MADISON, Wis. -- Building stronger families is a core message being stressed in Wisconsin as part of child-abuse prevention efforts.

Those doing outreach said many parents are navigating tough situations right now, and helping them find stability can't be overlooked.

April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month.

Rebecca Murray, executive director of the Wisconsin Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Board, said there's been added pressure from the pandemic, but families have the ability to steer themselves away from conflict.

For parents, that means taking steps to become resilient.

"Really managing your own feelings, thinking about how to problem-solve with a clear head, taking time for yourself, and really thinking about buffering your kids from all of that stress," Murray outlined.

She added asking for help is another way to build strength, especially in learning new parenting methods as your kids grow.

This month, the board is bolstering its work with community groups, such as family resource centers, and on getting educational tools to parents.

At the community level, Murray explained networks of faith groups and nonprofits can play a key role in prevention as well, even if it's not their core function.

She noted in areas around the state, the resources are there, it just takes a little more collaboration.

"Sometimes, it's taking that concerted effort of getting people together, and really understanding that even though you may not see your core or your main mission of preventing child abuse, you're within primary prevention because you're out there strengthening families," Murray contended.

Murray emphasized the awareness month also should be used to reach out to caregivers, and not just biological parents. She pointed out more grandparents have taken an active role in providing consistent care for their grandchildren.


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RICHMOND, Va. - As U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., takes heat this week for attending a posh fundraiser in a dress that said "Tax the Rich," dozens of wealthy taxpayers have requested just that, in a letter sent to Congress.

More than 200 millionaires and business leaders, including two prominent Virginians, say they feel raising their taxes is essential to cover critical social investments in President Joe Biden's Build Back Better plan.

Sandra Fluke, president of Voices for Progress, the group that organized the letter campaign, said a recent report confirms many billionaires and corporations pay no taxes. She said she thinks it's more fair for those who have the most to pay more in taxes, since they benefit more.

"We have situations where we are taxing the pay that someone receives, their salary from working a job, more than we are taxing the profits that are made on investments," she said, "and that's just wrong."

A recent survey found that 68% of Virginia voters support Biden's $3.5 trillion plan, and more than two-thirds said it should be funded by taxing those making more than $400,000 a year. Joan Huffer, a well-known tax policy expert and philanthropist from Northern Virginia, also signed the letter.

This week, a group of House Democrats released a draft plan to raise the corporate tax rate from 21% to 26.5% percent for large, profitable businesses to help pay for Biden's plan. Fluke said that would go a long way to help fund new spending in areas including health care and clean energy.

"Child-care affordability, and home- and community-based care, and paid leave, fighting climate change and protecting all of us from natural disasters are good investments," she said, "investments that will help to rebuild our economy and strengthen our democracy."

The letter mentioned that the wealth of 700 billionaires rose by 60% during the pandemic, while many working families suffered. The signers said it's up to those who became richer in the health crisis, and whose lifestyles would be only marginally affected, to fix the imbalance.

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - The pandemic is shining a new light on the burdens felt by family caregivers, and a bill in Congress would remove some of the financial pressure for people providing unpaid care to family members. South Dakota advocates are joining the push for approval.

The Credit for Caring Act proposes a federal tax credit of up to $5,000 for eligible family caregivers.

Erik Nelson, associate state director for advocacy at AARP South Dakota, said families are the backbone of the long-term care system - and given the added challenges they've faced during the pandemic, it's time for lawmakers to step up and help them.

"In addition to the direct out-of-pocket spending, caregivers are also experiencing indirect financial setbacks," he said, "and so, it's important to not have them have to dip into personal spending or personal savings to support their family members."

AARP estimates the average family caregiver spends about $7,000 a year on out-of-pocket expenses. The bill has bipartisan support, but Nelson said its biggest obstacle is the other pressing needs facing federal lawmakers right now. An estimated 90,000 South Dakotans are family caregivers.

Nelson said the help these caregivers provide often can go unnoticed. He added that many of them still hold down a regular job, and don't see their caregiving as "extra work."

"Even if it means coming over and cleaning the house or making sure bills are paid, to much more intensive acts that caregivers do," he said, "it's important for them to be recognized."

Nelson said the bill will see some major focus next week, as AARP makes a targeted push in support of the tax credit. The proposal has support from other organizations as well, including the Alzheimer's Association and the National Association of Area Agencies on Aging.

PORTLAND, Ore. - Wealthy Americans have a message for Congress: Tax us more.

More than 200 high-income taxpayers and business owners have sent an open letter urging elected leaders to raise the tax rate for rich people to fund the infrastructure plan now being debated in Congress. Three of the signers are from Oregon, including Sandy Polishuk, a retired artist and activist living in Portland. She said the country's wealth disparity is apparent when she walks around her city.

"I think we're in a new gilded age," she said, "and like back then in the 19th century, it's ruining our country and our world to have such vast wealth and vast poverty."

A coalition of progressive groups organized the letter. The groups want Congress to raise the top marginal income-tax rate to 39.6%, reversing the Trump-era tax cut passed in 2017. Signers also want Congress to raise the corporate tax rate from 21% to 28%, close loopholes on estate taxes, and start taxing capital gains as ordinary income.

Sandra Fluke, president of the nonprofit Voices for Progress, said the money would help fund President Joe Biden's $3.5 trillion infrastructure package.

"Child-care affordability, and home- and community-based care, and paid leave, fighting climate change and protecting all of us from natural disasters are good investments," she said, "investments that will help to rebuild our economy and to strengthen our democracy."

The letter also calls on Congress to restore full funding to the IRS, which has lost one-third of its employees in enforcement roles in recent years - resulting in close to a 60% drop in the number of audits it performs.