Building a Statewide Policy Agenda for Wisconsin’s Kids

Wisconsin Partnership All Staff Convening | Milwaukee, Wisconsin

For two days in Milwaukee, four Wisconsin organizations from the StriveTogether network came together with one shared purpose: creating a stronger future for kids across Wisconsin. 

The Wisconsin Partnership is made up of:

• Building Our Future Kenosha
• Achieve Brown County
• Higher Expectations for Racine County
• Milwaukee Succeeds

​Together, these organizations work to help more young people get on a path to economic mobility by improving cradle-to-career outcomes across Wisconsin communities. Why? 

Young people who reach each cradle-to-career outcomes are 4x more likely to reach economic mobility
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Jennifer Saenz, Director State Policy from StriveTogether

Building Together

This convening was dedicated to building a shared statewide policy agenda that reflects the needs, experiences, and hopes we hear from families, educators, nonprofits, employers, and communities every day. 

Over the course of the convening, we worked to: 

• Collaboratively develop a policy agenda for the next 2-4 years
• Begin establishing clear roles and responsibilities across the coalition
• Build consensus on 2026 legislative priorities
• Strengthen commitment to long-term coalition work
• Deepen ownership, connection, and excitement around the work ahead

​What emerged was not just policy discussion. It was alignment, shared purpose, and a reminder that meaningful systems change happens when our communities come together. 

Being a part of systems level work for our young people is personal and meaningful. 

Elizabeth Erickson, Executive Director at Higher Expectations for Racine County

Three Shared Policy Priorities

1. Stabilizing Wisconsin's Child Care Sector 
The coalition identified the need for stabilizing the child care sector and ensure families have access to high-quality care. 

Strong child care systems support: 

• Children's development and learning
• Family stability
• Workforce participation
• Economic mobility across communities 

2. Ensuring Child Care Reimbursement Reflects the True Cost of Care
The coalition also focused on improving Wisconsin Share reimbursement rates so they better reflect the actual cost of providing quality child care. 

When reimbursement rates fail to meet realities providers face: 

• Early educators leave the profession
• Child care centers struggle to remain open
• Families lose access to care
• The entire sector becomes unstable 

3. Defining and Measuring Kindergarten Readiness 
The final focus area centered around establishing cohesive kindergarten readiness benchmarks and metrics across Wisconsin. 

The goal is to better understand: 

• Whether children are entering kindergarten prepared with foundational development skills
• Where intervention and support may be needed earlier 
• Whether current early childhood and K-12 policies are effectively supporting young learners

This work would help create stronger connections between early intervention systems, schools, and family supports statewide. 

What Comes Next

As a Wisconsin Partnership, we are now preparing to develop shared 90-day action steps that help move these priorities from conversation into action. We are excited. We are eager. We are ready for the work. 

We are driven by a shared desire to ensure that every child, cradle to career, has the opportunity to learn, grow, and achieve their dreams. 

None of this work would be possible without the collaboration, leadership, and commitment of StriveTogether and all four of our organizations coming together to move Wisconsin forward. 

These two days were filled with thoughtful conversations, hard questions, strategic thinking, and passionate people who deeply care about creating a better future for kids. 
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And this is only the beginning.