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Our latest research assesses Metro Milwaukee's progress on a range of metrics associated with knowledge and innovation. We find our region has made strides in increasing educational attainment levels and adding scientists, engineers, and technology workers to the regional talent pool. Yet, the news is not as encouraging with regard to entrepreneurship and capital formation. Key findings: (1) The Milwaukee area's talent pool is strengthening and appears to be competitive with our peers. Educational attainment is rising and the region's workforce is competitive with our comparison metro areas in its concentration of individuals employed in occupations associated with knowledge and innovation; (2) Our region is underperforming in its rates of business development and business survival. While entrepreneurship activity appears to have slowed nationally over the long term, the problem appears to be particularly acute in our region. In addition, metro Milwaukee's rate of business survival does not appear to make up for its sluggish pace of business creation; and (3) Capital formation remains an area of concern for the region. Federal grants and federally-guaranteed loans for business startups, expansions, and R&D activities have declined at a faster rate in metro Milwaukee than nationally, and Milwaukee underperforms almost all of the peer metro areas in attracting venture capital funding. [A grant from Bader Philanthropies made this report possible.]

The State of Wisconsin's YoungStar system was created by the Legislature and Governor in 2010 to "drive quality improvement in child care throughout the state." YoungStar uses a five-star system to rate child care providers based on several measures of quality, including staff education levels, learning environment, business methods, and health/safety. The program's stated goals are to "create a clear, understandable tool to help parents choose quality child care; create incentives for providers to improve services, particularly for low-income children; link the quality of child care providers to Wisconsin Shares payments; and help prevent fraud in the Wisconsin Shares system." In 2012 and 2013--as a follow-up to a multi-year research project that explored the economic impacts of high quality early childhood education--the Public Policy Forum published a pair of reports analyzing YoungStar's implementation. The reports covered the quality ratings received by child care providers in Milwaukee County and the challenges and opportunities for improving the quality of child care locally. Since that time, YoungStar has undergone changes and additions, and the quality ratings of child care providers have changed. This report provides an update on the impacts of YoungStar and how it has impacted child care quality in Milwaukee County. Specifically, it addresses the ratings of Milwaukee County providers and the accessibility of quality child care for Milwaukee County children and parents, as well as the tools and services available to providers to help them improve their YoungStar rating. Key findings include the following: (1) The majority of children receiving Wisconsin Shares subsidies in Milwaukee County (54%) are enrolled at 3 Star providers; (2) YoungStar is achieving success in moving 2 Star providers up the ratings scale; (3) Despite this overall success, home-based family providers appear to face unique difficulties in improving their YoungStar ratings; (4) Nearly one in five (19%) children receiving Wisconsin Shares subsidies in Milwaukee County is enrolled at a high-quality (4 or 5 Star) provider; (5) Two ZIP codes in Milwaukee County have no high-quality (4 or 5 Star) providers; (6) Barriers to improved ratings differ by star level, but appear to be consistent across child care provider types; and (7) YoungStar's tiered reimbursement system is producing increased total provider payments in Milwaukee County.

The authors' recent research has revealed that most afterschool programs in Milwaukee County have received relatively low ratings, and that their biggest hurdle to improving their scores often involved the educational qualifications of program staff. In light of the potential consequences of that finding--which include the possibility that the supply of afterschool providers could diminish because of the financial penalties imposed by YoungStar, Wisconsin's child care rating and improvement system, on poorly-rated providers--they determined that further analysis was warranted to explore the opportunities available for afterschool providers to enhance the educational qualifications of their staff. Their research is guided by the following key questions: (1) What educational standards do state policies establish for the staff of afterschool programs in Wisconsin, and how are programs in Milwaukee County doing in meeting those standards? and (2) If staff education is the most common hurdle preventing afterschool programs from improving their quality ratings, how high is the hurdle and how can it be overcome? The first section of this report reviews how afterschool programming overlaps with early childhood care in Wisconsin with regard to state licensing and funding. Next, the authors analyze data provided by the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families (DCF) and The Registry--an independent organization responsible for evaluating the educational credentials of child care professionals in Wisconsin--to gauge the extent to which staff education poses an obstacle for afterschool programs aspiring to improve their YoungStar ratings. Finally, they examine the potential to close training gaps for afterschool workers in Milwaukee County by assessing the supply of relevant coursework offered at area colleges and universities, the costs associated with those courses, and the availability of state resources to support afterschool professional development. Three case studies are also included that illustrate the varying degrees to which afterschool programs in Milwaukee County rely on Wisconsin Shares funding to support their programs.