State Policy

BUDGET ACTION TOOLS

• WAFCA State Budget One-Pager for Legislators 
• WAFCA Sample Emails to Legislators on Key Issues (Find Your Legislators)
• Medicaid Rates Fact Sheet
• Home Visiting Fact Sheet
• School-Based Mental Health Fact Sheet
• Workforce Support - Qualified Treatment Trainee Grants Fact Sheet

State Budget Update. The Joint Committee on Finance (JFC) concluded their budget hearings and have begun sharing information regarding the next phase of their drafting plans. A memo providing notice of an Executive Session to be held on May 2nd disclosed items JFC intended for removal from the budget. In total, JFC plans to pull 545 of the Governor's proposals, including many items WAFCA members care about, such as Intensive Family Preservation Services, Runaway and Homeless Youth Services, Certified Peer Specialist Services, Aid for Comprehensive School Mental Health Systems, and Aid for School-Based Mental Health Professional Staff. This initial action by JFC was anticipated as they took similar action in 2021 and 2019, opting to build their own budget from base. Some of these items, such as increased school-based mental health funding (see WAFCA's Budget Advocacy Fact Sheet), will show up as new proposals in coming weeks as JFC takes action agency-by-agency.

Items of interest that survived this first round cut include:

• Medicaid rate increases for behavioral health (see WAFCA's Budget Advocacy Fact Sheet)
• funding for a Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facility
• home visiting expansion (see WAFCA's Budget Advocacy Fact Sheet)
• rate increases for foster and kinship parents, as well as additional funding for supports and services for kinship caregivers
• the doubling of Qualified Treatment Trainee grants (see WAFCA's Budget Advocacy Fact Sheet)
• new positions within the Department of Safety and Professional Services

It is still very early stages in the budget process. Any of these "surviving" items will face scrutiny in coming weeks as the committee formally votes on what it "in" and what is "out." Stay tuned for further developments and keep up the advocacy!

WAFCA Budget Priorities 2023-25 (updated 09.22)

• WAFCA Summary of State Agency Budget Requests **NEW** 
• State Agency 2023-25 Biennial Budget Requests (Sept 2022)
• Dept of Children & Families
• Dept of Health Services
• Dept of Public Instruction (Release)
• Dept of Corrections
• Dept of Safety & Professional Services

WAFCA Bills of Interest 2023-2024 Legislative Session 

Archive 2021-22 Legislative Session (and other prior sessions)

POLICY RESOURCES/COALITION PARTNERS

• Raise the Age Coalition
• Coalition for Expanding School-Based Mental Health in Wisconsin  

WISCONSIN LEGISLATIVE RESOURCES

• Joint Finance Committee 
• Schedule of Legislative Committee Activities
• Wisconsin Legislature Notification Service
  The Wisconsin Legislative Notification System helps with following legislation through receiving daily or weekly emails for specific legislative activities. 
• Who are My Legislators?
  The Legislature's website has a tool to help you find your State Representative and State Senator. Just type your address in the box labeled "Find My Legislators."

TIPS ON LEGISLATIVE ADVOCACY

• Get Engaged: Legislative Advocacy 101
• Hosting a Legislator at your Facility/Agency
• Advocacy Handbook (National Council for Behavioral Health, 2021) - great resource with lots of good tips for effective messaging 
• Tips on Advocacy in an Election Year (Council of Nonprofits; Nonprofit Vote)

OTHER STATE LEGISLATIVE RESOURCES

• The Wheeler Report
• Wispolitics
• Wisconsin Eye

Latest from Wisconsin State Agencies