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Wisconsin Shares child care subsidy program

Description:
The Wisconsin Shares program assists low-income working families and Wisconsin Works (W-2) participants in paying for child care. Since July 1, 2008, the Department of Children and Families (DCF) has been responsible for administering the program. DCF directly regulates licensed family providers, who may care for up to eight children, and licensed group providers, which are typically larger entities that may care for nine or more children. DCF also establishes the requirements for oversight of certified providers, who may care for no more than six children, by county and tribal agencies. Previously, the Department of Health and Family Services and the Department of Workforce Development (DWD) shared responsibility for these functions. DCF contracts with county and tribal agencies to determine participants' eligibility for Wisconsin Shares and other public assistance programs. Federal and state funds are used to pay for child care subsidies and the program's administrative costs. In fiscal year (FY) 2007-08, program expenditures totaled $354.5 million, including $339.2 million for subsidy payments to providers. Federal revenue, including the Child Care Development Block Grant and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), funded $216.5 million in program costs. State general purpose revenue (GPR), which must match TANF funds, and segregated revenue totaled $138.0 million. A January 2009 account in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel questioned some participants' eligibility, reported incidents of potentially fraudulent or improper subsidy payments to providers, and publicized apparent violations of regulatory standards. In February 2009, the Joint Legislative Audit Committee approved a comprehensive audit of the Wisconsin Shares program. For this report, we reviewed selected aspects of program administration, including: demographic information for all Wisconsin Shares participants in December 2008; eligibility determinations for a random sample of 400 participants who received child care subsidies in 2008; wage records for 400 participants in a database maintained by DWD; daily attendance records maintained by a judgment sample of 45 child care providers to support their claims for subsidy payments under the program; and policies and procedures intended to ensure the program operates within federal and state requirements. (author abstract)
Resource Type:
Reports & Papers
Country:
United States
State(s)/Territories/Tribal Nation(s):
Wisconsin

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