that she sat and started to think about what her role in the city was. That’s when she formed My Kousin’s House. 

My Kousin’s House is an intergenerational community space, out of her Metcalfe Park home, focused on family literacy building. The community space is activated through a series of events meant to be fun, community-building and thought-provoking. 

“I want people to leave My Kousin’s House having had a good time, their thoughts provoked and having some new community,” she said. 

‘Made of Milwaukee’

Long before Dennison, 28, was hosting community spelling bees and movie discussions in her living room, she was learning what it meant to be surrounded by people who poured into her.

“Koren is a witty, bubbly, very enthusiastic, down-to-earth kind of girl,” said Domani Wose, a friend of Dennison’s. “She’s for the people.” 

A storyteller, dancer, educator, evaluator, landlord and self-described “weirdo nerd,” Dennison traces the roots of her newest venture, My Kousin’s House, back to the people and neighborhoods that shaped her.

“I am made of Milwaukee,” she said.

Raised by a single mother in Hillside Terrace, Dennison said she grew up immersed in Black community, Black excellence and a belief that success was not something to hoard but something to share.

She attended Young Leaders Academy, later graduating from Milwaukee High School of the Arts, where dance became both a creative outlet and a lesson in defiance.

“Koren is defiant,” Dennison said. “Not in a cause of harm kind of way, but the kind that refuses to accept limitations placed on Black girls from working-class neighborhoods.” 

That determination carried her to Marquette University, where she earned both a bachelor’s and master’s degree in corporate communication. And as college expanded her opportunities, it also deepened her understanding of herself.

“My baseline is Black,” Dennison said. “Going to a predominantly white institution challenged me in ways I didn’t expect.”

The experience sharpened her sense of identity and reinforced her commitment to community. 

After graduation, she worked in youth programming at Highland Community School before moving into research and evaluation work, spending more than three years helping organizations measure impact and communicate results.

By many standards she had achieved what she once envisioned: the professional career, the office, the stability.

Before eventually leaving her job, Dennison began to build a different kind of foundation. She purchased her first duplex in 2021 and another in 2023, creating a measure of financial stability through real estate. Those investments would later give her the freedom to take a risk on herself.

When her position was eliminated in late 2025, Dennison spent months grieving, recalibrating and considering her next move. She applied for jobs and was rejected multiple times. 

Eventually, she stopped seeing those rejections as setbacks and started viewing them as redirection.

“I’ve never felt so free,” she said. “I’ve never felt so autonomous. I’ve never felt so grounded.”

My Kousin’s House

Out of uncertainty came My Kousin’s House.

Part community gathering space, part learning hub and part social experiment. Dennison describes it as an “intergenerational third space focused on full-family literacy.”

The concept grew from observations she had made throughout her life.

She said she noticed how children often miss opportunities to learn from elders. She also noticed how adults frequently stop learning altogether and how conversations in modern life often stay on the surface.

Most importantly, she recognized her own role as a bridge.

At 28, childless, but deeply connected to both younger and older generations, Dennison often found herself translating between worlds.

“There is a bridge that is absolutely needed between young people and elders,” she said.

She wants My Kousin’s House to become that bridge.

“It’s an intergenerational space where there’s gonna be joy, fun and some type of education,” said Melody McCurtis, who attended an event. “So, whether that’s learning about animals, urban farming or like hydroponics or political education, we learn from these events about how we show up, not only as individuals, but how we interact with each other.” 

McCurtis is the deputy director of Metcalfe Park Community Bridges, a group that serves Metcalfe Park residents through a series of events, services and campaigns. 

Events blend entertainment with meaningful conversation. So far, participants have gathered for a “Grey’s Anatomy”-themed trivia night, a community spelling bee and a discussion and dance party inspired by “Black Is King,” a film by Beyonce. 

Future events will explore topics ranging from natural hair care and gardening to Black history and food justice, she said.

“I don’t want to talk about the weather,” Dennison said. “I want to talk about how you carry grief.”

Wose has attended every event. He said each one was a fun learning experience that helped him meet new people. 

He said the spelling bee had good vibes and a lot of laughter. 

“I can’t spell that well, I add or miss a letter here and there, but it helped me see that everybody’s still learning because I wasn’t the only person who was messing up. But all adults, right?” Wose said.  

Dennison’s vision extends beyond children. She believes that literacy and lifelong learning must include entire families, especially in a city where educational disparities have persisted for generations.

“If the babies can’t read, there are already adults outside the scope of the solutions,” she said. “How do we invite parents into those conversations without shame?”

The answer, she believes, is community.

“In a neighborhood like Metcalfe Park where we are seeing so many changes, it’s a great space to have,” said McCurtis.

Rejecting narratives about Milwaukee

While Dennison acknowledges many of the city’s challenges, she said she rejects narratives that paint Milwaukee solely through the lens of struggle. Instead, she sees a city filled with people who invested in her success and taught her the importance of returning the favor.

“I was raised on lift as we climb,” she said. “Each one teach one.”

It is not simply a series of events. It is an attempt to create the kind of community Dennison believes many people are searching for: a place where learning feels joyful, where generations learn from one another and where meaningful conversation becomes a form of care.

“It’s an inviting space with good vibes and great banana bread,” Wose said. 

The project remains young. Attendance varies. Funding is pieced together through donations, side jobs, tutoring, dance coaching, evaluation contracts and even homemade banana bread sales.

Still, Dennison keeps going.

Every event, every conversation, every gathering feels like proof that people are hungry for connection.

“When I think about isolation or loneliness or individualism and safeguardness, those are all the things that intergenerational third spaces are combating,” McCurtis said. “It allows us to communicate and allow things to land in a way that feels safe and like home.” 

Despite the positive feedback Dennison’s gotten about her efforts, fear remains, she admits. So does the uncertainty.

But so does the conviction.

“I just decided,” Dennison said. “Nobody gave me permission. Nobody handed me anything. I just decided.”

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To learn more about My Kousin’s House, you can follow Dennison’s personal account or My Kousin’s House on Instagram.

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Jonathan Aguilar is a visual journalist at Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service who is supported through a partnership between CatchLight Local and Report for America.

How Koren Dennison is building an intergenerational third space in Milwaukee is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

Reading Time: 5 minutes

After 35 years renting her home, a leaky and unkept roof forced Farina Brooks and her husband to move into a hotel.  

It wasn’t a rash decision. For three years, Brooks said, she pleaded with the property management company to fix the roof as water damage spread and conditions inside the home worsened. 

City inspectors eventually came, issuing citations and fines. Still, she said, little changed.

“We kept getting the runaround,” Brooks said.

Eventually, she and her husband entered Milwaukee’s rent abatement program. Even that failed to improve conditions, she said.

Now, she said, the couple is burning through their savings to pay for a hotel room while searching for stable housing in an increasingly expensive rental market.

Brooks said the situation was not always this way. 

“For the 30 years or so (the landlord) was good, you know, she handled things,” she said. 

But in recent years, she said she learned the woman had developed dementia and was placed under a conservatorship, a change Brooks believes coincided with the property’s decline.

Her story reflects a growing frustration shared by many Milwaukee tenants confronting deteriorating housing conditions and asking a question that local officials hear constantly: Why can’t the city force landlords to fix problems with their properties?

City response is limited

According to Milwaukee City Attorney Evan Goyke, the answer lies in a complicated mix of state law, property rights and limited local authority that has steadily narrowed the city’s oversight powers on rental housing during the past decade.

The city has powers to do certain things, but not others, Goyke said. 

“The federal government can limit what states can do, and the states can limit what municipal governments can do.”

State Sen. Dora Drake said Wisconsin law requires landlords to maintain rental properties, including making necessary structural and plumbing repairs and complying with local housing codes. But, she said, tenants often face barriers when conditions deteriorate.

“Under most circumstances, a tenant may not refuse to pay rent entirely unless the conditions are so poor as to force a tenant to move out,” Drake said. “If the conditions in the rental premises are poor where the tenant’s health or safety is affected, or the tenant is unable to use part of the premises, the tenant is entitled to reduce the amount of rent proportionately.”

Much of Milwaukee’s housing enforcement is controlled by Wisconsin state law, particularly by legislation passed between 2013 and 2017 that limited how municipalities regulate rental housing.

One major change, specifically state statute 66.0104, pushed cities into complaint-driven inspection systems – meaning inspectors cannot proactively inspect properties for violations unless someone files a complaint.

“The Department of Neighborhood Services can’t just walk up and down the street and say, ‘That house, that house, that house,’ ” Goyke said.

Instead, the city relies heavily on tenants and neighbors to report unsafe conditions to the Department of Neighborhood Services.

Drake said the current system leaves too many renters vulnerable before problems are addressed.

“We need more accountability measures and preventative measures and standards to prevent those situations from getting so bad with tenants,” she said.

Complaint-based enforcement

When tenants report unsafe conditions, Department of Neighborhood Services inspectors investigate and may issue written orders that require repairs within a specified time frame.

If the violations are not addressed, the city can issue citations and pursue penalties in municipal court. Unpaid judgments can eventually become liens on the property.

But that process can take a long time, especially for a city balancing thousands of complaints with limited staff and funding, according to Goyke.

He said many residents get frustrated because they expect immediate intervention.

The city can escalate serious or repeated violations into lawsuits in Milwaukee County Circuit Court. In extreme cases, courts can appoint a receiver to take over management of a property.

Under receivership, a court-appointed manager can collect rent and use it to make repairs if a landlord has failed to maintain safe conditions.

“It’s a very heavy hammer for the landlord,” Goyke said. “Somebody else is going to step in and fix (the properties) for you.”

Tenant fears and limited options

Housing advocates have long argued that complaint-driven enforcement creates another problem: potential retaliation or displacement of tenants. 

Many tenants won’t report poor conditions out of fear.

Goyke said those fears are real, particularly for tenants living in severely deteriorated buildings who worry they could lose housing if the property is condemned.

“I feel terrible that people are placed in a position where they feel they need to live in unsafe conditions because it does beat living outside,” he said.

He encouraged tenants to report violations to DNS and to explore programs such as rent withholding and rent abatement.

Under Milwaukee’s rent withholding program, tenants continue paying rent, but the money is held by the Department of Neighborhood Services until repairs are completed. Rent abatement, meanwhile, allows tenants to reduce rent payments when serious conditions affect habitability.

Legal and service organizations, including the Legal Aid Society of Milwaukee, Legal Action of Wisconsin and Community Advocates, can help tenants understand their rights and options.

Property rights and bad landlords

Residents also frequently question why landlords with poor track records are still able to purchase additional properties, Goyke said.

Goyke said cities generally cannot interfere in private property transactions unless the city has a legal interest in the property, such as unpaid taxes or code enforcement judgments.

“If we do not have an interest in the property, we can’t stop it,” he said.

That limitation stems from long-standing American property rights protections, he added.

“It is not a shortcoming of some ordinance that could be tweaked,” Goyke said. “That question goes to core property rights in America.”

Drake said she has co-authored proposals aimed at expanding rent abatement protections and shielding renters from landlord retaliation.

 “We know it happens,” Drake said. “Whether it’s Berrada or other properties that are known to have these stories, those are things that we can do.”

Berrada Properties owns more than 8,000 units and has been named in lawsuits by both tenants and the city attorney. 

Drake also said the state should expand access to legal representation for tenants facing eviction or living in unsafe housing.

“We can create an office of civil legal aid to provide a right to appointment of counsel at the state’s expense for tenants in eviction actions,” she said.

Community action

Brooks said she was pushed to leave her home by her daughter and several local community leaders. 

“They told me you cannot live here,” she said. “The final straw for me was when water started coming in through the light fixtures.” 

Brooks said community leader Ajamou Butler shared a post about her situation that garnered support from the community and helped pay for her first several days in the hotel. 

She said local leaders including Butler, Vaun Mayes and state Rep. Sequanna Taylor have supported her through the move. Metcalfe Park Community Bridges and Community Advocates have supported her search for accountability and a new home. 

“It was hard accepting help, but it reminded me of how the community shows up,” Brooks said. “This made me worry for the people that don’t know who to call or have people to show up.” 

Goyke encouraged residents to vote and stay engaged politically and also emphasized on-the-ground organizing and collective action to address housing issues.

He pointed to local organizations like Common Ground, the Community Development Alliance and the RON Coalition as examples of groups working to improve housing conditions.

“There’s a lot more that people can do individually that make an impact,” he said.

Goyke described a boarded-up house on his own block that has sat vacant for years, saying neighbors could potentially organize fundraising efforts to help support redevelopment.

“Don’t wait for somebody else to solve your problems,” he said. “There’s a ton of energy in trying to figure out how to do this, and it’s a great time for people to get involved.” 

Drake said stronger tenant protections are part of the Wisconsin Legislative Black Caucus agenda this year.

“We know that at the state level, we need to do more to ensure that we’re protecting tenants’ rights,” she said.

Policies make it harder for Milwaukee tenants to demand repairs is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.

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Milwaukee’s homelessness crisis is growing more visible, but advocates say there are still signs of progress. 

A few years ago, Milwaukee leaders said the city was on track to end family homelessness. Since then, the number of people who are homeless has grown. Organizations on the front lines and others working on the issue still say Milwaukee has quietly become an example of how coordinated prevention efforts can work during a larger national crisis. 

“When we talk about ending family homelessness, it doesn’t mean no family will ever experience homelessness,” said Krystina Kohler, impact manager at United Way of Greater Milwaukee & Waukesha County. “It means we’ve built a system that can respond quickly, prevent homelessness when possible, and rapidly connect families back to stable housing.”

Rising homelessness

Data collected through the Milwaukee Coalition on Housing and Homelessness shows more people are entering Milwaukee’s homeless service programs than exit it.

The 765 people who entered homeless service programs in 2025  had been without stable housing for an average of 88 days; 77% were homeless for the first time.

Ten percent became homeless again within a year.

According to David Nelson, chair of the Milwaukee Coalition on Housing and Homelessness, the totals include people living in shelters and those sleeping in cars, abandoned buildings or other places not meant for habitation. 

“On any given day, we have 750 shelter beds in our city,” Nelson said. “Beginning in November through the end of March, we have an additional approximate 250 shelter beds, which (are) our winter warming rooms.”

Even with the extra capacity, he said beds are almost always full. 

Nelson said official homelessness figures fail to capture the full scope of housing instability because many people who temporarily stay with friends or relatives are not counted until those arrangements end.

“What we don’t count (are) people who are doubling up,” he explained. “If you let me stay on your couch through the winter, it’s not counted as homelessness. But the minute you say, ‘You gotta go,’ suddenly I become homeless.”

Sister MacCanon Brown is president and CEO of MacCanon Brown Homeless Sanctuary. She said her organization’s welcome center at 2461 W. Center St., which distributes clothing, food and household necessities and offers showers to people in need, saw 4,600 people in 2025.

Why homelessness is increasing

Most people leaving homeless service programs have no documented housing destination, making it difficult to know whether they are securing stable housing or eventually returning to homelessness, Nelson said. The percentage of people transitioning into permanent or temporary housing remains mostly unchanged.

Nelson said the end of pandemic-era federal housing assistance contributed to the rise in homelessness.

“During the Biden-Harris administration, we were sheltering people in hotels, and that was paid for by the federal government,” he said. “That funding is no longer there, and so you can see this gradual increase and then the spike in the number of people having to go back to homelessness.”

Other economic pressures are pushing more residents toward instability, especially low-income renters already struggling with rising housing costs.

“The people who are most squeezed are the people who are most vulnerable,” Nelson said. “Those at the lower ends of the economic spectrum are sometimes paying 50% and 60% of their income just to keep an apartment.”

People over 65 are now the fastest-growing age group entering Milwaukee’s homeless services system.

“It’s the fastest growing population in the country,” Nelson said. “If they go on Social Security, they are suddenly on a fixed income. The numbers don’t meet.”

Kohler said senior homelessness is becoming a major concern for local providers.

“Older adults experiencing homelessness for the first time in their lives is something that should never happen in our community,” she said. “They’re often widowed, on fixed incomes and one emergency away from losing housing.”

NNS has reported on housing crises among younger adults and families and seniors recently. 

Kohler said she hopes homelessness initiatives expand beyond families to include seniors, single adults and people exiting facilities.

Nelson added that eviction records can trap people in long-term instability.

“The eviction stays on their record for a long time,” Nelson said. “Landlords can use CCAP and see there was a legal proceeding against them. Suddenly they’re charged first, last and middle month’s rent.”

Brown said that many of the housing unstable people she sees were renters. 

“The lack of landlord regulation, the evictions and the prices have a lot to do with increased homelessness,” she said. “Some type of landlord regulation is crucial in keeping people housed.”

There have been assumptions by some that homelessness may be tied to migration from outside the city. But nearly everyone enrolled in Milwaukee’s homeless services programs during 2024 and 2025 was from Milwaukee County, according to local data.

Prevention efforts have worked

Kohler said Milwaukee’s prevention efforts increasingly focus on helping families before they lose housing entirely.

“We’re trying to get ahead of the trauma of homelessness,” she said. “Sometimes a family just needs help with a car repair, utility bill or mediation with a landlord before a housing crisis begins.”

She pointed to partnerships with schools and even animal welfare organizations as part of Milwaukee’s early intervention strategy.

“If a family is surrendering a pet because of housing instability, we can now connect them to services immediately,” Kohler said. “That’s a unique approach here.”

Though homelessness overall has risen, Kohler said Milwaukee has seen family homelessness remain relatively stable, or even decline, compared with many similar cities nationwide.

“Nationwide, family homelessness has increased dramatically, but Milwaukee is one of the only peer cities that has stayed relatively flat or even slightly decreased,” she said. “That’s because of intentional investments in prevention services and rapid rehousing.”

Working together to address homelessness

Organizations across the city continue working together through the Milwaukee Coalition on Housing and Homelessness, which includes nonprofits, universities, faith organizations, outreach teams and local government agencies coordinating resources and services.

“We have a really rich and robust system in our city,” Nelson said. “Homelessness is not a choice. It’s not something people choose to be in.”

Kohler said Milwaukee’s coordinated response system has become a model for other communities.

“Right now, there are no families on the literal homelessness list searching for shelter,” she said. “If a family is identified as needing emergency shelter, they should have immediate access to beds.”

She said Milwaukee’s collaborative approach deserves more recognition.

“The providers here are doing amazing work,” Kohler said. “Other communities are reaching out to Milwaukee to model what we’re doing.”

Kohler said Milwaukee’s response shows progress is possible even during a growing national housing crisis.

“Milwaukee is actually an example of success inside a larger crisis,” she said. “There’s still tremendous need, but we’ve shown that prevention and rapid response can work.”

She encouraged residents facing housing instability to seek help early by calling 211 and connecting with local support services before a crisis escalates.

“Keep calling and keep advocating for yourself,” Kohler said. “Sometimes resources open up quickly, and that early connection can prevent homelessness entirely.”

Jonathan Aguilar is a visual journalist at Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service who is supported through a partnership between CatchLight Local and Report for America.

Milwaukee homelessness rises despite some prevention successes is a post from Wisconsin Watch, a non-profit investigative news site covering Wisconsin since 2009. Please consider making a contribution to support our journalism.