House Economic Recovery Package good new for childcare and early education!

From National Women's Law Center:

To: State Child Care Advocates, Child Care and Early Learning Coalition
Fr: Helen Blank
Re: Very Good News!
Dt: January 15, 2009

The House just released its proposal for the economic recovery package, and it provides funding for many important child care, early education, and related programs, including:

-$2 billion for the Child Care and Development Block Grant to provide child care services for an additional 300,000 children in low-income families while their parents go to work.

-$2.1 billion for Head Start to provide comprehensive development services to help 110,000 additional children succeed in school.

-$600 million for IDEA Infants and Families for formula grants to help states serve children with disabilities age 2 and younger.

-$726 million for Afterschool Meals to increase the number of states that provide free dinners to children and to encourage participation by new institutions by increasing snack reimbursement rates

-$2.5 billion for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families for block grants to help States deal with the surge in families needing help during the recession and to prevent them from cutting work programs and services for abused and neglected children.

A more detailed description of the proposal can be found here:

Thanks for all your hard work in making child care and early education part of the economic recovery plan. Please stay tuned for next steps!

Hopefully this is good news for Madison! Read more!

Wisconsin LEAST affordable in . . .

Nope, not housing! Childcare!

I'm sure I didn't need to tell Wisconsin parents that, but just in case it feels like chilcare eats up so much of your budget, here's some back up to help confirm that!

According to a 2008 report from the National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies, Wisconsin is the least affordable state for parents purchasing child care for 4-year-olds at a center ($10,473) and 2nd least affordable state for infant care in a center. ($12,350/yr.)

The report compared the average costs of full-time child care with the state median income for two-parent families and for single parents. Wisconsin also ranked as the second least affordable state for school-age care in a center. The report also found that child care prices are high relative to other household expenses.

Click here for more information.

Other things to note:
- In every region of the United States, average child care fees for an infant are higher than the average amount families spend on food.
- In every state, monthly child care fees for two children at any age exceed the median rent cost and are nearly as high as or even higher than the average monthly mortgage payment.
- In 44 states and District of Columbia, the average annual price for child care for an infant in a child care center is higher than a year's tuition at a four year public college.
- The average annual price for care of two children (one infant and one 4-year old child) ranges from 48% - 102% of the state median income for single parents.

It's worth checking out the report . . . if you're into that kind of thing!
Read more!

Important Childcare Agency Needs Your Help!

My heart skipped a beat yesterday morning when I saw the images of the flames shooting out of the top of the offices of 4-C's and Lutheran Social Services. I immediately thought of George Hagenauer and wondered what the hell I would do if I was Executive Director of a Building that had just burned down. (The Social Justice Center had a little fire scare earlier this spring, but all was safe.) Incidently, he described it as "a bit of a kick in the head" . . . that's probably putting it mildly! I also remembered to check my computer back up system to make sure that it was still working and reminded myself it was time to switch those hard drives.

This morning, I got this email, telling us how we can help. I think its important to pass along!

Dear Friends of 4-C,
Everyone at the 4-C office is safe. No one was hurt in the Lutheran Social Services office either. That is the good news. The building and the contents are a complete loss. Penny Chase, Training Director at 4-C, was telling me that another wall fell in this afternoon and everything is smoldering. They are still putting on water.

The 4-C staff is very temporarily in some offices across the parking lot from the burned out building. They are already looking for more "permanent" office space.

Insurance will pay for many of the costs of rebuilding and refurnishing but surely there will be things that will not be covered by insurance. There has been a fund set up if you would like to help out with those replacements.

You can send checks to:
First Business Bank, 401 Charmany Dr, Madison, WI 53719.
Please make the check out to 4-C Support Fund.

I will keep you informed if there are other ways that we can help 4-C staff get up and running again. This is a meaningful first step for now.

Please pass the word among your colleagues and friends.

4-Cs is an important partner in helping make sure that child care providers are trained and have technical assistance. It's worth writing a check if you have the means! I did. Read more!

The Full-Time Working Poor

A lot of people think that "poor people" are just lazy and sit around and collect government checks. Since I work with "the poor" I know that in a large majority of cases that simply isn't the case. Yesterday, I was talking to a thirty-something single mom with one child that works full-time and makes about $12 per hour or about $25,000/year (40 - 50% AMI for family of two).

Over the years I have seen her struggle to get off W-2, try to figure out how to get the best health care benefits for her and her child, swallow her pride and go to food pantries to feed her child, figure out how to get childcare, struggle to get her measly little child support payments, agonize over the latest payment she has to make for some activity her child wants to do, struggle to pay her rent, express frustration about standing in long dehumanizing lines to get one toy for her child for Christmas, struggle to find money to fix her car . . . while dealing with family and health issues and all the normal struggles in life that we all have. Being "poor" and a single mom takes an enormous amount of time and non-stop dedication and strength. It's exhausting. I sometimes am amazed how people can pull this all together and struggle day after day to just . . . live.

Yesterday the new drama was not getting her child support check (again) and finding out that her co-pays for childcare and Badgercare both went up. After school childcare went from $75/month to $167. The health care went from $75/month to $108.

(A total aside: It broke my heart when she said in exasperation, "I know, I shouldn't have had a child." Wow. How must it feel to have feelings of guilt about doing what everyone is expected to do when they grow up - fall in love and start a family? And then figure out the reality that the adults can't make it work and its just healthier to split up.)

When you're already struggling, these increases that might seem small to some but are actually quite devastating to people who are in these circumstances. And the amount of energy it takes to try to figure out if these increases are yet another bureaucratic snafu or just a fact of life is staggering. When you have a county worker the routinely doesn't call you back (a common complaint) and have to figure out how to make it through the bureaucratic nightmare, what do you do?

Luckily, this person knows me, who knows people. A quick phone call to Andy Heidt or a former staffer who now works for the county will likely sort out some of the answers and at least get her pointed in the right direction. And save her several hours of time and endless amounts of phone calls. At least for this time. Until the next crisis. Hard working people, with full-time jobs, shouldn't have to live like this. It shouldn't be so damn hard.

That's it, that's all I was going to say. That was going to be the end of my post. I felt exhausted yesterday after talking to her, and it wasn't even my life.

But . . . what usually happens next is . . . someone looks at me and asks me, "what are you going to do about that?" And I feel like I should try to do something, so I'll do what I always do, keep working for affordable housing, childcare, transportation and good jobs.

But I do have to say, with a little distance, it made me wonder, what will the City's Economic Development plan do for people who struggle like the woman I was talking to yesterday? Will there be strategies in there that make it so that full-time working people don't have to still rely on the feds/state/county for help with food stamps, childcare and healthcare? Or will it be all about TIF and other subsidies for businesses that don't provide pay and benefits to ALL their employees so that they can afford to live in this City?
Read more!

2007 Emerging Neighborhoods Funds Left

The City of Madison is now taking applications for the remaining 2007 Emerging Neighborhoods grant funds. The purpose of this City program is to enhance the quality of life in our challenged neighborhoods where lower income people live, particularly through innovative and grassroots approaches to neighborhood-based community building. This program provides a unique opportunity for neighborhood groups and organizations to develop and propose a broad array of neighborhood-initiated improvements and organizing projects. A neighborhood group may be established just to undertake a project – the group does not need to be "incorporated."

I've copied the Proposal Guidelines below, but don't have the Application Form. A total of $25,400 is available for this second round of 2007 funding. Proposals must be received in the Mayor's Office by 4:30 p.m. on Wednesday, November 28, 2007, in order to be considered for funding. If you have questions or need further information, please contact the City staff listed in the Proposal Guidelines at the bottom.

*****************
City of Madison Allied And Emerging Neighborhoods Funds
Proposal Guidelines 2007

I. PURPOSE

The City of Madison is seeking proposals from neighborhood groups, non-profit agencies and other community-based organizations to fund programs which will enhance the quality of life in challenged neighborhoods in the City of Madison where lower income people live.

II. PROGRAM GOAL AND OBJECTIVES

Goal: To enhance the quality of life in the challenged and other emerging neighborhoods.

Program Objectives:

• Promote innovative and grassroots approaches to neighborhood based community building.
• Improve neighborhood communication, particularly with non-English speaking residents.
• Promote community organizing and development of advocacy groups and neighborhood associations that are inclusive and incorporate all voices of their community.
• Promote economic development and creation of neighborhood-based jobs and business opportunities.
• Improve the access and delivery of human service programs at the neighborhood level.
  

III. ELIGIBILITY

Non-profit organizations and agencies which have obtained tax-exempt status under Section 501(c)(3) of the IRS tax code and/or have incorporated under Chapter 181, Wisconsin Statutes, are eligible to apply for this program.

Unincorporated neighborhood resident groups are also encouraged to apply for this program. Prior to receiving funding, these groups (at the City’s discretion) may be required to secure a fiscal agent to disburse the grant monies received.

IV. FUNDS AVAILABILITY

Funds will be administered by the Mayor’s Office under the direction of the Neighborhood/Community Liaison. Funding requests will be reviewed by the Mayor’s Office in conjunction with representatives from Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), Community Services, Planning Unit, a neighborhood representative and the Common Council President or designee. Funding recommendations will be submitted to the Mayor and Common Council for approval.

A total of $25,400 is available for the remaining of 2007. Grant amounts may range from $2500 to $10,000.

Funding proposals may be for one year only or multi-year, if applicable, to correspond to funding timelines of the United Way of Dane County, Madison Community Foundation, City of Madison Community Development Block Grant Program and Community Resources Program, Dane County Human Services or other funding sources.

Funding can be used for childcare, tuition assistance, housing, neighborhood revitilization, early childhood education and other programs to enhance the quality of life in the City’s emerging neighborhoods, which includes:

• Costs for staff hours
• Operating costs such as office supplies, telephone, postage, printing, training, rent, transportation, insurance and bookkeeping/audit fees
• Fees and scholarships
• Program supplies and equipment
• Capital costs necessary to operate a program may be approved if integral to the program and funding is unavailable from other sources
• Other budget requests may be considered but will be at the discretion of the City of Madison review team.
  

V. REVIEW PROCESS AND CRITERIA FOR SELECTION

A review team comprised of representatives from the Mayor’s Office, CDBG, Community Services, a neighborhood representative, and the Common Council President, or designee will evaluate proposals based on the following criteria:

• Extent to which the proposed program will build relationships, networks and alliances across the neighborhood and across issues.
• Extent to which the proposed program demonstrates an innovative approach to address a neighborhood need.
• Extent to which the proposed program documents the grassroots involvement of neighborhood residents, particularly their skills, knowledge and experience, to address a neighborhood issue or concern.
• Extent to which the proposed program strengthens existing services or builds on a neighborhood asset.
• Extent to which the proposed program demonstrates long-term sustainability through matching funds, volunteer support or other resources.
  

VI. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

All grant recipients will be required to submit periodic service and financial reports for the term of the Agreement. Report deadlines and specific reporting agreements will be established in the agreement with the City.

VII. SUBMITTAL OF APPLICATION

Submit your original proposal and six copies, either through the mail to the City of Madison, Mayor’s Office, 210 Martin Luther King, Jr., Blvd., Room 403, Madison, WI 53703, or hand deliver to the Mayor’s Office, Room, 403, City County Building, 210 Martin Luther King, Jr., Blvd.

Proposals must be received no later than 4:30 p.m. onWednesday, November 28, 2007.

VIII. TIMELINE

Proposals due in Mayor’s Office 4:30 p.m., November 28, 2007
Proposed review November 30, 2007
Common Council December 4, 2007
Contracts prepared and programs initiated Week of December 10, 2007*
(Note, funds may be carried over into 2008 if needed to accomplish the initiative)

*Tentative dates subject to change

IX. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AND CONTACT PEOPLE

Questions and requests for technical assistance or questions concerning the program guidelines or application form may be directed to either of the following people:

Enis Ragland, Office of Community Services at 266-6520 or eragland@cityofmadison.com or
Lorri Wendorf, Office of Community Services at 261-9121, Ext. 260 or lwendorf@cityofmadison.com Read more!

Workers' Rights Picket Cancelled, but Childcare needs your help!

This just in from the Worker's Rights Center . . . and Wisconsin Council on Families and Children

The WRC Board has called off the picket scheduled at La Hacienda for Wednesday, July 25 at 5pm as a show of good faith to representatives from a number of community organizations working to resolve the dispute. Representatives from the WRC board will be meeting early next week with the owner of La Hacienda to discuss the wage and hour complaints. We will keep supporters posted on developments. The WRC board would like to acknowledge the overwhelming support that the community has show as the key that has brought the owner to the table.

Patrick Hickey
WRC Director

However, childcare issues could use your support tomorrow. This is from the Wisconsin Council on Families and Children. And its only part of the picture of how childcare funding is being slashed at the state capital.

Help Ensure Wisconsin’s Budget Reflects Our Values!

Every parent who needs it should have access to high quality early care and education for their children.

Wisconsin Shares funding is in jeopardy. Wisconsin child care providers need your help to maintain the bipartisan funding package for WI Shares and quality improvement initiatives.

Budget Background: The Wisconsin legislature is continuing its work on the state budget. The eight legislators who make up the conference committee (see bottom of email for names & contact information) are expected to start their work on the state budget this week. They face the daunting task of trying to reconcile vastly different Senate and Assembly versions of the budget – budgets with very different priorities. Whatever budget document the conference committee comes up with goes back to the Senate and the Assembly for up or down votes (no amendments or changes are allowed) and then to the Governor.

What can you do to help make sure that WI Shares is protected?

1. Contact the Conference Committee:

Take 2 minutes THIS WEEK and email all 8 members of the conference committee with the touch of a button! Click the Take Action button above you will have a sample message ready to add to and/or send as is. Thanks!

2. Join us for the Wisconsin Values Event

State Capitol Building, Senate Parlor
Thursday, July 26th @ 11:00 a.m.

The Wisconsin Values Event: A large and diverse set of organizations (including SEIU, AARP, AFT, AFSCME, Wisconsin Counties Association, WI Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Planned Parenthood, Wisconsin Early Childhood Association and the Wisconsin Council on Children & Families) are coming together this Thursday, July 26th for this Wisconsin Values event to provide an opportunity for policy-makers, the public and the media to hear from individuals whose daily lives are impacted by the decisions on this budget. These individuals could be our neighbors, our friends, or members of our families. Like all of us, they value good schools, access to health care and child care, protection for our most vulnerable residents, strong communities, and higher education.

You’re invited: To ensure that the state legislature sees the strength represented in our collective voices, we need you to join us at the Capitol this Thursday morning! The event will last less than an hour, and participants will then stop by conference committee members’ offices to deliver a Wisconsin Values message about the budget. Your participation in this event is critically important and we hope you can take the time to join us.

More information about the state budget is available on WCCF’s website: www.wccf.org

Questions? Contact Vicky Selkowe at WCCF at vselkowe@wccf.org or (608) 284-0580, ext. 326.

This morning, the City's Early Education and Childcare Committee had to make recommendations to request supplemental funding in the City's budget for the following programs due to CCCI State funding cuts that are likely to affect the following programs:

• Dane County Parent Council - Latino/Hispanic Program $13,930
• Rainbow Pride Project $23,483
• Community Coordinated Child Care - Latino Child Care Project $26,985
• Wexford Ridge - Elementary AFter School and Summer Camp $5,300

That's on top of the cuts we made because of the Mayors 3% cut budget instructions, where funding was cut for:

• Simpson Street Free Press - Elementary School Summer Writing Workshop $8,647
• Community Coordinated Child Care - Training and Professional Development $33,554
  

Those are completely different cuts than the cuts to Wisconsin Shares listed above, so childcare funding is getting hit all over the place, so please, if you have time, consider stopping by the State Capital or emailing in support of both Wisconsin Shares and CCCI funds.
Read more!

Childcare: Squandering Resources

So, I'm sitting in the Early Childhood Care and Education Board meeting and we're talking about the lack of quality childcare for the 321 children ages 0-5 in Allied Drive involved in W2 caseloads. From the report:

Child care options currently available in Allied Drive are few. They include two licensed Centers: Dane County Parent Council and Small Wonders, along with a limited number of regulated in-home child care providers.

On November 18, 2006 the Department of Health and Family Service Bureau Regulation and Licensing revoked the child care license of Small Wonders for habitual violations of licensing regulations. Small Wonders has appealed the revocation. The appeal hearing was originally scheduled for June 19, 2997, but has been postponed while the owner tries to sell the business. Small Wonders currently serves approximately 25 children but has a licensing capacity of 49. With the likelihood of Small Wonders closing, 25 children will be displaced, with a need to find alternative child care.

Dane County Parent Council (DCPC) provides part-day Head Start programming as well as full-day child care at two locations (Red Arrow and Verona Road). The children enrolled in DCPC programs consist of children from the Allied neighborhood as well as surrounding neighborhoods.

While the DCPC has 206 kids enrolled, it has a waiting list of 123. Also from the report:

W2 requirements often necessitate a parent finding care immediately in order to stay eligible for the program. A parent’s main concern for child care becomes cost and location, and the urgency of the situation leaves little time or ability to inquire about quality. Dane County Parent Council reports that many families on the waiting list have lost their child care funding, as a direct result of not securing child care which, in turn, affects their ability to obtain employment.

With recent changes in W2, low-income families are faced with higher child care co-payments to the centers/providers. Families are even less able to make these payments, which can be as high as $84 a week, or more than $4300, for a family with 2 children and an income of $11,000 a year. Because families cannot make the payments, programs serving a high percentage of low-income families often operate at a deficit due to uncollected fees. Without a stable source of income, the sustainability of quality child care programs is jeopardized. If instead a center determines that it cannot serve low income families, the quality of care for the children in the families suffers.

Meanwhile, remember that on February 1, 2005 (that's not a typo, it was over 2 years ago), the council passed a resolution where we were given land and $300,000 to develop a childcare facility in the Allied Drive area. Once again, nothing has happened. Even worse, I understand that the Director of the Department of whatever-silly-name-we-gave-it, formerly known as the Department of Planning and Development did not include a capital budget request to leverage the existing resources (land and money) when there was a proposal prepared as follows:

Provide City of Madison capital budget funding needed to construct and provide for the start-up costs of a model center for early education and care. The City, working in partnership with the University of Wisconsin has developed a design for a 11,000+ square foot child care center for 80 children ranging in age from 6 weeks to 6 years, with the goal of serving 40 children from the Allied Drive area and 40 children of University faculty, staff and graduate students. Research shows that children in integrated economic settings make larger gains in critical areas than children whose only peers are also low income.

Collaboration between the City of Madison, the University and Dane County Parent Council will focus on combined missions of teaching, research, outreach, service to low income families and economic revitalization. The proposed center will provide the highest quality of education and care to develop competency in social, academic and problem solving skills. Low income children will be retained in the center through periods of parent unemployment, so that gains are not lost due to repeated absences. This will help facilitate stabilization of the family, making job seeking and permanent employment easier.

When the City of Madison partnered with Gorman & Company in the development of Avalon Madison Village, the City received, as part of that project, $300,000 from the sales price of the land to Gorman & Company to be used as a match for development of a child care center and a 17,556 square foot parcel via Warranty Deed to develop a child care center.

A request of $2.3 million will cover construction and start-up costs based on the space program for the center developed/proposed.

In addition, there would need to be an operating subsidy to allow the center to serve low-income children whose families have unrealistic co-payments under the current Wisconsin Shares program.

Meanwhile . . . tick. tock. And meanwhile, families and kids are being negatively impacted by our lack of action.
Read more!

When $70M still isn't enough . . .

"Crisis" isn't a word you throw around loosely, but folks, I think we have a childcare crisis. The cost of childcare is growing for the average worker, childcare workers still aren't getting paid adequately and its growing increasingly difficult for high quality day care centers to serve low income children.

The "good news" is that the State Joint Finance Committee recently amended the governor's budget by $70.2M to increase the amounts of money for Wisconsin Shares. Wisconsin Shares is a program that helps working families pay for childcare. This program has been cut for the last two years and this amendment does nothing to restore those cuts.

The bad news is that they eliminated all other initiatives in the child care area, including the local matching grants for child care the the City of Madison relied on. These Local Child Care Initiatives were federal pass through dollars and funded several City of Madison child care programs. Locally, the following programs are at risk:

1. A half-time child care specialist position. Currently this is the City's lead person on afterschool child care.($36,776)

2. Direct grants to child care centers to help them achieve and maintain quality programs.($28,530)

3. The following Community programs ($64,398):

• Rainbow Project $23,483 to provide training and support for centers that serve children with emotional and behavioral issues

• 4Cs $26,985 for training and support groups for potential Hispanic family child care providers

• Satellite Child Care $13,930 for Hispanic Family Child Care recruitment and accreditation

In addition, the City of Madison will lose $6,827 in administrative support money that has helped the City send staff to training programs and build a database.

This, piled on top of all of the other recent changes like:

• changing the Dane County formula that determined how much assistance people on Wisconsin Shares received;

• reduction in reimbursement co-pays for poor families (extra $18 co-pay per week for families);

• ending the $50 annual registration fee reimbursement for families;

• childcare must be 35 hours per week (as opposed to 30-34) to qualify for full-time reimbursement;

• if families quit a daycare program without adequate notice, the they have to pay additional fees, the state will not reimburse them; and

• there was no a cost of living increase in the reimbursement rate for 2007.
  

I'm not an expert in this area, so I'm certain I've missed other recent changes that are exacerbating the situation. However, I don't need to be an expert in this area to see the stress this is adding to the working families in Madison and Dane County or the day care centers that are trying to serve these children. Something has got to change. Read more!

An agenda for the City

This spring's elections need to be about more than water, trolleys and taxes. Yes, our water needs to be safe to drink. What candidate isn't going to say that? Yes, we need to keep our taxes in line. What candidate isn't going to say that? And trolleys, well, there's so little support, or need, for them they're hardly worth talking about. We need to get down to some issues that the City of Madison will have to deal with in the next few years, that haven't gotten so much attention. Here's a list of things I worked with Progressive Dane members to come up with, that we hope to hear this spring's candidates talking about and hopefully supporting. Don't let candidates running for office get away with vague statements about supporting economic development and local small businesses, improving Madison Metro, supporting creation of affordable housing, etc. Ask them, what they intend to do to work on these issues. Here's a few of our ideas.

Economic Development

• We need the Economic Development Commission to finally get that Economic Development Plan for the City done. The last time we had a plan was 1983.
  
• We want to see a local small business bus pass purchasing pool so small businesses can provide free bus passes to their employees similar to programs of large employers at local hospitals and the University.
  
• We need a local purchasing preference for City purchases so that when we can, we keep our money in our local economy. (Local doesn't mean limiting our purchases to businesses in the City of Madison, we can look more broadly at the regional economy.)
  
• We need to make sure that when we talk about job creation, we are not only talking about high skilled bio-tech jobs, but instead, jobs that people with few skills can get into after some training and have a career path or chance for advancement.

TIF

• When talking about TIF, we need make sure that the City of Madison is setting the goals and priorities, not simply responding to individual developer proposals.
• We want to make sure that there are clear community benefits to providing TIF assistance. The City should set goals for the number of jobs and amount of workforce housing we need. We should also prioritize areas we feel are in need of redevelopment.
  
• We should work on methods to have TIF assist small businesses, perhaps by helping them buy affordable condo space for their businesses.
  
• High-end condos in the downtown are no longer needed to spur revitalization of the downtown; we need to be looking at workforce housing throughout the City.
  
• Finally, as with economic development, we want to make sure the jobs we create or retain with TIF funds are jobs that low skilled people can obtain with a little training and have opportunities for advancement.

Allied Drive

• We need a plan; an agreed upon strategy for redeveloping the neighborhood. We need this sooner rather than later. We need to agree how much affordable housing we want to have in the area and how affordable it will be. We need to agree on how much of the new housing will be rental vs. ownership.
  
• We need a clear strategy to keep people in the neighborhood, not pushing them around and simply moving low-income neighborhoods throughout the City as we have done in the past. Removing people from the neighborhood and moving in all new people should not be considered a success.
• As landlords are forced to clean up their properties, we need to make sure that families who are not a part of the problem are not displaced from the neighborhood. The City owned properties should be part of the solution to preventing displacement of current residents.
• We need to utilize the City owned properties to help residents with less than stellar rental records or credit records rehabilitate their records to help move them into successful housing - either rental or ownership, as appropriate.
  

Strong neighborhood services

• If we're going to have a "one stop shop" for businesses, we can have something similar for neighborhoods
• We need strong neighborhood plans for more areas of the City that are new to seeing development proposals.
• We need to be more customer-friendly to neighborhoods, not just for developers.

Neighborhood policing and preventative services

• We need more neighborhood officers, not less. We need officers in the neighborhoods in the evenings when social services providers go home for the day. Neighborhood policing is a key to prevention and removing the neighborhood officers is a step backwards.
• We need to be increasing preventative social services to address issues with people prior to turning to our busy police department for law enforcement.

Safe, affordable, reliable mass transportation

• We need mass transit in this City that works for the people who work non-traditional hours. 2nd and 3rd shift workers should be able to use the bus to get to work and home again. During the holidays, bus schedules should match extended retail hours.
• We need more frequent bus service so transit dependent people don't spend hours trying to get to where they need to go and to encourage more riders to feel like the bus is a viable option.
• Express buses between the transfer points and during peak hours.

Childcare

• When it comes to childcare, we need to continue to work to continue to fill the gap for those who have low-income jobs. If you're working and 50% or more of your income is going towards childcare, it quickly becomes unaffordable to live in this City. While we increased the funding for the childcare tuition assistance program this year, we still have not closed the gap.
  
• High quality affordable childcare is key to the future of our schools and our community. We need to work to make high quality childcare available and a viable option for more families in our community.

Affordable housing

• We need to fund the Affordable Housing Trust Fund. At the moment, it is going to take over 20 years before the fund grows to the point where it generates significant money to invest in affordable housing. Putting $300,000 - $500,000 a year into the fund is not putting our money to its best use. Capitalizing the fund quickly simply is more effective, it, too, is an investment in our future.
• We need an affordable housing strategy for Madison. With State restrictions on what we can do when it comes to affordable housing, we need to invest money into affordable housing and we need a strategy to do that most effectively.

Transparent, accessible government

• We need better information available to the public in a more timely manner.
• We need a clearer budget process with more information.
  
• Our public input process needs to be more meaningful and generally speaking, the public needs to feel like their voices are being heard and the government is serving them.

To sum it all up, our government has to work, not only for the business community, but also for the people that make the business community successful, their employees. An affordable safe place to live, an affordable dependable bus system to get to work, daycare that doesn't eat up half your paycheck and a job with opportunities for advancement are just as much basic services our government should be addressing as plowed streets and safe drinking water. We need to make sure Madison is a high quality place to live for everyone, not just catering to the needs of the business community.

p.s. More to come. I know there are criticisms of some of our issues and I will address them in the coming weeks.
Read more!

City Budget: Where it's at . . . (Part III: Operating Budget)

All that, for $1.03 increase over the Mayor's budget (with changes made at the Board of Estimates) on the average homeowner's tax bill . . . have mercy on my grammar etc today . . . I'm a little tired, but here it is . . . .

The first motion of the evening was to place the following items on file:

• Amendment #7 - cutting $100,000 for the downtown safety initiative
• Amendment #8 - cutting $300,000 from the affordable housing trust fund
• Amendment #9 - cutting $200,000 from the affordable housing trust fund
• Amendment #10 - adding $200,000 to the affordable housing trust fund (Ald. King added that in there as a show of good will)
  
• Amendment #12 - cutting funding for the police department Management Information Specialist and adding money for overtime actually added $4,250
• Amendment #14 - cutting $4,579 from the Common Council budget
• Amendment #15 - cutting $10,013 from the Mayor's budget
• Amendment #18 - requiring us to to zero-based budgeting
• Amendment #19 - cutting $8,008 for an Occupational Accommodations Specialist
• Amendment #32 - cutting $37,531 from various afterschool and summer youth programs and childcare
• Amendment #33 - cutting $89,200 from the agency that would replace the Women's Transit Authority
• Amendment #34 - cutting $44,375 for the ARC Community Services/Respect program (prostitute rehabilitation)
• Amendment #37 - cutting funding to existing planning councils by dividing their money among 4 planning councils instead of three

Ald. Brandon, knowing he didn't have the votes, offered to essentially withdraw those items from consideration. Needless to say, it was unanimous. And we all appreciate Ald. Brandon's decision to do that and the good nature in which he took the bit of teasing we gave to him. That couldn't have been easy.

Amendment #11 - A substitute motion was made to do the following:

Increase General Fund Room Tax Revenue by $350,000 from $683,200 to $1,033,200 and provide Room Tax Funding of $350,000 to decrease the General Fund subsidy to the Overture Center.

This effectively uses 1/2 of the additional revenue generated by increasing the Room Tax rate from 8% to 9% to reduce the property tax levy. This amendment also results in a decrease of $350,000 in the projected balance available in the Room Tax Fund at the end of 2007.

This amendment included a "Footnote to council members: Those voting "YES" last year...Konkel, Cnare, Verveer, Webber, Olson, Brandon, King, Golden, Benford, Palm (Gruber excused). And he's right, last year, I made essentially the same motion(s).

Amendment #10 - Agency/Service: Room Tax Fund/Estimated Total Room Tax Receipts - Page(s): 16
Sponsor(s): Alds. Konkel, King

Raise the Room tax by .5 percent (from 8 percent to 8.5 percent).

Room Tax Receipts (Increase) $ (430,000)
Total $ (430,000) Levy Impact: $ -
(Note: Funding is in the Room Tax Fund; therefore, there is no impact on the levy.)
Amendment No. 11

Agency/Service: Room Tax Fund/Transfer to Overture Center
Page(s): 16, 78; Supplement page 73
Sponsor(s): Alds. Konkel, King

Provide Room Tax funding of $430,000 to decrease the General Fund subsidy to the Overture Center.

Room Tax Uses/Other $ 4 30,000
Overture/Trf. From Room Tax (new) $ (430,000)
Total $ - Levy Impact: $(430,000)

This year, the votes were as follows:
Yes - Webber, Benford, Brandon, Cnare, Golden, Gruber, King, Konkel, Palm, Sanborn, Skidmore
No - Bruer, Compton, Knox, Olson, Radomski, Rosas, Thomas, VanRooy, Verveer

Interesting set of flip-flops.

Amendment #13 - The original amendment would have made the 10 new police officers neighborhood officers. After asking the police chief some questions about previous police staffing committees and the plan for how they were spending the $50,000 for a staffing study, I offered the following substitute:

A police staffing subcommittee shall be established by the Common Council to review the police staffing report funded in the 2007 budget, if completed, and shall make recommendations to the Common Council and Police Chief which shall include, but not be limited to recommendations regarding the number of neighborhood officers, the staffing levels for Community Policing Teams and other community policing initiatives. This committee shall report back to the Common Council by October 1, 2007.

There were several amendments and friendly amendments to this and we voted on if the language should just say:

A committee shall be established by the Common Council to provide input in the creation of a the police staffing report funded in the 2007 budget.

That motion failed on a voice vote.

Then we went back to the substitute language above. At issue was whether the Council gets input into major policing philosophy changes or if we just hire the police cheif and let him make the decisions. I was hoping we could have a community discussion about what community policing means to us. However, that motion failed. Votes were as follows:
Yes - Webber, Benford, King, Konkel, Olson, Sanborn, Skidmore, Verveer
No - Brandon, Bruer, Cnare, Compton, Gruber, Knox, Palm, Radomski, Rosas, Thomas, VanRooy
Present: Golden (this essentially means they don't cast a vote in favor or against)

Amendment #16 - $19,371 for AASPIRE interns - passed on a voice vote

Amendment #17 - $10,000 for sign language interpreters - passed on a voice vote.

Amendment #20 - There was a substitute motion that add 2 arborists instead of the 6 that were originally proposed. I'll have to find that motion and come back and fill in the details. The motion passed on a voice vote

Amendment #22 - Raised admission prices for the pool. $.25 for children, $.50 for adults and $10 for seasonal passes. The motion passed.
Yes: Benford, Brandon, Bruer, Cnare, Compton, Golden, Knox, Olson, Palm, Radomski, Sanborn, Skidmore, Thomas, VanRooy, Verveer
No: Webber, Gruber, King, Konkel, Rosas

Amendment #23 - This amendment was originally in the motion to place on file by Ald. Brandon, but Ald. King pulled it out of that motion. It would have saved $15,000 and then spent $500 for the fans. It would have had no impact on the taxpayer as the saved money would have gone into a reserve for the Pool. The motion would have denied air conditioning to the concession stands at the swimming pool and instead, put in fans. The discussion was about if we owed it to our hot sweaty employees to provide air conditioning in a place that was often over 100 degrees and air condition the outdoors, or if we should save money and have unhappy, uncomfortable employees working in miserable conditions. It was a tough one for many. Alders Webber and Golden voted present/abstained. The motion failed.
Yes: Brandon, Cnare, Compton, King, Palm, Sanborn, Skidmore, Thomas
No: Benford, Bruer, Golden, Gruber, Knox, Konkel, Olson, Radomski, VanRooy, Verveer

Amendment #24 - $5,000 for AASPIRE intern for the Office of the Director of Planning and Development. Passed on a voice vote without comment.

Amendment #25 - There was a substitute to the proposed amendment that would have referred the reorganization of the Department of Planning and Development to the Common Council Organizational Committee. That amendment read as follows:

Department of Planning and Development Reorganization:

1. The Budget is intended to make the necessary financial changes to allow the Department of Planning and Development reorganization to go forward.

2. Implementation of the department and unit name changes and the creation of the proposed Economic Development Unit to be made up of the Office of Business Resources, the current Community and Economic Development Unit, Real Estate, Community Development Block Grant Office, Office of Community Services and the Senior Center shall be subject to further approval of the Common Council by majority vote. These issues will be taken up when the Common Council considers ordinance #04859. Ordinance #04859 is hereby additionally referred to the Plan Commission. Rejection or alterations of the ordinance shall be accomplished by a simple majority vote. Rejection or alterations will not require a budget amendment.

3. The issue of Neighborhood Services shall be further studied by a joint committee of two (2) plan commissioners, two (2) Community Development Block Grant commissioners, two (2) members of the Office of Community Services commissioners and 1 mayoral appointment. This group shall study services to neighborhoods and, after consulting with planning councils and neighborhood associations, report their recommendations to the Common Council by June 1, 2007 for consideration in the 2008 budget. This committee shall be staffed by the Director of Planning and Development and/or his designee.

This passed without comment on a voice vote.

Amendment #26 - $50,000 for neighborhood planning grants. Passed on a voice vote.

Amendment #27 - $5,000 for "Jobs with a Future". Passed on a voice vote.

Amendment #28 - $41,280 for a "Neighborhood Ombudsman. This was placed on file because of Amendment #25 in hopes that the committee in #3 can discuss this and make a recommendation.

Amendment #29 - $18,920 in savings because it will take time to hire the new Neighborhood Planner. Passed on a voice vote.

Amendment #30 - $25,000 for the Salvation Army for the warming shelter. Passed on a voice vote.

Amendment #31 - $30,000 for the Wisconsin Youth Company for running a neighborhood center and afterschool child care programming. Passed on a voice vote.

Amendment #35 - $21,000 to TlJ. Brokerage Firm to provide 12-week life skills training program for low-income or disadvantaged adults. Passed on a voice vote.

Amendment # 36 - $33,000 for the Westside Planning Council. Alot of discussion on this one. Mostly the issue was whether they were ready and/or if there was enough support. Motion passed.
Yes: Webber, Benford, Bruer, Gruber, King, Knox, Konkel, Olson, Rosas, VanRooy, Verveer
No: Brandon, Cnare, Compton, Golden, Palm, Radomski, Sanborn, Skidmore, Thomas

Amendment #38 - $23,000 for the Neighborhood House for a half-time program assistant. This was a long and tortured discussion that had more to do with how we decide what to fund than the needs of the over-worked staff at the Neighborhood House. Most bizarre comment of the evening to me was when Ald. Cindy Thomas, after getting $30,000 for her neighborhood center in her district, launched into a tirade about how we can't fund things outside of the CDBG and Office of Community Services process. Motion passed on a voice vote.

Amendment #40 - $10,000 for adult and children's programming at the Library.
Yes: Webber, Benford, Bruer, Golden, Gruber, King, Knox, Konkel, Olson, Rosas, Verveer
No: Brandon, Cnare, Compton, Palm, Radomski, Sanborn, Skidmore, Thomas, VanRooy

Amendment #41 - This one was introduced from the floor by Ald. Cnare and Olson. Passed on a voice vote.

Allocate $43,000 from the former Women's Transit Authority ride service 2006 unused money to support start-up costs for the transportation service provider that will be selected after a formal RFP process. The allocation must be matched by donations of cash or materials/supplies secured by the selected provider. In the event no provider is selected, the City's $43,000 will revert to the General Fund.

Amendment #42 - This one was introduced from the floor by Ald. King. The following motion passed on a voice vote. The following people added their names as a co-sponsors - Mayor Cieslewicz, Golden, Benford, Bruer, Golden, Knox, Konkel, Rosas, VanRooy, Verveer, Webber.

Final vote on the budget.
Yes: Webber, Benford, Bruer, Cnare, Golden, Gruber, King, Knox, Konkel, Olson, Palm, Radomski, Rosas, Sanborn, VanRooy, Verveer
No: Brandon, Compton, Skidmore, Thomas

And what did all of this get us . . .
We increased spending by $471,000.
We increased revenues by $350,000
So, we increased the amount we need to tax by $121,784
This is a total 5.1% total increase
The mill rate is at 7.2138
The taxes on the average home (about 239,500) is $1727 for the City's portion
The council actions increased the mayor's budget by .022% or increased the taxes on the average home by $1.03.

More to come, after I get some sleep . . . .

Read more!

City Budget: Where it's at . . . (Part II: Operating Budget)

At 10:30 last night, we started the Operating Budget, here's the run down . . .

Amendment #1 - $66,000 for paid sick leave for City employees. Passed unanimously on a voice vote.

Amendment #2 & #3 - Cutting $10,000 in funding for the Sister City Program or in the alternative adding $10,000 so there was $20,000 total, but taking the additional $10,000 from the Room Tax funds. Ald. Brandon first moved his proposal to cut the $10,000 entirely. Ald. King then moved his proposal to give the Sister City Program $20,000 but taking $10,000 from the Room Tax funds designated to go to the Greater Madison Convention and Visitors Bureau (GMCVB). Ald. Brandon then amended that to reduce the funding to $10,000 and take it from the Room Tax reserves. So, here's the votes . . .

Giving the Sister Cities $10,000 but taking it from the Room Tax Reserves (by the way - Ald. Brandon said if this motion passed, he'd never bring another motion to cut the Sister Cities program) - Yes votes included Webber, Benford, Brandon, Bruer, Golden, Gruber, Knox, Konkel, Olson, Palm. No votes included Cnare, Compton, King, Radomski, Rosas, Sanborn, Skidmore, Thomas, Verveer. VanRooy absent.

So then we voted on Alder King's original amendment, amendment #3. This would have given the Sister Cities $20,000 and taken it from the GMCVB. Yes votes included Webber, Benford, Gruber, King, Konkel, Olson, Verveer. No votes included Brandon, Bruer, Cnare, Compton, Golden, Knox, Palm, Radomski, Rosas, Sanborn, Skidmore, Thomas. VanRooy absent.

So, then we voted on cutting the $10,000 and that failed. Voting to cut the $10,000 were Brandon, Cnare, Palm, Skidmore, Sanborn, Thomas. Voting to continue funding Sister Cities were Webber, Benford, Bruer, Compton, Golden, Gruber, King, Knox, Konkel, Olson, Radomski, Rosas, Verveer. VanRooy absent.

Amendment #4 - Cutting $5,000 from the Mayor's fund for various miscellaneous activities such as sponsorships and community meetings. Funny, no one called roll call on this one! Motion failed on a voice vote.

Amendment #5 - Cutting $18,000 from the Collaboration Council. This was Ken Golden's amendment. He made the point that we scrutinize all the CDBG and Office of Community Service and non-profit groups and yet we give money to the business community without asking them what they're going to do with the money or what goals they have and we don't ask for a report back on their successes. After discussion about how the running theme of the "we need to have a discussion" crowd was inconsistent with this funding, the motion was made to "place on file" and it passed on a voice vote.

Amendment #6 - This would have cut $100,000 from the Emerging Neighborhoods Funds, because there wasn't a plan. Alder Cnare had a substitute motion to modify a footnote in the budget that would state:

This funding is for childcare, tuition assistance, housing, neighborhood revitalization, early childhood education and other programs to enhance the quality of life in the City's emerging neighborhoods. These funds will be spent in the Allied Drive, Bridge Lake Point, Northside, Southwest area, and Southside neighborhoods. The allocation of the funds will be determined by a workgroup consisting of staff from the Mayor's Office, Community Services, CDBG and the Common Council President and will be approved by the Mayor an Common Council.

Several friendly amendments were made. They added the Planning Unit to the workgroup. They allowed the Council President to appoint a "designee" and the eliminated the sentence that says which neighborhoods the funds would be spent in, ironically, because now, it was too specific.

At this point it was about 11:20 and we tried to find some quick, easy amendments we could take care of so that we would not make those staff come back the following evening, so we took up two more items.

Amendment #21 - Adding $14,175 for funding for notification of neighbors when they are spraying for gypsy moths. Passed unanimously on a voice vote.

Amendment #39 - The damn coffee urn. They tried to cut $2,500 for a commercial grade, restaurant style coffee system. Once many of the sponsors saw a picture of what we were talking about, I think they rather sheepishly decided that it was money well spent. The motion failed on a voice vote.

And that's as far as we got. We continue tonight at 7:00 in Room 260 of the Municipal Building.
Read more!

What didn't make it in the budget requests . . .

The list is long . . . I've posted 56 requests from most departments here and the 30 police and fire requests here.

The long list of supplemental requests includes some pretty amazing things. The full list of community services items is at the bottom of this list but the list also includes:

Childcare assistance, Allied Drive Weed and Seed Coordinator, an Economic Development Plan, Homeless Services, Neighborhood Center, Community Gardens, Homeless Outreach on State St., Jobs for the Future, Library Books and Services, additional bus services, disability services, EOC outreach and education, sanding and snow removal services, health services for people with no insurance coverage, pedestrian safety programs, energy reduction programs, senior center items and services and some city employees. Take a look for yourself.

Below are the "various programs" being cut from Community Services.

COMMUNITY RESOURCES PROGRAM - 2007-2008

SUMMARY
Supplemental Requests of the Community Services Commission
for Program Areas II, IV, V, VI and VII

THE FOLLOWING SUPPLEMENTAL BUDGET REQUESTS ARE LISTED IN PRIORITY ORDER:

Rape Crisis Center
B. Community Education 11,695

Omega School
A. GED/Basic Skills 11,018
D. Spanish Language GED 10,000

Youth Integration Into Cultural and Recreational Activities:
Kanopy School for Contemporary Dance and Choreography
A. YIP - Kanopy Scholarship Support 3,431
Millennium Soccer Club
A. YIP - Youth Indoor Soccer 3,120
Simpson Street Free Press
C. YIP - Museum Series 2,242
TAPIT/ New Works
A. YIP - A Classical Act 4,252
Urban League of Greater Madison
G. YIP - Achieving Greatness Through Service Day 3,431
Vera Court Neighborhood Center
K. YIP - Integration 3,431

Neighborhood Center Core Costs
Boys and Girls Club/ Allied 1,611
Boys and Girls Club/ South 17,333

Agency to be Determined
B. Community Assistance Rides 18,284
A. Sexual Assault Prevention Ride Service 70,916

YWCA of Madison
K. Girl Neighborhood Power - Management 3,789

Wexford Ridge Neighborhood Center
C. Jefferson Youth Resource Center 2,795

Freedom, Inc.
B. Nkauj Hmoob: Southeast Asian Girl's Group 7,874

Kennedy Heights Neighborhood Center
D. Teen Program 3,274
H. Girl Neighborhood Power 3,789

Vera Court Neighborhood Center
E. Girl Neighborhood Power 3,500
F. Youth Leadership 3,789

YWCA of Madison
J. Girl Neighborhood Power-Southwest/Far West 10,789

Bridge/ Lake Point/ Waunona Neighborhood Center
G. Girl Neighborhood Power 3,789

Atwood Community Center
H. High School Leadership Council 4,693

East Madison Community Center
C. Youth Services 1,283

Wexford Ridge Neighborhood Center
D. Project Teen Build Up 10,138

Common Wealth Development
A. Youth Business Mentoring 7,500

Atwood Community Center
G. Girl Neighborhood Power 3,789

Simpson Street Free Press
A. Simpson Street Free Press 4,663

Neighborhood House Community Center
A. Youth and Families 18,768

Wexford Ridge Neighborhood Center
F. Women Rise Up! 5,373

East Isthmus Neighborhoods Planning Council
A. Operation and Community Organization 4,003

Porchlight
H. Transit for Jobs
The Community Services Commission supports this high priority program and believes it has been effective for the short time it has operated. The program is currently receiving Emerging Neighborhoods funding through the Mayor's office and we understand it is eligible for a second year of funding from that source. The Commission will recommend that the Mayor fund this program again in 2007 utilizing Emerging Neighborhoods funds. The Commission will reconsider 2008 funding for this program next year.

T.J.'s Support Brokerage Firm
A. Madison Apprenticeship Program
The Community Services Commission supports this high priority program and believes it has been effective for the short time it has operated. The program is currently receiving Emerging Neighborhoods funding through the Mayor's office and we understand it is eligible for a second year of funding from that source. The Commission will recommend that the Mayor fund this program again in 2007 utilizing Emerging Neighborhoods funds. The Commission will reconsider 2008 funding for this program next year.

SUPPLEMENTAL TOTAL FOR PROGRAM AREAS II, IV, V, VI AND VII: $264,362

COMMUNITY RESOURCES PROGRAM - 2007-2008
SUMMARY
Supplemental Requests of the Early Childhood Care and Education Board
for Program Area I

THE FOLLOWING SUPPLEMENTAL BUDGET REQUESTS ARE CONSIDERED TO BE OF EQUAL PRIORITY BY THE EARLY CHILDHOOD CARE AND EDUCATION BOARD:

Bridge/ Lake Point/ Waunona Neighborhood Center
F. Children 13,500

Community Coordinated Child Care
C. Training and Professional Development 32,555

Dane County Parent Council
A. Satellite Family Child Care 19,760

East Madison Community Center
A. Children Development Services 3,079
B. Summer Youth Program 1,022

Kennedy Heights Neighborhood Center
A. Early Childhood Program 2,286
B. Children's Program 6,335

Neighborhood House
C. Summer Children's Program 6,309

Vera Court Neighborhood Center
B. Children 5,000
L. Life as a Boy 12,096

Wexford Ridge
B. Elementary After School & Summer Camp NA

Wisconsin Youth Company
A. After School 40,000
The Early Childhood Care and Education Board recommends funding of $40,000 for this new program to meet the very high need and growning need for elementaly school age programming in southwest Madison. Wisconsin Youth Company does not have funding to provide a consistent after school program for children. The Company is also seeking renewal of the $40,000 grant to keep their facility open, and has used its own resources to fund part of the required renovations. The Early Childhood Care and Education Board request relies on this renewal funding as a base for the after school program they support.

SUPPLEMENTAL TOTAL FOR PROGRAM AREA I: $141,942

Supplemental Requests of the Senior Citizens Advisory Committee
for Program Area III

Priority
THE FOLLOWING SUPPLEMENTAL BUDGET REQUESTS ARE CONSIDERED TO BE OF EQUAL PRIORITY BY THE SENIOR CITIZENS ADVISORY COMMITTEE:

Restoration of funding for Focal-Point Based Community Assistance to the following agencies:

East Madison Monona Coalition of the Aging 1,328

North/Eastside Senior Coalition 2,589

South Madison Coalition of the Elderly 2,544

West Madison Senior Coalition 1,828

Restoration of funding for Senior Activities/ Volunteer Opportunities to the following agencies:

Atwood Community Center 558

Neighborhood House 242

North/Eastside Senior Coalition 3,192

West Madison Senior Coalition 9,034

Retired and Senior Volunteer Program 6,745

WilMar Neighborhood Center 2,958

South Madison Coalition of the Elderly 352

United Asian Services of WI 414


THE FOLLOWING SUPPLEMENTAL BUDGET REQUESTS AND ARE LISTED IN PRIORITY ORDER:

1. Freedom, Inc.
Cambodian Wisdom Project 5,000

2. Bridge/ Lake Point/ Waunona Neighborhood Center
Senior Program 2,000

3. South Madison Coalition of the Elderly
Client Directed Case Management 8,500

4. United Asian Services of WI
Senior Services Expansion 1,350

SUPPLEMENTAL TOTAL FOR PROGRAM AREA III: $48,634 Read more!

City of Madison Children: Left Behind (Part I)

In 2006 the City of Madison is funding childcare and early childhood education programs to the tune of $692,715. These programs provide for early childcare, after school programming, summer programming, as well as data and training for various programs. This year, we recieved applications to the tune of $857,036.

The Early Childhood Care and Education Board made original decisions based on priorities passed by the council and depending upon a 3.6% COLA increase for agencies. That number is the Consumer Price Index last February. (If you ask me, that's the wrong index and given that agencies have health care costs that are at a pace much higher than that and employees still need raises, the number is likely low. ) However, even at this low cost of living increase, there were many agencies that did not get what they needed to serve the kids in their neighborhoods. Worse yet, there was essentially no new programming or expansions for the ever growing City of Madison.

Given that the Community Services Board and the Early Childhood Education and Childcare Board long ago decided that across the board cuts were hurting all the agencies, they made a list of priorities and give the COLA increases to the agencies every year, leaving some programs unfunded, but trying to support the programs that are funded at a meaningful, if not adequate level.

In the first round of funding we recommended funding for the following assuming funding staying at last year's funding level:

Atwood Community Center
$44,543 Children and Youth (Summer)
$37,717 Community Preschool
$35,911 Lowell Afterschool Child Care

Bayview Foundation
$12,567 After School Program
$7,566 Summer Recreation Program

4C's (Community Coordinated Child Care)
$38,100 Child Care Data
$8,955 Latino Child Care Project (Partially UNFUNDED - Requested $35,980)

Dane County Parent Council
$238,789 Satellite Family Care Child Care
$34,191 Wexford Infant/Toddler Program
$37,981 Preschool Enrichment Program (PEP)
$7,310 Wee Start Program
$1,804 Latino/Hispanic Program (Partially UNFUNDED - Requested $7,216)

East Madison Community Center
$22,035 Children Development Services (See UNFUNDED portion below - A)
$15,929 Summer Youth Program (See UNFUNDED portion below - B)

Kennedy Heights Neighborhood Center
$36,700 Early Childhood Program
$11,807 Children's Program (See UNFUNDED portion below - C)

Neighborhood House
$15,245 Summer Children's Program (See UNFUNDED portion below - D)

The Rainbow Project
$20,733 PRIDE Project

Vera Court Neighborhood Center
$17,879 Children's Program (See UNFUNDED portion below - E)

Wexford Ridge Neighborhood Center
$32,398 Elementary After School & Summer Camp (See UNFUNDED portion below - F)

YWCA of Madison
$11,142 Children's Programs

Based on the Mayor's budget instructions:
UNFUNDED -- When we heard the news that the Mayor was looking for a 3% cut, we had to cut from the programs above an additional $19,760 from the Dane County Parent Council Satellite Family Childcare Program and $6,164 from Kennedy Heights Early Childhood Program.

We also had to tell those who we recommended for funding if the Mayor gave us the minimal 3.6% COLA increase that we could not fund them, cutting the following programs as follows:

UNFUNDED -- Kennedy Heights Neighborhood Center
$6,635 Children's Programs (C)

UNFUNDED -- Vera Court Neighborhood Center
$12,096 Life as a Boy

In our original decisions we were not able to fund the following programs or program expansions:

UNFUNDED -- 4C's (Community Coordinated Child Care)
$32,555 Training and Professional Development

UNFUNDED -- Bridge/lake Point/Waunona Neighborhood Center
$13,500 Children's Programs

UNFUNDED -- Wisconsin Youth Company
$58,806 After School Programs

UNFUNDED -- Neighborhood House
$6,309 Summer Children's Programs (D)

UNFUNDED -- East Madison Community Center
$3,709 Children Development Services (A)

UNFUNDED -- Vera Court Neighborhood Center
$5,000 Children's Programs (E)

UNFUNDED -- East Madison Community Center
$1,022 Summer Youth Program (B)

UNFUNDED -- Wexford Ridge
$8,055 Elementary After School and Summer (F)

UNFUNDED -- Simpson Street Free Press
$16,000 Elementary School Summer Writing

Given that we keep approving all this sprawl to improve our taxbase, the fact that we don't have money to expand these much needed programs, something seems amiss.
Read more!

Holes in our Safety Net

Ok, I'm not sure I fully understand the full impact of the new rules about child support and W-2 payments but I do understand the very hard working women who work in my office. I understand that they were visibly upset because they are going to have to exist on a whole lot less money than they were before. Why? Because the federal government decided that the child support they were receiving will be used to reduce the payments they get for participating in W-2. I understand they are worried about how the new rules would effect their food stamps, and childcare assistance, and mileage and how were they going to pay their rent? I also understand, as Lisa Subeck very eloquently points out, that the W-2 system is less than perfect. Ok, it downright sucks. I also realize, that these hard working women who have so many medical and other life issues, are doing the best they can to survive in world of rules I can't begin to try to understand, even with my law degree.

What I can't understand, is why, today, when there was a client in my office that was having a major life crisis, the "safety net" seemed to have so many holes in it. And instead of the "safety net" working, a woman in my office, who was receiving W-2 assistance herself, offered a homeless woman a warm, safe place to sleep tonight.

I missed the beginning of the story, as I was out of the office. However, I came back to the office and there was a woman who was speaking in very broken English talking on the one of our phones, and she was crying. (OK, that part wasn't so unusual) She was explaining how she couldn't go back to her home because her roommate had threatened to kill her child. Since she was having trouble expressing herself, the woman in my office that receives W-2 assistance if she volunteers in my office x numbers of hours a week was helping her explain her situation to various social service agencies. This client made multiple phone calls, and used our office to receive some return calls. After numerous calls, and subsequent rejections from several social service agencies around town who were all full (including the Domestic Abuse shelter who told her to go home and that they would call her back there - I really hope there was some miscommunication here!) the woman decided to go to the Salvation Army (who had already told her that they were full). She was going to try to see if she could get into the "Warming Shelter" (why didn't the Salvation Army tell her this was an option?), which is an opportunity for 14 desperate people to sleep on a mattress in the hallway to avoid freezing to death. No one in our office had much hope she would get in and told her to come back if nothing worked out. (Up to this point, still, nothing unusual.) As the woman was leaving, the woman who receives W-2 assistance wrote down her home and work phone number on a piece of paper. She said to the woman "If you don't find a safe place to sleep tonight, call me and you can stay at my house. Even if you're still having problems a month from now, call me." The client gave the woman who works for us a big long hug, and thanked her for her warmth and understanding.

I've been doing this for more than 10 years, and I learned a long time ago, you can't take clients home with you and there are only so many hotel rooms, security deposits and "eviction prevention" payments you can personally pay for. However, the kindness of the human spirit never ceases to amaze me . . . and the failure of the safety net never fails to disappoint and anger me.

As my friend Nan Cheney has been known to say, no, demand of elected officials "Do Better." We definitely need to do better. Read more!