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regulated child care may be available for families with a gross income at or less than 185% of the poverty
level. Childcare needs become more challenging and more costly for families with multiple children, and
during summer months. Part-time child care can sometimes be difficult to find. There was a total of 5,580
licensed childcare slots in the Great Rivers Region in 2014. See Table 7 for more.

Table 7: Number of Licensed Childcare Slots (2010-2014)

County 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014

La Crosse 3,832 4,263 4,317 4,052 4,140

Monroe 649 673 731 642 580

Trempealeau 577 614 552 522 536

Vernon 537 345 356 340 324

Source: KIDSCOUNT Data Center.

Houston County data was unavailable.

Table 8 shows details related to the cost of child care in Wisconsin and Minnesota for 2012. Minnesota
averages higher child care costs than the state of Wisconsin, most significantly for the cost of infant care.

Table 8: Annual Cost of Full-time Child Care in Wisconsin and Minnesota, 2012

COMMUNITY Number of Both Parents Avg. Cost Avg. Cost Avg. Cost Avg. Cost, (Family
(Center), (Center), (Childcare Childcare Center),
State Birth to Working 4-Year-Old Center),
Infant 4-Year-Old
4-Year-Olds Full Time Infant

Wisconsin 356,267 195,646 $10,775 $9,588 $7,849 $7,060

Minnesota 5,279,601 210,497 $13,579 $10,470 $7,686 $6,947

Source: Child Care Aware of America, Child Care in America, 2012 State Fact Sheets

Abuse of Vulnerable Populations

Wisconsin law defines elder abuse as occurring when any person at or above the age of 60 has been
subjected to any of the following four categories of abuse: physical abuse, material exploitation, neglect,
and self-neglect. The National Center on Elder Abuse had expanded this to include sexual abuse, emotional
abuse, and abandonment. Reporting elder abuse is voluntary and not required by medical professionals
or other service providers. If an elderly person is legally competent, he or she may refuse an investigation.
Shame, fear, and not knowing how to get help may result in an underreporting of elder abuse.

In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Department of Children
and Families (DCF) define child maltreatment as any act or series of acts of commission or omission by a
parent or other caregiver that results in harm, potential for harm, or threat of harm to a child. Child abuse
can occur in a child’s home, or in the organizations, schools or communities the child interacts with. There
are four major categories of child abuse: neglect, physical abuse, psychological/emotional abuse, and child
sexual abuse.

The U.S. Administration for Children and Families reported that from 2008 to 2012, overall rates of
victimization declined by 4.19%, from 9.5 to 9.2 per 1,000 children in the population. This results in an
estimated 30,000 fewer victims in 2012 (686,000) compared with 2008 (716,000). Figure 11 shows the
number of child abuse and neglect reports per 1,000 people for the Great Rivers Region. La Crosse had the
highest rates of child abuse and neglect reports; however, they were still lower than the state average.

30 COMPASS NOW 2015