CONTACT:
Rep. Patrick Snyder (608) 266-0654
Rep. Steve Doyle (608)-266-0631
MADISON—Today, Foster Care Task Force Co-Chairs Representative Patrick Snyder (Schofield) and Representative Steve Doyle (Onalaska) released their final report to Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, detailing the work that the Speaker’s Task Force on Foster Care accomplished since it was created in June 2017. The final report includes a brief explanation of each committee hearing, a description of the legislation that was introduced as a result of the hearings, and recommendations by the co-chairs for future legislatures.
The Speaker’s Task Force on Foster Care was tasked with the goal of identifying challenges within the foster care system. As a result of the six hearings held throughout the state, the Task Force introduced a package of 13 bipartisan bills called “Foster Forward”. Following passage of 11 bills in the package, the final report makes various recommendations including, among others, providing tuition remission at UW Schools and WI Tech Colleges; increasing support for foster parents; studying the relationship between the opioid crisis and increased out-of-home placements; and supporting increased drug treatment courts and treatment programs.
Upon releasing the final report, Representative Snyder said, “The Task Force collectively authored 11 outstanding bills, which will make significant improvements to the foster care system; however, we are not finished yet. Our recommendations go even further to protect our kids, while supporting both foster parents and biological parents.”
Representative Doyle added, “After almost a year of hard work and dedication, it is exciting to be able to present our final report to the Speaker of the Assembly. Not only does this report summarize the successful legislation created by the Task Force, it also lays out our thoughts and recommendations for continuing to work on foster care in future sessions.”
