Hey there, folks! Governor Tony Evers here.
More Wisconsinites are working than ever before, but paychecks today aren’t going nearly as far as they used to.
And today, it costs more to put two young kids in child care in Wisconsin than it does to pay the average rent or mortgage.
Child care is too darn expensive, and even if folks can find and afford care, families may be waitlisted for months.
Our workforce and economy can’t afford more parents leaving their jobs because they can’t find or afford quality child care.
Unfortunately, a new survey out of UW shows about half the households surveyed missed work in the past year due to a lack of care for their kids, and even worse, over 10 percent of folks left their jobs entirely due to child care challenges.
This is an issue that impacts everyone, and as leaders, we have an obligation to the overwhelming majority of Wisconsinites who want us to do something about it.
Wisconsinites rightly expect their elected officials to show up, act in good faith, and work together to get things done and lower the cost of child care for Wisconsin families.
Without additional state investments in our child care industry, a quarter of providers across the state reported they are likely to close their doors, and three-quarters of providers expect to have to raise weekly tuition rates for care.
This will only increase costs for working families that are already experiencing steep tuition and strained household budgets.
If we don’t invest in child care in the next budget, it’ll be our kids and families who pay the price.
Wisconsinites need the Legislature to get serious about lowering out-of-pocket costs for child care this session.
No more excuses, folks.
Thank you.
An online version of this release is available here.
