The creation of the dental therapy profession in Wisconsin through Senate Bill 89 would be an important step in improving access to and usage of dental care for disadvantaged and underserved populations in Wisconsin and potentially reducing negative economic and societal costs associated with poor oral health.
Former Michigan state Sen. John Proos (R), chair of the legislative budget subcommittees overseeing corrections and the judiciary budgets, describes the bipartisan reform measures Michigan adopted in 2017 and the dramatic improvements that followed. The event in the Wisconsin State Capitol was sponsored by the Wisconsin Criminal Justice Coalition.
In this short video excerpt, Badger Institute policy analyst Julie Grace testifies before the Senate Judiciary and Public Safety Committee in support of Senate Bill 39, which will make necessary reforms to Wisconsin’s expungement law.
What is occupational licensing? How does it affect labor markets, wages, prices and interstate migration? Morris Kleiner, professor and AFL-CIO chair in Labor Policy at the University of Minnesota and author of “At What Cost? State and National Estimates of the Economic Cost of Occupational Licensing,” discusses his research at the Badger Institute’s Policy Symposium.
Wisconsin’s overall tax structure remains behind competitor states in simplicity, tax rates and business climate for residents and investment. How can we reform the tax structure so that the state reaches its full potential? Joe Bishop-Henchman and Katherine Loughead of the Tax Foundation discuss suggested reforms as detailed in the recent book from the Badger Institute and the Tax Foundation. Their presentation was delivered at the Badger Institute’s Policy Symposium.
Wisconsin has a transportation funding dilemma. How did it occur, and how can we fix it? Dale Knapp, director of Forward Analytics, and Robert W. Poole Jr., director of transportation policy at the Reason Foundation, discuss growing expenditures, shrinking revenues and tolling solutions. Their presentation was delivered at the Badger Institute’s Policy Symposium.
How can Wisconsin improve its criminal justice system? Representatives from the University of Wisconsin, Right on Crime, and the Charles Koch Institute discuss areas for reform.
Featuring Cecelia Klingele, Tom Lyons and Jeremiah Mosteller
Wisconsin has a dental access problem, especially for low-income individuals, says Morris Kleiner, professor at the University of Minnesota. Kleiner explains how allowing dental therapists could provide the solution. Kleiner’s presentation was delivered at the Badger Institute’s Policy Symposium.
Wisconsin legislators and stakeholders held a news conference to unveil the “Expungement Reform: Pathways to Employment” bill. The bill would allow individuals with misdemeanors or Class H and I felonies to also seek expungement after they serve their sentence, remove the age 25 restriction and would apply retroactively to those who served time before the new legislation.
This video tells the story of Partners in Hope, a Milwaukee prisoner reentry program where cops, federal agents and prosecutors (among others) offer training, mentorship and friendship to people directly returning from prison or jail.
Principal Julieane Cook of St. Martini Lutheran School on Milwaukee’s south side takes time out twice a day from her administrative duties for “sensory breaks” – where she works with special needs students because no additional staff or resources are available. Private school principals and administrators say in a Badger Institute survey that many special needs children in private schools are left behind because of inequitable allocation of federal resources. Click on the News tab at the top of the page to read the story.
Early childhood and special education teacher Sheila Noordzy has her hands full teaching a class of 18 3-to-5-year-old children in the Chequamegon School District in Park Falls. She often puts in long hours, partly due to federal paperwork that takes her away from working with the children. Federal requirements in special education are especially burdensome, educators tell the Badger Institute in a survey.
NBC26 in Green Bay reports on two bills signed into law by Gov. Scott Walker modifying licensure requirements for professions like cosmetologists and barbers. “It’ll make it easier for them to gain entry into these professions,” said Badger Institute VP Michael Jahr.
Wisconsin leaders, policy-makers and dignitaries explain why supporting the Badger Institute is so important.
