A bipartisan motion from committee co-chairs Sen. Russ Decker, D-Weston, and Rep. Kitty Rhoades, R-Hudson, and Sen. Bob Jauch, D-Poplar, and Rep. Jeff Stone, R-Greendale, has been proposed to cover
budget papers 885-895.
Among the provisions, the motion modifies budget paper 886 to reflect reestimates for 2007-09 by decreasing the child care development block grant by $500,000 FED annually and increases estimated funding from Wisconsin Works by $500 PR annually to reflect reestimates of the revenue sources. It also decreases funding for benefits for the caretaker supplement by $177,000 annually to reflect projected program costs, and decreases funding for kinship care by $75,200 annually.
It also modifies the governor's recommendation to fund local administration of W-2 by reducing funding by $2.5 million FED annually. The amounts allocated for benefits would total $44 million in 07-08, and $43.3 million in 08-09.
In addition, the motion modifies the governor's recommendation to fund benefits for the next two years of the 2006-09 W-2 agency contracts by reducing funding by $1.04 million in 07-08 and $329,300 in 08-09.
The motion also limits the governor's proposal for a real work, real pay pilot project to 100 people, reducing funding by $152,800 FED in 07-08, and $1.6 million in 08-09, and deletes one FED position.
Deleted from the bill under the motion is the provision to extend W-2 grants to women who do not have children and who are in their third trimester of an at-risk pregnancy. Also deleted is the governor's proposal to extend grants to caretakers of newborn infants from 12 weeks to 26 weeks.
Under the motion, child care subsidies would be funded at $345.6 million FED in 07-08 and $355.4 million FED in 08-09. Deleted from the governor's proposal are provisions to adopt lower income eligibility requirements for the Wisconsin Shares child care subsidy program. The motion also deletes the governor's provision to authorize DWD to implement a child care waiting list for non-W-2 participants.
TANF funding for the earned income tax credit would be reduced by $14.5 million FED in 07-08 and $18.3 million FED in 08-09, which requires a reciprocal increase in GPR funding to fully fund EITC.
State funding for the administration of W-2 and TANF-related programs would be reduced by $845,500 in 07-08, and $856,000 in 08-09.
UPDATE: Motion deletes the Quality Rating System for Child Care Providers (budget paper
892)
In addition, the motion authorizes counties to investigate fraud in Wisconsin Shares and in W-2. Counties must provide to the state: (a) 50 percent of the fraud recoveries during the first month the county receives recoveries due to fraud investigation; (b) 66 percent of the fraud recoveries made during the second month the county receives recoveries due to fraud investigation; and (c) 100 percent of the fraud recoveries made during the third and subsequent months the county receives recoveries due to the investigations. Fraud recoveries received by the state from Wisconsin Shares would be put back into supporting Wisconsin Shares, and W-2 fraud recoveries would be used to support W-2.
Labels: TANF
