Walker wants private sector to run assistance programs

Every county across the state has a center like the one where Colon works. The centers function as one-stop shops where people can apply for food and medical assistance at the same time. Applications can be filled out online, over the phone or on paper. Whichever way applicants choose to go, county and state workers are there to help them through any stumbling blocks. But a provision in Gov. Scott Walker’s proposed budget would change all that by creating an “income maintenance administrative unit” to centralize and largely privatize the operation of the food assistance, or FoodShare program, and Medicaid programs in Wisconsin. (CAPITAL TIMES, 5/11)