On January 22, in his seventh State of the State address on Wednesday, Governor Tony Evers declared 2025 the “Year of the Kid,” outlining a series of proposals aimed at addressing the needs of children and families in Wisconsin.
The speech was a preview of the Governor’s 2025-27 state budget, which will be introduced on February 18. In addition to stating he will be proposing “historic investments in K-12 education”, the Governor also highlighted a $300 million investment in school-based mental health services. The funding would support initiatives such as peer-to-peer suicide prevention programs, expanded mental health training, and additional pupil service professionals. The governor also proposed measures to modernize school water systems, expand lead poisoning prevention efforts, and provide free meals to all students in schools participating in federal meal programs.
The Governor also focused his remarks to emphasize the need to address Wisconsin’s child care challenges, proposing to make the Child Care Counts program permanent with an investment of $500 million towards early child care initiatives. The Counts program, which provides stabilization grants to child care providers, was originally funded by federal COVID relief dollars, has supported over 5,300 child care providers statewide. The program has been scaled back as the pandemic funding has decreased and the Governor noted that need for families is immense, stating “child care providers across Wisconsin surveyed last fall had 48,000 kids on waitlists, with nearly 60 percent of providers having unutilized capacity, often because they needed more workers.”
Addressing gun safety, Evers renewed his push for a red flag law, which would allow law enforcement or family members to petition a court to temporarily remove firearms from individuals deemed to pose a risk to themselves or others. He also called for universal background checks for all firearm purchases.
The Wisconsin Legislature is controlled by Republicans in both houses so the extent to which these proposals will advance remains uncertain, as both parties prepare for budget negotiations.
The Governor’s full State of the State Address is available here.