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President's Message
Planning for the Forum's 100th anniversary celebration has been no easy endeavor. In particular, trying to come up with a series of events and activities that will successfully convey to the community who we are and what we do, while at the same time preserving our reputation for substance and decorum, has produced more than a few sleepless nights.
Read on...
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Upcoming Reports...
October - Nursing's Voice Survey Results
October - Afterschool Provider Survey Results
October - City of Milwaukee and Milwaukee County Budget Briefs
October - Comparative Analysis of Racine Public Schools
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New Members
Eric A. Anderson
Clark Dietz, Inc.
Terrence M. Hansen
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Region's Public Schools will be Challenged to Meet New Academic Standards
 The annual analysis of data from the region's public school districts - released in late September - finds that most are likely to be hard-pressed to meet new annual performance objectives adopted by the state in connection with its waiver from most requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind Act. "The new objectives are quite ambitious, requiring significant annual improvement by all demographic subgroups of students," says Forum Research Director Anneliese Dickman.
Read on...
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Consolidated Dispatch Could Produce Savings for Milwaukee County's South Shore
 The latest in the Forum's series of reports on possibilities for shared services and consolidation analyzes the possible structure and fiscal impacts of a consolidated dispatch center for Cudahy, St. Francis and South Milwaukee. The report, which was released in mid-September, includes a model that could save more than $250,000 annually among the three communities. "Consolidating dispatch services has the potential to produce substantial operating and equipment savings as well as operational improvements, including the ability to better coordinate responses to major incidents," says Forum President Rob Henken.
Read on...
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A Birds-Eye View of Wisconsin's Workforce Development System
Few policy issues are receiving more attention in Wisconsin these days than workforce development, and the Forum is playing an important role in providing factual data to frame the debate. At a Policy in a Pub event in late July, we premiered our latest report on workforce development: a graphically designed "map" that provides a view of the system as a whole, including the variety of state and federal funding sources that support workforce development programs in Wisconsin. The report - commissioned by the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD) - also provides analysis of the trends affecting the state's workforce development system and offers observations on ways the system may be improved.
Read on...
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The Meaning of Recidivism
In a June 2011 Research Brief, entitled "Milwaukee County Detainee Populations at Historic Lows: Why is it happening and what does it mean," the Forum urged county law enforcement officials and policymakers to consider the effectiveness of justice system policies that may have contributed to a sharp decline in the number of adults and youth at its adult and juvenile corrections facilities. Earlier this year, the county's Delinquency and Court Services Division (DCSD) responded by asking the Forum to examine the performance of the array of services it offers in the juvenile justice system.
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Distinguishing Afterschool Care from Child Care
The Forum kicked of its multi-year research project on afterschool programs in Milwaukee with a Research Brief in early July that analyzed the issues that have arisen as regulators have attempted to apply quality measures to afterschool programming that are similar to those used for child care.
Starting July 1, school-age programs in Wisconsin were subject to the same quality rating system as child care programs for younger children. The consequences could be far-reaching, as school-based programs have not previously been reviewed by state officials for regulatory compliance.
Read on...
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Forum Launches New Fellowship Program
Thanks to the generosity of a local foundation and two prominent local partners, the Forum is unveiling a new fellowship this fall in an area that is somewhat distinct from our usual portfolio of public policy research, facilitation and deliberation.
"It's called the Excellence in Public Policy Reporting fellowship, and we see it as our small contribution to enhancing both the quality and quantity of local government reporting in Milwaukee," says Forum President Rob Henken. "This will further our mission of enhancing the effectiveness of government and public policy by helping to ensure there is widespread, informative coverage of local government policy issues in our local news media."
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Southeastern Wisconsin's New Regional Housing Plan: Will it Make a Difference?
A September Viewpoint luncheon featured a presentation on a new regional housing plan for southeast Wisconsin and reaction from a panel of elected officials and housing leaders. Leading off the event - which turned out more than 130 business, nonprofit and government leaders - was SEWRPC Executive Director Ken Yunker, who summarized the findings and draft recommendations contained in the new housing plan, which the commission has been developing with the assistance of a steering committee of regional housing experts. The reaction panel consisted of New Berlin Mayor Jack Chiovatero; J. Scott Mathie, Senior Government Affairs Director for the Metropolitan Builders Association; Milwaukee Alderman Michael Murphy; and Leo Ries, Executive Director of LISC-Milwaukee. The panel was moderated by Sean Ryan, a reporter at the Business Journal Serving Greater Milwaukee, and was sponsored by the Commercial Association of Realtors - Wisconsin; the Greater Milwaukee Association of Realtors; and R.A. Smith National.
Photos of the event can be viewed here, and Wisconsin's Eye's videotape of the event here.
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Forum in the News
The Forum was frequently featured in different media outlets in the 3rd quarter of 2012.
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Forum on the Streets
Forum staff were busy disseminating research and sharing their policy insights with government and civic entities in the 3rd quarter of 2012.
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Follow the Forum on Twitter and Facebook
 
The Forum is on both Facebook and Twitter.
We encourage you to "like" our Facebook page and "follow us" on Twitter @PPFMilwaukee.
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Thanks for checking out the latest e-Footnotes and please don't hesitate to let us know what you think. Thanks also for your continued interest and support of the Public Policy Forum.
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Sincerely,
Pam Matthews
Membership and Operations Manager
Public Policy Forum
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