Recent Changes in Wisconsin Welfare and Work, Child Care, and Child Welfare Systems. State Update No. 8. Assessing the New Federalism: An Urban Institute Program To Assess Changing Social Policies.

Wisconsin's new welfare program was a dramatic departure from the old income maintenance system of welfare and moved beyond other states' work-based welfare reform programs. This report describes Wisconsin's approach to welfare reform, using data collected in 1999 and 2000 from state and local administrators, direct service providers, and, in some cases, the families. It begins by describing the state's population and economy, political landscape, and social safety net. Next, it looks at three program areas affected by welfare reform: Wisconsin Works (W-2) and related efforts, child care programs for low-income families, and the child welfare services for children who have been abused and neglected. The report concludes with a brief discussion about how Wisconsin compares to other states in terms of its welfare reform policies, their implementation, and their effect on the lives of low-income families (e.g., Wisconsin is one of the only states to offer a kinship care payment through the child welfare system for relatives caring for children, and Wisconsin is one of the few states to treat all low-income working families identically in its provision of child care subsidies). (Contains 28 endnotes.) (SM)