Gov. Evers Delivers Radio Address Highlighting How Bipartisan, Pro-Kid Budget Lowers Child Care Costs for Over 15,000 Families

Audio File of Radio Address.

MADISON — Gov. Tony Evers today delivered his weekly radio address highlighting his recent announcement that Wisconsin Shares families will see an increase in their subsidy amount beginning this month, thanks to the governor’s investment of over $123 million in the Wisconsin Shares Child Care Subsidy Program in his bipartisan, pro-kid 2025-27 Biennial Budget. With this investment, the maximum Wisconsin Shares subsidy rate will be at or above the price of 75 percent of child care slots. The increase, which went into effect on October 1, will impact roughly 15,000 eligible families, saving their households on average about $174 per month on child care.

The Wisconsin Shares Child Care Subsidy Program, which receives most of its funding from federal sources, supports eligible families by funding a portion of the cost of child care while the parents are working or participating in an approved activity. Wisconsin met the legislative requirement for the maximum Shares rate to be at or above the price of 75 percent of child care slots for the first time in 2022, but with significant back-to-back increases in child care tuition prices as providers worked to fill the gap from reduced Child Care Counts Program payments, the buying power of the subsidy decreased. In 2023, the maximum Wisconsin Shares rate was at or above the price of 50 percent of slots, and in 2025, it was at or above the price of just 41 percent of slots.

This announcement also comes as in August, Gov. Evers, together with DCF, announced that more than 3,100 child care providers across the state received a total of $8.7 million via the first payment of the Child Care Bridge Payments Program. The program, which will provide $110 million in monthly direct payments to Wisconsin child care providers through June 2026, was made possible through the more than $360 million investment that Gov. Evers fought for and secured in the 2025-27 bipartisan state budget to help stabilize Wisconsin’s child care industry and lower the cost of child care for working families.

The Child Care Bridge Payments Program is similar to the successful Child Care Counts Program, which was launched by Gov. Evers and the Evers Administration in 2020 and helped more than 5,700 child care providers keep their doors open, ensured the employment of more than 75,000 child care professionals, and allowed providers to continue care for more than 430,000 kids. Due to the quick work of Gov. Evers and DCF, there have not been any gaps in direct funding for child care providers caused by the winding down of the Child Care Counts Program. Funds from the first month’s payment will support the retention of 25,531 staff and the care of 126,181 kids.

More information about Gov. Evers’ efforts to lower child care costs for over 15,000 families is available here.

Hey there, folks! Governor Tony Evers here.

There’s no denying that our state can’t afford more parents leaving the workforce because they can’t find or afford quality child care.

And during the 2025 Year of the Kid, it’s more important than ever to ensure that our kids have the high-quality care they need and deserve.

That’s why I was proud to sign our bipartisan, pro-kid budget that invests more than $360 million in the state’s child care industry to help fill available child care slots, cut wait lists, and lower the cost of care for working families.

In fact, thanks to our work investing over $123 million in the Wisconsin Shares Program, I announced last week that about 15,000 Wisconsin Shares families will see an average savings of about $174 per month.

I also fought hard to secure $110 million in direct payments for child care providers, and the first round of payments already went out to thousands of providers statewide.

Funds from just that first month’s payment helped retain over 25,500 staff and care for more than 126,000 kids.

And that’s a big deal, folks.

We all know child care is too expensive.

That’s why we’re working to give working families a little breathing room in their household budgets while making sure providers stay open, kids are cared for, and workers remain in our workforce.

Folks, that’s a win-win-win for Wisconsin.

But there is, as always, more work to do. We must keep building the future we want for our kids and our grandkids, including supporting our state’s child care industry.

Thank you.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. While it is believed to be reliable, Urban Milwaukee does not guarantee its accuracy or completeness.