WCA Unveils Wisconsin Child Welfare Crisis Advocacy Effort
Initiative Highlights Intersection of Drugs and the Youngest Victims of Epidemic
The Wisconsin Counties Association has released a new initiative to educate Wisconsin’s elected officials and the public on Wisconsin’s #WIChildWelfareCrisis.
“The increased incidences of heroin, opioid and methamphetamine use across the state are having negative consequences on the state’s most vulnerable citizens – our young children,” said WCA Executive Director Mark D. O’Connell. “County human services departments are seeing increased out-of-home placement costs as parents struggling with addiction are unable to safely care for their children. It is our goal to bring awareness to this epidemic and what it means not only for today, but for the future of Wisconsin.”
The WCA advocacy effort features a series of videos highlighting those working on the front lines of service delivery, including Wisconsin county social workers and law enforcement officers.
The #WIChildWelfareCrisis is staggering, with the opioid/meth epidemic having a profound impact on the youngest victims. The magnitude of the challenge in the form of exploding caseloads is exceeding the ability of counties to adequately deliver the services our citizens need.
“We look forward to working with the Legislature and the Evers administration to allocate sufficient resources to this problem,” said O’Connell. “For many counties, the magnitude of this epidemic has exhausted local resources, making it difficult for counties to serve the children impacted by this rampant problem.”
Visit the #WIChildWelfareCrisis website here, which contains links to all videos:
http://wichildwelfarecrisis.wicounties.org.
View each video here:
#WIChildWelfareCrisis: End this Epidemic
