In this issue:
What's New at WCCF
by Bob Jacobson
A conference, a camp, some press, some legislative action...in short, the usual exciting array of things we're working on to improve outcomes for kids and families in Wisconsin. Read all about it here!
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A Preliminary Look at What the Economic Recovery Act Has Meant for Wisconsin
by Jon Peacock
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) might be the Rodney Dangerfield of federal fiscal policy. It hasn't gotten a whole lot of respect. In this article, Jon outlines the important role ARRA is in fact playing in turning the economy back in the right direction.
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The Cost of No Change
by Jim Moeser
The introduction of AB732 represented an important step in keep the issue of returning 17-year-olds to the juvenile system alive. While consensus around the policy itself continues to grow, the focus has unfortunately turned to the cost of change. We believe the cost of NOT making this change would be much greater.
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Business and Civic Leaders Support Early Childhood Investments
by Dave Edie
An impressive lineup of business and civic leaders addressed a Legislative and Business Forum on early childhood investment March 3 at the Concourse Hotel in Madison. These "unexpected champions" for investing in early childhood were motivated by the growing evidence of the importance of the first five years and the effectiveness of high-quality programs promoting early learning and development.
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This Spring, Go to Camp...Advocacy Camp, That Is
by Martha Cranley
On April 14 and 15, WCCF will be holding its annual advocacy camp, a day-and-a half workshop designed to prepare advocates for children and families to make the most of their efforts on state policy. This year, camp will also work on skills related to getting your voice heard in the fall elections.
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Don't forget to check out the new WCCF blog at wiskids.blogspot.com!
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Did you know that you can access all sorts of useful data about the well-being of Wisconsin's children and families via the WisKids Count portion of our website? There are a lot of tools available for county-by-county comparisons and generating tables, charts, etc. Check it out.
And did you know that WCCF publishes e-newsletters on a variety of specific issues, including health care, early education, economic support, juvenile justice and other youth issues, and budget and tax matters? Well, we do. If you are interested in any of these issues, please consider signing up for one or more of these email bulletins. You can also sign up via that page for action alerts and for one or more of our campaigns. Once you see the impressive volume of work we are doing on the issues that matter to you, you will no doubt feel moved to help support this work by making a donation to WCCF.