KENOSHA – Today, Gov. Tony Evers announced that he will be calling a special session to address the state’s workforce challenges. Gov. Evers is seeking to bring the Legislature back in to session on September 20, 2023 in order to invest in solutions to bolster our state’s workforce including child care, paid family leave, and higher education.
“I was pleased to join Governor Evers today as he called the Legislature into special session,” said Rep. Tod Ohnstad, “Advancing our state’s workforce and securing a prosperous future involves addressing critical issues like child care accessibility, paid family leave, education, and bolstering our workforce. I applaud Governor Evers visionary leadership as he set a precedent today for the future of Wisconsin. Let’s get to work.”
“The budget that Legislative Republicans passed was incomplete. We have much more work to do to address Wisconsin’s workforce challenges and ensure working families are able to thrive,” said Rep. Tip McGuire, “The most important aspect of that is extending the Child Care Counts program to prevent the looming child care shortage crisis.”
The Evers administration created the Child Care Counts program to address workforce shortages and affordability of child care for working families. Despite the success of Child Care Counts, Legislative Republicans slashed the entire $340 million program from the state budget.
“Without the extension of Child Care Counts, we will have no choice but to raise rates or risk losing staff which reduces our ability to provide care,” said John Savaglio of Cornerstone Academy, “Ultimately that impacts the parents who rely on us. If they can’t afford a rate increase, they won’t be able to get the child care they need to go to work. This is about more than child care; it impacts our state’s entire economy.”
