Governor seeks safe homes, education, health care for children
Andy Steinke/Events
Left Wisconsin Supreme Court Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson and Gov. James Doyle spoke at a summit on children Wednesday at the Kalahari Resort.
By Andy Steinke, Dells Events
Gov. Jim Doyle and Wisconsin Supreme Court Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson helped kick off the "Wisconsin Summit on Children and Families: Changing Lives by Improving Court and Child Welfare Practice" Wednesday morning at Kalahari Resort.
Doyle said during his remarks that he would like to see children have three things in life: a safe home, a good education and health care.
The three-day summit looked at the collaboration between the courts, tribes and social service agencies in the state. It will serve as a reform launching point for the way abused and neglected children's cases are handled, with the goal of expediting the process of getting those children into safe homes.
Doyle spoke Wednesday to a majority of the 430 people expected to attend the summit and said he ran for governor because of the very issues they were going to cover this week.
Some of the topics covered were Indian child welfare issues, the disproportion number of children of color in the state's child welfare system and effective planning of permanent homes for children in the system.
"As district attorney and attorney general, I unfortunately saw the consequences of what happened to children who were abused and neglected," Doyle said. And that is why he has pushed for his KidsFirst agenda, he said.
The governor wants 4-year-old kindergarten, a strengthened foster care system, better support for foster parents, an expansion of the school breakfast program and tax-deductible child care expenses.
"Above all things, I want an economy where kids can grow up having access to the best education, where they are safe and secure, where they can have good health care," Doyle said.
Last year Doyle passed the Badger Care Plus health care program so every child in the state would have access to health insurance.
Doyle said about 100,000 children needed coverage last year. He said he expected about 10,000 people to enroll every month when the program started in February, but 72,000 people signed up in the first six weeks, and most were children.
More than 80,000 people now have access to health insurance through Badger Care Plus, Doyle said.
A new department
In July, Doyle also created the Department of Children and Families, Wisconsin's first state agency focused on promoting the safety, economic and social well-being of children and families.
The department brings the child welfare, child support, child care and Wisconsin Works programs under one roof.
Abrahamson called the summit a "unique convening of state leaders" to address the issues affecting children in the state.
"Despite professional differences, we must find a way to truly collaborate to produce the best outcomes for children and families," she said. Her hope, she said, is that the summit will create a dialogue across government bodies.
"We can accomplish much when we work together," Abrahamson said.
Former Stockbridge-Munsee Tribal Chief Judge David Raasch also spoke Wednesday morning, and he said he has traveled across the country. He's seen children in need everywhere.
"Until we love our children more than we hate each other there will never be world peace," Raasch said.
He said children don't know the challenges they face in this world, and their needs are simple. "A child doesn't care how much you know," he said, "as long as they know there's someone who's there."