PHOTO: Courtesy of WLUK
FOND DU LAC, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — “Get Kids Ready” is the name of the first fully state-funded child care program in Wisconsin.
The goal is to prepare four-year-olds for school while easing the financial burden for Wisconsin families.
“Most of the child care subsidies and funding that we use comes from the federal government, and in the last budget, the state decided to make its first investment, so it’s very exciting,” said Secretary of the Department of Children and Families Jeff Pertl. He spent Wednesday touring Jesus’ Little Lambs child care center in Fond du Lac.
The state budget provided the program with $65 million. There are 1,400 providers across Wisconsin taking part in the program, with a goal of serving 24,000 kids through the curriculum. So, what can families expect to see?
“We think about affordability and accessibility, so one of the biggest boons is going to be that it’s going to make child care less expensive for families, and that’s a huge deal. It also provides some ongoing revenue for the centers and the in-home providers that do this,” Pertl explained.
It sounds vague, but here’s the breakdown:
When a child is in a “Get Kids Ready” program, parents don’t pay tuition. It’s fully funded by the state and paid directly to the child care provider.
The program is set to be half-days. Parents would only be on the hook for covering the other half of their child’s care coverage, along with other expenses. Pertl says the program will have a massive impact on affordability.
“The thing for child care is, it costs more than a year of college at this point for folks, and so affordability is a really big issue,” he said. “In different parts of the state, people are spending 20% of their income on child care per kid. Way higher than it’s supposed to be, like 7%,” he said.
The program is set to begin in the 2026-27 school year.
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