State Department of Children and Families launches

The Capital Times  —  7/01/2008 7:04 am

The Wisconsin Department of Children and Families, the first state agency devoted exclusively to kids and families, was officially launched Monday by Gov. Jim Doyle.

The new department brings 30 services currently divided between the Department of Health and Family Services and the Department of Workforce Development under one roof.

"I want this state to be a place where our kids can grow up knowing that their highest ambitions are never out of reach," Doyle said in a statement announcing the formation of the new department.

"The single most important thing we can do to ensure a strong, successful future for Wisconsin is to invest in our kids early, because what we do now will determine exactly what kind of state Wisconsin will be in 10, 20 or even 50 years from now."

The new department is headed by Reggie Bicha, appointed to the post last November. Bicha, 38, Eau Claire, previously served as director of human services in Pierce County and was vice-president of the Wisconsin County Human Services Association.

The Department of Children and Families' services and programs include Wisconsin Works, Wisconsin Shares, child support enforcement, child welfare, home visitation, foster care, special needs adoption, kinship care, Brighter Futures, domestic abuse, child care licensing and community service block grants.

Doyle also announced the creation of a new website that lets the public search for licensed child care programs, including any inspection reports, rules violations or enforcement actions taken against programs.

About 5,700 licensed child care programs are in the database, including family child care programs for up to eight children, group child care programs for 9 or more children, and day camps.

The child care database can be found on line at http://dcf.wisconsin.gov.

The Capital Times  —  7/01/2008 7:04 am