Gov. Jim Doyle announced his plan to keep Wisconsin children healthy on Thursday, and it includes efforts to expand access to health care, improve oral health, increase immunizations, increase school breakfast participation and reduce teen smoking.

"Some of these initiatives will be fully funded, while others may take longer to implement," Doyle said. "But let me be clear: the priorities of KidsFirst will be the priorities of my next budget."
Doyle announced the Healthy Kids initiative — one of four parts of his KidsFirst plan — at the Three River Community Dental Clinic in La Crosse. He said the proposal is a comprehensive plan designed to keep kids healthy, safe, prepared for school and supported by their families.

Doyle said some parts of his initiative will cost nothing, while others will require partnerships with community agencies or state dollars. Total cost to taxpayers will range somewhere between $15 million to $20 million over several years.

"You know, that's a question of priorities," Doyle said. "We are not going to raise taxes in this state."

"This is handing our kids a future," he added. "I believe very strongly this is what Wisconsin's values are."

Among the Healthy Kids initiatives:

Provide grants to agencies and organizations that help identify and enroll eligible low-income families in Medical Assistance, especially Hmong

and Hispanic families.

Increase children's access to dental sealants by expanding the Healthy Smiles for Wisconsin program, which provides sealants for second and sixth grade students in schools with high percentages of free and reduced-price lunch.

Expand Wisconsin's immunization registry, which records immunizations for children in Wisconsin. The state will enable health professionals to determine which areas have low numbers and target immunization efforts there.

Increase school breakfast participation by providing $500,000 in grants to schools to help cover start-up costs and another $500,000 to increase the per meal subsidies for schools from 10 to 15 cents.

Reduce youth smoking by leveraging private money with the $800,000 grant the state has secured to begin a new advertising campaign later this year; and increase the state's commitment to the First Breath program, which provides counseling to low-income pregnant women to help them stop smoking.

Doyle announced his other three KidsFirst initiatives at other sites around the state earlier this week. Those initiatives include efforts to expand kindergarten for 4-year-olds, improve child care quality, strengthen the child welfare and foster care system and make home visits available to every new family in Wisconsin.

More than 50 people attended Doyle's press conference in La Crosse Thursday, including two state legislators, several La Crosse School District officials and local Democrats. Doyle said the expansion of programs like kindergarten for 4-year-olds and school breakfast will help students be better prepared for school.

Doyle said Wisconsin ranks "dead last" in state participation in the school breakfast program, and that results in the loss of millions of federal dollars for the state.

"Our kids (in La Crosse) are lucky because we already have these things," said La Crosse School Board president Christine Clair, who attended the event. "I think the governor's proposal to expand them in the state is a great idea."

Anastasia Mercer can be reached at (608) 791-8256 or smercer@lacrossetribune.com.

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