5th Assembly District Update: November 3, 2023

Assembly Committee on Criminal Justice and Public Safety

Assembly Children and Families Committee

Assembly Bill 251
This bill expands the mental health services available within our schools without creating additional expenses. Addressing the growing mental health needs of our students means finding new ways to connect kids with the appropriate services. We know that the needs in our schools are outpacing the capacity of school social workers. It is projected that Wisconsin will need 1,500 more counselors in the next five years. This bill helps alleviate this shortage by allowing marriage and family therapists to also serve as mental health practitioners in the school system. I was happy to be a co-sponsor of this bill.

Assembly Bill 336
Private adoptions are expensive – costing in the tens of thousands of dollars. Families considering adoption sometimes withdraw from consideration because the cost to adopt a child is more than they can afford. There are a few organizations in Wisconsin that offer financial assistance to adoptive families once they have reached a certain point in the process. This bill would create a competitive grant program, housed at the Department of Children and Families, to supplement their work.

Assembly Bill 369
This bill would allow municipalities to install a newborn infant safety device at a hospital, fire station, or law enforcement agency building. We can save the lives of these newborn children by allowing a parent to anonymously relinquish a child under the age of 72 hours safely using a newborn safety device. I was a co-sponsor of this bill.

Assembly Bill 376
Wisconsin’s child support program is meant to help separated parents share the financial responsibility of raising a child. Under normal circumstances, where sexual actions were consensual from both parties, it makes sense that both mother and father contribute equally to the financial burden of raising the child. In the event of convicted sexual assault that leads to the birth of a child, where only one party consented to the sexual activity, the criminal should bear both halves of the financial responsibility for the raising of the child. I was a co-sponsor of this bill.

Assembly Campaigns & Elections Committee

On Thursday, testimony was given on legislation to provide protections to Wisconsin election workers.

Human Trafficking Task Force