STEVENS POINT, WI (WSAU) – Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers toured UWSP’s childcare facility on Thursday, hoping to better understand what centers need from the state.
Evers visited each classroom and spoke to teachers about their biggest concerns surrounding the industry and what they felt needed help to solve the problem. Some of the top issues they expressed included a lack of space and continuing to make wages more competitive with other industries in the area.
The theme that was stressed the most by the facility directors was the lack of space. They told Gov. Evers that, unlike other facilities around central Wisconsin, they are fully staffed and could bring in more students if they had more space to expand the classrooms.
Evers spoke about the tour and gave his views on the state’s childcare industry, saying, “Thank goodness UWSP is doing this for the students and the community; it’s a real bonus for them, and it’s a good reminder of how important childcare is for the economy. That’s why myself and the Secretary are spending a lot of time going across the state trying to build interest in this among some of the legislators’ minds who consider helping to fund organizations and schools like these.”
In a somewhat unexpected move, Senate leaders decided last week to formally introduce legislation to further subsidize Wisconsin’s child care providers, as urged by Gov. Tony Evers. According to the Wisconsin Examiner, the bill includes a provision to continue the Child Care Counts program, which helped childcare providers with their finances during the COVID-19 outbreak, as well as another program to aid employers in covering childcare costs for their employees. The bill would provide a total of $365 million for these programs.
The Wisconsin Examiner also reports that the package includes increased financing for higher education, including $200 million for a new engineering building at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, as well as a paid family leave program paid for by payroll deductions.
Forward Analytics, the research division of the Wisconsin Counties Association, released a report last week saying that child care in Wisconsin can cost 18% to 36% of a family’s income. “With record low unemployment, Wisconsin cannot afford to have people who want to work sitting on the sidelines because childcare is too expensive,” the report concluded.
