The Week in Review
Return of
the Rodriguez Recap
Hello, I’m State Representative Jessie
Rodriguez.
Welcome back to the Rodriguez Recap!
Over the last several months, I’ve been working with my colleagues on the
Speaker’s Task Force to see how we can improve foster care in Wisconsin.
This week, the bill I introduced as part of the Foster Forward package made
it through the committee process and is ready to be voted on by the full
Assembly.
This legislation does three things:
First, it allows schools to be notified of upcoming foster care hearings and
allows them to provide written testimony for the students in foster care.
Second, the school district and the school will both be notified when a
student is placed in foster care.
Lastly, the students’ academic records will be sent over to the new school
within a day. This helps students transition to their new school right away.
Overall, our goal is to improve foster care in our state and this package of
bills is a step in the right direction!
Keep an eye out for the next Rodriguez Recap, and have a great weekend!
Moving Foster Care Forward
This week, the Family Law Committee came
together for two public meetings to discuss several bills including two from
the Foster Forward Agenda.
On Tuesday, we heard from authors, Rep. Terry Katsma and Sen. Luther Olsen,
urging committee members to support
legislation that will increase funding
for the expansion of the
Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASAs) program. CASAs are volunteers appointed by judges to work with foster children or to
assist families that are at risk of losing their children. Children that are
paired with a CASA are more likely to do well academically and at-risk
families working with CASAs are less likely to have a child placed in the
foster care system.
The increased funding will support the expansion of the CASA program
allowing volunteers to reach more counties throughout the state.
As a cosponsor of this legislation, I’m proud to have helped push it through
committee and I look forward to its passage before we end the legislative
session.
Wear Red for Women
Today, is Wear Red Day to raise awareness for
heart disease in women. According to the American Heart Association, heart
disease is the number one killer of women.
Wear Red Day is not only an opportunity to raise awareness but also to
understand the warning signs of heart disease. The symptoms of heart disease
are different for women and men and warning signs are not the same for all
women.
For more information about Wear Red Day or heart disease, visit
GoRedForWomen.org.
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