Wisconsin Department of Children and Families

The Department of Children and Families combines administration and supervision of many state and local functions that had developed separately in the 1800s. In the early days of statehood, public welfare was primarily a function of local governments. For more than two decades after statehood, Wisconsin created separate governing boards and institutions for the care of prisoners; juveniles; and blind, deaf, and mentally ill persons. By 1871, there were six such institutions. The first attempt to institute overall state supervision of these services came in 1871 when the legislature created the State Board of Charities and Reform. Its duties included examination of the operations of state institutions and their boards and investigation of practices in local asylums, jails, and schools for the blind and deaf.[3]

In 1876, the legislature established the State Board of Health to “study the vital statistics of this state, and endeavor to make intelligent and profitable use of the collected records of death and sickness among the people.” The board was directed to “make sanitary investigations and inquiries respecting the causes of disease, and especially of epidemics; the causes of mortality, and the effects of localities, employments, conditions, ingesta, habits and circumstances on the health of the people.” This directive still defines much of the work done in public health by the department. Later legislation required the board to take responsibility for tuberculosis care (1905), preventing blindness in infants (1909), and to inspecting water and sewerage systems to prevent typhoid and dysentery (1919). In addition, the agency then licensed restaurants, health facilities, barbers, funeral directors and embalmers.

When the federal government entered the field of public welfare during the Great Depression of the 1930s, Wisconsin had already pioneered a number of programs, including aid to children and pensions for the elderly (enacted in 1931). The Wisconsin Children’s Code, enacted in 1929, was considered one of the most comprehensive in the nation. The state’s initial response to the new federal funding was to establish separate departments to administer social security funds and other public welfare programs.

After several attempts at reorganization, the legislature established the Department of Public Welfare in 1939, to provide unified administration of all existing welfare functions. Public health and care for the aged were delegated to separate agencies. The executive branch reorganization act of 1967 created the Department of Health and Social Services. In addition to combining public welfare, public health, and care for the aged the Legislature added the Division of Vocational Rehabilitation. The 1960s and 1970s saw an expansion of public welfare and health services at both the federal and state levels. Notable were programs for medical care for the needy and aged (Medical Assistance and Medicare), drug treatment programs, food stamps, Aid to Families with Dependent Children Program, and increased regulation of nursing homes and hospitals.[4]

• Division of Management Services: Oversees financial management, information systems and technology; human resource services and employment relations; affirmative action and civil rights compliance; purchasing and contract administration; facilities management; project management; and other administrative services. It handles billing and collection of client debts and bills Medical Assistance and Medicare claims to the federal government
• Division of Family and Economic Security: Responsible for the W-2, child support, and refugee services programs.
• Division of Safety and Permanence: Directly administers child welfare services in Milwaukee County, supervises county-administered child welfare services in the rest of the state, and manages related programs including prevention services and the Special Needs Adoption program.
• Division of Early Care and Education : Responsible for the child care licensing and quality improvement programs, including YoungStar; administers the Wisconsin Shares program; and manages the Milwaukee Early Care.
• Office of Performance and Quality Assurance: Includes the department’s budget office and Bureau of Regional Operations, which oversees the department’s regional offices and is responsible for oversight of county human services programs.
• Office of Legal Counsel
• Office of Tribal Relations

The Secretary of Children and Families is a cabinet member appointed by the Governor of Wisconsin and confirmed by the Wisconsin State Senate.

• Official website