In the quiet village of New Glarus, Wisconsin, child care provider Corinne Hendrickson has become one of the state’s most outspoken advocates for early childhood education. After nearly two decades in the field and years of grassroots organizing, Hendrickson is now at the center of a growing movement demanding real investment in the care economy.

Hendrickson co-founded Wisconsin Early Childhood Action Needed (WECAN) in March 2020 alongside her colleague Brooke Legler, at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. “We started advocating together for inclusion of children with special needs 13 years ago,” she said. “When the pandemic hit, there was no communication with our field. We formed WECAN as a direct response, advocating for PPE, COVID testing, and, more broadly, long-term investment in child care.”

Since then, Hendrickson’s advocacy has reached national levels. She’s a member of Homegrown’s third National Policy Cohort, a NAEYC appointee on the Child Care For Every Family Network Provider Advisory Cohort, and worked on UC-Berkeley’s Bold on Educator Compensation Committee. She’s also featured in the Emmy-nominated documentary We Are Family Child Care by the National Association for Family Child Care (NAFCC), and partners with Main Street Alliance as a child care policy consultant.

But recent months have pushed her—and the field—into overdrive.

A Child Care Crisis Years in the Making

Wisconsin’s child care industry is teetering on the edge. Programs are shutting their doors and families are seeing weekly child care costs spike by $30 to $50. And, the recently passed state budget is a betrayal, according to Hendrickson and her peers.

“The budget compromise provides less direct funding than we currently get—for just 11 more months,” she explained. “Programs are closing their doors at a rapid pace, prices are increasing, and once we’re gone, we aren’t coming back.”

The budget includes a scaled-down continuation of the Child Care Counts program, allocating $110 million over the next 11 months. This is about 20% less than providers currently receive. What’s worse, these payments end in June 2026, with no opportunity for legislative action until 2027.

In response, Hendrickson and WECAN launched a wave of grassroots actions across the state, including a weeklong child care strike.

State Without Child Care 

“For the week at the Capitol [May 13-16, 2025], there were about a dozen of us, almost all rural,” Hendrickson said. “Then we had pop-up rallies in Bloomer, Ashland, New Glarus, Racine… and several community conversations in places like Eau Claire, Green Bay, Platteville, and Waukesha.”

In Madison, WECAN held three press conferences featuring providers, employers, and parents. Hendrickson remembers the impact vividly. “Friday afternoon, I got a call from a Democratic senator saying that stand-alone legislation was being introduced the following week,” she said. “We were later told the Governor himself had ordered it, just a day after I asked the minority leader what their plan was, and she said, ‘nothing yet.’”

“Time’s Up” Rally and the Fight for $480 Million

Despite modest gains, Hendrickson and her allies argue that the funding falls drastically short. That’s why they organized the July 11 “Time’s Up” rally at the State Capitol.

“This budget is being portrayed by the Governor as a win. It’s not,” she said. “The only group that benefited were juvenile offenders, at $1 million per child. Just imagine if we supported those same children at an earlier age.” 

The $1 million figure refers to the estimated annual cost the state spends per incarcerated youth when factoring in detention, legal fees, supervision, and support services. This is far more than what is invested in education, mental health care, or community programs for children.

At the rally, around 50 providers, parents, and advocates gathered on the Capitol steps, marched, and hand-delivered a formal request to the Governor for a special session to allocate the $480 million needed to stabilize the field. They followed up with a working lunch, planning grassroots candidate recruitment efforts and future organizing strategies in partnership with Main Street Alliance.

Their vision? A network of real people supporting real people to run for office, with child care experts helping shape policy from the ground up.

A Budget that Deregulates and Diminishes

The newly passed budget doesn’t just underfund the industry; it deregulates it. It allows 16-year-olds to serve as assistant teachers, increases classroom ratios, and incentivizes lower-quality care in subsidized programs.

“The pilot program to pay programs more if they increase the ratios for children on subsidy is racist and classist,” Hendrickson said. “It incentivizes worse care for children from low-income families. Those kids are more likely to have additional needs and deserve lower ratios, not higher ones.”

These deregulations also threaten provider accreditation and increase safety risks, all while doing nothing to increase centers’ actual income.

Urgency in Rural Communities

The crisis is especially dire in rural areas. “Just yesterday, the only group center in Durand put out a desperate plea for two employees or they’d have to close,” Hendrickson said. With no plan to replace funding after 2026, and providers closing every week, advocates warn that the ripple effects will soon hit local businesses, schools, and hospitals.

“Child care is the workforce behind the workforce,” she said. “During the pandemic, K-12 schools closed, and we were told to stay open, for the sake of the economy. Now, we’re being abandoned.”

What’s Next

WECAN, Main Street Alliance, and other partners are urging Governor Evers to call a special session on the stand-alone $480 million bill. They’re also building momentum for a broader movement: training everyday people—teachers, small business owners, parents—to run for office and take back control of the narrative.

“We matter. Our children matter. Our communities deserve better,” Hendrickson said. “We’re done accepting sabotage-level investment in public schools and child care. We are fighting for our rights, because you can’t pursue happiness without access to health care, education, or child care so you can work.”

As closures continue and families brace for even higher prices, Hendrickson and her allies are making it clear: they won’t stop until child care is treated as the essential infrastructure it is.

Want to Support?

Learn more: Facebook event for Time’s Up Rally
Watch the rally: Corinne Hendrickson’s Facebook Live