Hey there, folks. Governor Tony Evers here.
In 2025, the Year of the Kid, I’m excited to be proposing the most pro-kid budget in state history.
And part of doing what’s best for our kids means making quality child care more affordable and accessible.
Child care is too darn expensive. We have to fix that. And it’s a key part of my plan to help lower everyday, out-of-pocket costs for working families.
It costs more to put two young kids in child care in Wisconsin than it does to pay the average rent or mortgage.
And even if folks can find affordable care, families may be waitlisted for months. Child care providers are stuck increasing costs while classrooms stay closed and waitlists grow.
It’s why my comprehensive plan to lower everyday, out-of-pocket costs for working families aims to help make child care more affordable, expand provider capacity, and reduce child care waitlists for families across our state.
Lowering the cost of child care is about doing what’s best for our kids while doing what’s best for our workforce and our economy, too.
My pro-kid budget invests over $500 million to make our Child Care Counts Program permanent and ongoing.
Without additional continued investments, over 2,000 child care programs are projected to close, resulting in over 87,000 children without child care in Wisconsin.
And the resulting lack of access to child care could potentially cause about half a billion dollars in economic impacts across the state.
Folks, failing to stabilize our child care industry will have disastrous consequences for working families, our workforce, and our economy.
Wisconsinites need the Legislature to get serious about lowering out-of-pocket costs for child care this session. No more excuses, folks.
It’s time to make child care more affordable in Wisconsin.
Let’s invest in our child care providers so that they can hire more staff and reduce waitlists so that we can give working parents and families a little more breathing room in their household budgets.
That’s a win-win-win-win for our kids, our families, our workforce, and our state.
Thank you.
