The City of Wisconsin Rapids and PACT partnered to develop policies that would enhance incentives for businesses and community members to incorporate local art innovations. The goal was to enhance communications between the community, local art organizations, and businesses in order to capture the county’s history and culture in an enriching way. UniverCity Year Contact […]
University: University of Wisconsin - Madison
Redefining Wisconsin Rapids Campaign
The Redefining Wisconsin Rapids campgain, researched by students in Journalism 445, sought out to accomplish four long-term and short-term goals. The group wanted to enhance the public image of Wisconsin Rapids by increasing comminity pride and involvement, create city ownership, redesign traffic flow to go through the center of town, and foster an envision that […]
Childcare in La Crosse County: Exploring the childcare dilemma in La Crosse County and potential solutions
La Crosse County has been struggling with childcare accessibility for its residents due to lack of viable options. The past two decades have seen significant decreases in the amount of regulated childcare businesses. In 1998, there were over 450 regulated childcare businesses in existence in La Crosse County. By 2019, the number of regulated childcare […]
A Benefit-Cost Analysis of Expanding Access to Child Care in La Crosse County
At the request of La Crosse County, we completed a benefit-cost analysis of three potential alternatives to current policy to increase the availability and affordability of child care. Two of these alternatives involve creating new employer-sponsored child care facilities and one entails a wage subsidy for child care providers. Ultimately, on average, none of the […]
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Child care availability, issues, and solutions
The child care industry is vital for a healthy economy and yet there are inherent tensions that make improvements in quality, affordability, and access difficult. Improvements in one area must often come at the expense of another area. A holistic approach is essential to ensure that policy changes meet the needs of all residents in […]
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Navigating the legal aspects of providing child care
As identified in the Workforce Innovation for a Strong Economy (WISE) Plan, one of the big issues that our community is facing with regard to available workforce is the lack of available childcare for potential employees. This is a larger issue for the community than just its impact on workforce, because early childhood development is […]
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Assessing the link between climate change-induced weather events, heat-related illness, and the disproportional impacts experienced by low-SES communities in Milwaukee County
Exposure to extreme heat can cause a multitudeof adverse health impacts including heat cramps, heat exhaustion, heat stroke, andeven death. Because of the significant hazardsthat heat presents, it is important to determine thedistributionof these outcomes. Studying this distribution in Milwaukee County isespecially vital because of the stark health inequities that exist. Although difficult to measure, […]
Understanding the social determinants of health and legislation
Access to healthcare is deeply linked with economic standing. Economic standing can be defined by a variety of factors. For the purpose of our project, we are defining economic standingby employment, debt, and income security. We believe this social determinant category to be significant because the disproportionate level of poverty minorities face, especially when analyzed […]
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Addressing racial disparities in Milwaukee County: Policy and program suggestions
Since the County Executive’s declaration of racism as a public health crisis in 2019, Milwaukee County has taken steps, such as creating this project, towards understanding how the county has historically contributed to the racial disparities still persisting in the community as well as how these issues can be rectified. This document details some findings/suggestions […]
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Designing affordable housing for Egg Harbor
The Village of Egg Harbor is located on Lake Michigan and has a permanent population of about 250 residents. Approximatly 40% of the population is above the age of 60 and in retirement. Because of its location on lakeside property, Egg Harbor sees a dramatic increase in population during the summer months due to tourism. […]