Expanding Eligibility for Adoption Assistance

A bill I authored along with Rep. Jeffrey Mursau (R- Crivitz) passed the state Assembly on the 15^th with bi-partisan support. The bill, AB 564, will expand eligibility for federal special needs adoption assistance in Wisconsin to include families adopting children 7 years of age and older or adopting siblings who are waiting for permanent adoptive placements.

Some children linger far too long in our child welfare system, while others ultimately age out without ever having a forever family. This legislation will make it a little easier for adoptive parents to meet the complex needs of older children and sibling groups as they leave the child welfare system to join their new forever families.

AB 564 was a product of the work of the Task Force on Adoption, a task force I had the honor of serving as its Vice Chair. This task force gathered input from families, experts, and agencies at a series of public hearings held across the state.

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I was proud to uphold Governor Evers’s veto of AB 76 by voting against the Republican majority’s effort to override it in an attempt to reduce the number of training hours required for CNAs to practice in Wisconsin. While I understand the intentions behind this bill—namely addressing Wisconsin’s CNA shortage —I do not believe that lowering training requirements is a safe solution.

CNAs preform a vital service for our community, but often go unrecognized and underpaid. Rather than cutting training requirements and diminishing quality of care, we should seek to adequately compensate them for their important work. The Republican majority has had ample time to take up the CNA Pay Act which I introduced early in the session last year which would increase reimbursement for personal care services under the Medical Assistance program, create an individual income tax credit for CNAs, and provide grants to technical colleges for nurse aide training.

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Addressing Food Allergies

This week, I urged lawmakers on the Assembly Committee on Consumer Protection to support of a pair of bills I co-authored to mitigate the risk of food allergies on consumers by preventing unnecessary exposure to allergens at restaurants. These two bills, AB 240 and AB 241, would require certain retail food establishments to display posters with information about how staff should handle food allergies and would require a statement on menus instructing customers to inform staff of any food allergies.

I believe that most restaurant staff work hard to ensure high standards of food safety in relation to customers with food allergies, too often they do not have the information they need to do so. As someone who has experienced an anaphylactic reaction as the result of a food allergy, I know firsthand the critical importance of arming food service workers with knowledge of safe practices to prevent unintentional exposure to allergens.

According to FARE, Food Allergy Research and Education, an estimated 32 million people in the United States have food allergies, including 5.6 million children. Each year in the United States, 200,000 people require emergency treatment for food-related allergic reactions. While food allergies cannot be cured, these two bills can help mitigate their impact by reducing the risk of exposure and may even save lives.

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The Week in Review

On Wednesday the Assembly held a floor session, where they passed several bipartisan bills. The full Assembly session calendar can be viewed here.

The Joint Finance Committee (JFC) convened on Thursday. Once again, critical funds to combat homelessness were left off the agenda. Republicans continue to refuse to take action on bills that would protect and aid Wisconsin's most vulnerable citizens. Late last year, Governor Evers called a special meeting to force the GOP to act on these crucial bills. JFC Republicans declined to show up as hundreds Wisconsinites continue to suffer through the brutal winter temperatures.

Next week, both the Senate and the Assembly will be in session. Additionally, on Wednesday Governor Evers will hold his second State of the State address.

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Wisconsin Fun Fact

On Monday, January 20^th, we celebrate Martin Luther King Jr. Day in the United States, and MLK's impact and legacy includes a connection to Wisconsin. Several times throughout his Civil Rights activism in the late 1960s, King spoke in Milwaukee, and he encouraged people to erase two myths: "Only time can solve the problems of racial integration" and "Civil Rights legislation is not important.” The people of Milwaukee were largely receptive. After King's assassination in April 1968, 15,000 people marched through the streets of Downtown Milwaukee. It remains the largest civil rights demonstration in city history and was among the biggest in the country at the time.

In 2018, city leaders in Madison were joined by community members in a march that celebrated the legacy of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. A re-dedication of a two-block street, which runs between Main and Wilson streets Downtown, named in honor of the civil rights activist in 1987, followed the march. Though Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s efforts began in the South, his influence was heard all over the nation and continue to be heard today. On this day we should take time to remember all he did for civil rights in this country and country.

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