Reforming Wisconsin Shares

Assembly Bill 241, legislation I authored with Sen. Darling, passed the Assembly unanimously on Wednesday evening. This legislation will mitigate the benefit drop-off for parents participating in the Wisconsin Shares program.

Wisconsin Shares provides child care assistance for low-income families to enable participants to work or prepare for employment. Under the program, if the parent meets a variety of criteria including work and education or training requirements, the state provides assistance for child care with the parent paying a portion of the cost (copayment) based on their income. To be eligible for the program income must not exceed 185 percent of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL) - $37,296 for a family of three in 2016.

When parents reach the income limit in the program, they lose all assistance creating the benefit drop-off. This discourages parents from seeking promotions, raises and better career opportunities due to fear of losing child care assistance.

To diminish the drop-off, when a participant’s income exceeds 200 percent FPL, he or she will have their copayment increased by a small amount in relation to their income - $1 for every $3 their income exceeds 200 percent FPL.

Our solution to the problem creates a gradual off-ramp for participants so they are not punished for accepting promotions and continuing to seek positive career opportunities.

We want people to seek better opportunities for them and their families without the fear of completely losing assistance. This small change will significantly help more families move from government dependence towards true independence.

Have a great week!

Back the Blue this May

On May 20th, Oak Creek will host “Back the Blue” run/walk to support the men and women in uniform who protect our community.

The event will feature a 5k, 10k and a kid’s run. Additionally, there will be activities for children and appearances by Bernie Brewer, the Milwaukee Admirals and the Milwaukee Bucks.

The race will begin at the American Legion on 9327 S. Shepard Ave. at 9 am.

All proceeds from the event will go to charity. For more information visit the event page.