State of Wisconsin
Department of Health and Family Services
Madison
December 16, 2005
To the Honorable, the Legislature:
Enclosed is the 2004-2005 annual report of the Wisconsin Council on Physical Disabilities. Preparation and distribution of the report is required by section 46.29(1)(f) of the state statutes. As you know, this independent Council is created by statute, attached to the Department of Health and Family Services for limited administrative purposes, to advise all of state government on behalf of people with disabilities.
If you have questions about the report, please contact our office.
Sincerely,
Helene nelson
Secretary
Referred to committee on Aging and Long-Term Care.
__________________
State of Wisconsin
Medical College of Wisconsin
Milwaukee
December 21, 2005
To the Honorable, the Legislature:
Enclosed is the biennial report of the Medical College of Wisconsin, prepared according to the statutory requirement under section 13.106. This report covers the period ending June 30, 2005, and contains information in the following areas:
-Minority student recruitment policies and programs
-Number of minority students enrolled
-Number and percentages of Wisconsin residents enrolled
-Average faculty salaries compared to national averages
-Development of cooperative educational programs with other institutions throughout the state
-Placement of graduates of doctor of medicine and residency training programs.
Please feel free to contact me at (414) 456-8217 if you have any questions or would like additional information.
Sincerely,
Donna k. gissen Vice President
Planning and Governments Affairs
Referred to committee on Colleges and Universities.
__________________
State of Wisconsin
Department of Health and Family Services
Madison
December 23, 2005
To the Honorable, the Legislature:
A705
This letter provides a report on the status of hunger prevention strategies in Wisconsin, as required by s.46.76(4) and (5). I am pleased to report that, under the leadership of the Department and the UW-Extension, in 2005 the Wisconsin Food Security Consortium has been re-activated and once again begun meeting on a monthly basis to develop a coordinated approach to address the problems of hunger and food insecurity in Wisconsin. The Consortium is a partnership of government, business, community and university representatives who serve in an advisory capacity to DHFS. Prior to this year, the Consortium had been inactive since 2002. The Department expects that the expertise of the Consortium will be of great benefit to Wisconsin in devising strategies to deal with the problems of hunger and food insecurity.
The Consortium is guided by the definition of food security proposed by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), which defines food security as the ability of an entire population to have physical and economic access to sufficient food to meet its dietary needs for a productive and healthy life. Compared to other states, Wisconsin has a relatively low rate of food insecurity, but the problem is growing. In 1999-2001, 8.4% of the population was food insecure and that number increased to 9% in 2002-04. Food insecurity is clearly linked to income and efforts to improve the income level of Wisconsin citizens will benefit the state in many ways. However, the extent of food insecurity is the result of many factors besides income levels. The reduction of hunger in Wisconsin requires a cooperative partnership of federal, state, community, business, university, and individual resources.
Recognizing that creating food secure communities for people in Wisconsin goes beyond providing access to emergency food through food pantries, the Consortium is seeking to establish ways to increase access to food through normal channels. This undertaking involves the coordination and best use of existing resources, including federal food programs, supplemental food programs, food production and marketing, education and public awareness, community infrastructure, economic and job security, and research and evaluation.
In the coming year the Consortium will focus on developing a state plan to combat hunger and food insecurity in Wisconsin. The Consortium is reviewing plans completed by other states and will be examining programs that have worked in Wisconsin and in other areas of the country. One of the tasks which the Consortium has undertaken is to improve the coordination of services among the different parties that have an interest in reducing food insecurity in Wisconsin.
The Consortium is also working to increase participation by local communities. There are approximately 30 local Hunger Prevention Task Forces. The Consortium needs participation from local communities to be successful and it is pursuing ways that information can be shared between the Consortium and local organizations. Among other activities, the Consortium will be exploring ways to increase outreach regarding hunger prevention programs so that all Wisconsin residents are aware of what is available to them.
The Department, with the assistance of the Food Security Consortium, will continue to work with our partners in the public and private sector to develop strategies on this critical issue of improving food security in Wisconsin.
Sincerely,
Helene nelson
Secretary
Referred to committee on Children and Families.
__________________
State of Wisconsin
Department of Health and Family Services
Madison
December 28, 2005
To the Honorable, the Legislature:
Section
46.03(26) of the statutes requires the Department of Health and Family Services to report annually on information systems projects under development including the implementation schedule, estimate of costs, and methods of determining changes (if applicable).
The Department has two groups of systems now under development: Public Health Information Network (PHIN) and Health Alert Network (HAN) / National Electronic Disease Surveillance System (NEDSS); and the Medicaid Management Information System (MMIS) and related subsystems. The required information is included in the attached reports.
Sincerely,
Helene nelson
Secretary
Referred to committee on Health.
__________________
Agency Reports
State of Wisconsin
Legislative Audit Bureau
Madison
December 16, 2005
To the Honorable, the Assembly:
We have completed a financial audit of WHA Radio, as requested by the University of Wisconsin-Extension to fulfill the audit requirements of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The Corporation requires audited financial statements of public broadcasting entities to determine future funding levels.
WHA Radio is licensed to the University of Wisconsin System's Board of Regents and is operated by the University of Wisconsin-Extension. WHA Radio earned $9.1 million in revenues during fiscal year 2004-05, including state support, member contributions, funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and various other grants.
Our audit report contains the financial statements and related notes for the period July 1, 2004 through June 30, 2005. We were able to issue an unqualified independent auditor's report on these statements.
A706
We appreciate the courtesy and cooperation extended to us by University of Wisconsin-Extension staff during the audit.
Respectfully submitted,
Janice mueller
State Auditor
__________________
State of Wisconsin
Legislative Audit Bureau
Madison
December 16, 2005
To the Honorable, the Assembly:
We have completed a financial audit of WHA Television, as requested by the University of Wisconsin-Extension to fulfill the audit requirements of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The Corporation requires audited financial statements of public broadcasting entities to determine future funding levels.
WHA Television is licensed to the University of Wisconsin System's Board of Regents and is operated by the University of Wisconsin-Extension. WHA Television earned $15.8 million in revenues during fiscal year 2004-05, including state support, member contributions, funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and various other grants.
Our audit report contains the financial statements and related notes for the period July 1, 2004, through June 30, 2005. We were able to issue an unqualified independent auditor's report on these statements.
We appreciate the courtesy and cooperation extended to us by University of Wisconsin-Extension staff during the audit.
Respectfully submitted,
janice mueller
State Auditor
__________________
State of Wisconsin
Legislative Audit Bureau
Madison
December 16, 2005
To the Honorable, the Assembly:
We have completed a financial audit of the State of Wisconsin Educational Communications Board (ECB) Radio Network to meet our audit requirements under s.
13.94, Wis. Stats., and as requested by ECB to fulfill the audit requirements of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The Corporation requires audited financial statements of public broadcasting entities to determine future funding levels.
ECB, which is an agency of the State of Wisconsin, operates a radio network of 12 FM stations and 1 AM station, as well as a television network of 5 digital stations and 5 analog stations. The Radio Network received $8.6 million in support and revenue during fiscal year 2004-05, including state support, member contributions, funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and various other grants.
Our audit report contains the ECB Radio Network's financial statements and related notes for the period July 1, 2004, through June 30, 2005. We were able to issue an unqualified independent auditor's report on these statements.
We appreciate the courtesy and cooperation extended to us by ECB staff during the audit.
Respectfully submitted,
janice mueller
State Auditor
__________________
State of Wisconsin
Legislative Audit Bureau
Madison
December 16, 2005
To the Honorable, the Assembly:
We have completed a financial audit of the State of Wisconsin Educational Communications Board (ECB) Television Network to meet our audit requirements under s.
13.94, Wis. Stats., and as requested by ECB to fulfill the audit requirements of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The Corporation requires audited financial statements of public broadcasting entities to determine future funding levels.
ECB, which is an agency of the State of Wisconsin, operates a television network of 5 digital stations and 5 analog stations, as well as a radio network of 12 FM stations and 1 AM station. The Television Network received $11.6 million in support and revenue during fiscal year 2004-05, including state support, member contributions, funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and various other grants.
