{"id":14640,"date":"2025-01-08T12:18:27","date_gmt":"2025-01-08T13:18:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/?p=14640"},"modified":"2025-01-08T13:56:45","modified_gmt":"2025-01-08T13:56:45","slug":"transforming-futures-new-reforms-chart-a-pro-family-path-to-strengthen-wisconsins-child-welfare-system","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/?p=14640","title":{"rendered":"Transforming Futures: New Reforms Chart a Pro-Family Path to Strengthen Wisconsin\u2019s Child Welfare System"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>This post originally appeared at <a href=\"https:\/\/reforminggovernment.org\/transforming-futures-new-report-charts-a-pro-family-path-to-strengthen-wisconsins-child-welfare-system\/\">https:\/\/reforminggovernment.org\/transforming-futures-new-report-charts-a-pro-family-path-to-strengthen-wisconsins-child-welfare-system\/<\/a><\/p>\n<div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/IMG_9793.jpg\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" \/><\/div>\n<p><span>FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>Wednesday, January 8, 2025\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>Transforming Futures: New Reforms Chart a Pro-Family Path to Strengthen Wisconsin\u2019s Child Welfare System<\/b><\/p>\n<p><b>DELAFIELD, WI \u2013 <span>The Institute for Reforming Government (IRG) released\u00a0 groundbreaking <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/reforminggovernment.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Reforming-Child-Welfare-in-Wisconsin.pdf\"><span>reforms<\/span><\/a><span> on Wednesday aimed at transforming Wisconsin\u2019s child welfare system. <\/span><i><span>Building Brighter Futures: Reforming Child Welfare in Wisconsin <\/span><\/i><span>outlines five bipartisan opportunities to make meaningful changes that prioritize children\u2019s needs, strengthen families, and ensure every child has the chance to thrive in a loving home.<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n<p><b>WHY IT MATTERS<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span>IRG believes that children are best served when their voices are heard, their rights are respected, and their families are supported. This report highlights the urgent need for reforms in Wisconsin\u2019s child welfare system to ensure every child has the opportunity to live in a safe, loving, and permanent home. Children enter the child welfare system through no fault of their own and this report outlines how we can improve their lives now and ensure they have the best opportunity for success in the future.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>THE QUOTE<\/b><\/p>\n<p><i><span>\u201cEvery child deserves the opportunity to grow up in a safe, supportive, and permanent home. By focusing on pragmatic, bipartisan solutions, we can ensure that Wisconsin\u2019s most vulnerable children are given the protection and opportunities they deserve. This report charts a new bipartisan path for policymakers in Madison to consider.\u201d <\/span><\/i><b>\u2013 CJ Szafi<\/b><b>r, CEO, Institute for Reforming Government<\/b><\/p>\n<p><b>FIVE SOLUTIONS TO STRENGTHEN CHILD WELFARE<\/b><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Guaranteeing client-directed counsel for children of all ages<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<ul>\n<li><span>Wisconsin should join a growing trend of states that are moving toward guaranteed self-directed counsel for children entering the system at every age. Studies have shown that this model speeds up the path to permanency and creates better outcomes.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Eliminating unnecessary financial barriers to family reunification<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<ul>\n<li><span>Payments to the state or county should not remain a barrier to the reunification of a child with their family.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Protecting children from trafficking<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<ul>\n<li><span>The state can do more to provide education and implement new technologies to keep children safe.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Ensuring the preservation of their personal property<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<ul>\n<li><span>Any federal benefits received by a child in the system should stay with the child and not be taken to supplement the cost of their care. By setting these funds aside for future use when a child ages out of the system, they will have support to transition to adulthood.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Implementing an enforceable children\u2019s bill of rights<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<ul>\n<li><span>This vulnerable population needs to know what their rights are and know that they are enforceable. Wisconsin needs an enforceable children\u2019s bill of rights.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span>Wisconsin can and must do better for the most vulnerable in our state with these bipartisan solutions, even in divided government. These <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/reforminggovernment.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Reforming-Child-Welfare-in-Wisconsin.pdf\"><span>reforms<\/span><\/a><span> are just one step in working to improve the lives, the safety, and the futures of children in the child welfare system.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span>###<\/span><\/p>\n<p><i><span>The <\/span><\/i><a href=\"https:\/\/reforminggovernment.org\/\"><i><span>Institute for Reforming Government<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span> is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization that seeks to simplify government at every level by offering policy solutions to thought leaders in American government in the areas of tax reform, government inefficiency, and burdensome regulations.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This post originally appeared at https:\/\/reforminggovernment.org\/transforming-futures-new-report-charts-a-pro-family-path-to-strengthen-wisconsins-child-welfare-system\/ FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Wednesday, January 8, 2025\u00a0 Transforming Futures:&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":120,"featured_media":14642,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[22],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14640","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-institute-for-reforming-government"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14640","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/120"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=14640"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14640\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":14643,"href":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14640\/revisions\/14643"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/14642"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=14640"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=14640"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=14640"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}