Wisconsin Assembly Bill AB1023

Wisconsin 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 2/6/26
• Refer: 2/6/26
• Failed: 3/23/26

Caption

An Act to amend 49.137 (4) (intro.) and 49.257 (3) (intro.); to create 20.437 (1) (ev) of the statutes; Relating to: funding for tribal child care training and technical assistance and making an appropriation. (FE)

Summary

AB1023 would create a new state appropriation for tribal child care training and technical assistance and direct the Department of Children and Families to use those funds for contracts or grants that support training and technical assistance for tribal child care providers. The bill appropriates $500,000 in each year of the 2025-27 biennium, for a total of $1 million, from the general purpose revenue fund. The bill amends existing child care quality statutes so that the department may use the new appropriation, along with existing allocations, to contract with agencies or award grants that improve child care quality. In practical terms, it adds a dedicated funding stream for tribal child care providers and ties that funding to the state’s broader child care quality improvement framework.

Impact

AB1023 would add a new line item in the state budget and create a new statutory appropriation under Department of Children and Families administration. It would not broadly rewrite child care law, but it would modify sections governing training and technical assistance contracts and grants so tribal child care providers can receive targeted support through state-funded programs. The affected parties are the Department of Children and Families, tribal child care providers, and any agencies or organizations contracted to deliver training and technical assistance.

Sentiment

The available record suggests generally supportive sentiment, as reflected by the bill’s broad list of bipartisan and bicameral coauthors. The bill’s purpose is narrow and programmatic, focusing on improving child care quality for tribal providers through dedicated funding rather than creating a controversial new regulatory structure. However, the bill ultimately did not become law and failed to pass pursuant to Senate Joint Resolution 1.

Contention

No committee testimony or recorded votes are provided, so there is no direct evidence of substantive opposition in the available materials. The main point of policy distinction appears to be the targeted nature of the appropriation: the bill directs funds specifically to tribal child care training and technical assistance rather than to general child care quality programs. Any contention would likely center on budget priorities, the use of general purpose revenue, or whether funding should be dedicated to tribal providers versus distributed more broadly across child care systems.