Milwaukee County Adopted 2024 Budget Discontinues Birth Cost Recovery for Fathers

MILWAUKEE—In the newly adopted 2024 Milwaukee County budget, County Executive David Crowley and 14^th District County Supervisor Caroline Gómez-Tom supported an amendment to discontinue Birth Cost Recovery (BCR) efforts after the birth of a child, which the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors approved. This amendment was supported by the Milwaukee County Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and Child Support Services (CSS).

Birth Cost Recovery (BCR) is the process where child support agencies seek court orders that require fathers to repay a portion of childbirth costs paid for by the state Medicaid program. The agency can then keep 15 percent of any monies received from these orders. CSS intends to immediately stop requesting these BCR orders. BCR is not child support; it recoups Medicaid expenses by collecting funds from the new family during the early stages of the child’s life. By eliminating this financial burden on new fathers, they will now have more money to support themselves and their families.

County Executive Crowley and Supervisor Gomez-Tom released the following statements:

“There are glaring racial disparities in the Birth Cost Recovery system. To achieve race and health equity and become the healthiest county in the state, it’s critical Milwaukee County discontinues this practice,” said Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley. “Eliminating Birth Cost Recovery will bridge a gap for vulnerable families and help them get ahead. I’m grateful for Supervisor Gomez-Tom’s leadership on this budget amendment, because together, we are investing in health equity and supporting Milwaukee County families and children.”

“I am strongly in favor of ending Birth Cost Recovery. From the day a child is born, we want to give families every opportunity to thrive. BCR creates a financial and emotional burden, especially on families of color,” said Supervisor Caroline Gómez-Tom. “I’m very pleased the amendment passed and the County Board discontinued BCR.”

Research by the University of Wisconsin-Madison Institute for Research on Poverty indicates the BCR policy affects a significant proportion of Wisconsin’s most vulnerable families–unmarried women, fathers, infants—but most often, minority families in poverty. Eliminating this cost for families is aligned with Milwaukee County’s vision to achieve racial equity and become the healthiest county in the State of Wisconsin.

The 2024 Milwaukee County Adopted Budget is available to view HERE.

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.