FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 13, 2021
Contact: DOA Communications, (608) 220-9389
DOACommunications@wisconsin.gov
Wisconsin Launches Data Project to Help Community Advocates & Policy Experts Track and Respond to Evictions
DOA reminds residents of
Wisconsin Emergency Rental Assistance available now
Madison, Wis. - Today, the Wisconsin Department of Administration (DOA) announced the launch of the Wisconsin Eviction Data Project, which provides policymakers, advocates, and the public access to data on eviction filings and judgment by month and county. This tool will help identify eviction trends that may necessitate housing policy changes. The Eviction Data Project was developed by DOA for the Wisconsin Interagency Council on Homelessness (ICH) in partnership with the Wisconsin Department of Justice. With the launch of the Eviction Data Project, DOA is reminding residents and advocates that emergency rental assistance is available now to help eligible Wisconsinites impacted by the pandemic cover costs of past due and current rent and utilities. Residents can access assistance at https://wera.help.
“Every Wisconsinite deserves a safe place to call home," said DOA Secretary Joel Brennan. “The Eviction Data Project will help state agencies, lawmakers, policymakers, and local governments identify communities of concern so that we can adapt how we operate and what resources we make available to Wisconsinites. I'm grateful for ICH Director Mike Basford's leadership in developing this tool and for his commitment to bringing together leaders from across the state to tackle the immediate need of ensuring safe, affordable housing for all of our residents.
“At the same time, we want people to know that if you're struggling to pay your rent because of the pandemic, help is available now through the Emergency Rental Assistance program."The Wisconsin Eviction Data Project was designed to track the efficacy of homelessness prevention efforts as well as learn if there are certain areas of the state that require housing policy changes or additional investments. This project follows the work done by the Eviction Lab by Matthew Desmond and Princeton University, and the City of Milwaukee Evictions project by the Medical College of Wisconsin Institute for Health Equity's Division of Epidemiology.
“We're looking forward to using this project to inform Wisconsin residents on the role evictions play in our current housing and homelessness crises," said ICH Director Basford.
In 2020, Wisconsin households were subject to more than 19,000 eviction filings. Of those, more than 2,000 were finalized as eviction judgments. During the pandemic, Governor Tony Evers and the federal government issued eviction moratoriums that helped Wisconsinites stay in their homes. The state eviction moratorium expired in May 2020 but a federal moratorium from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control remains in place.
The data for this project is provided by an application programming interface developed by DOA's Division of Enterprise Technology that accesses data from the Wisconsin Circuit Court Access REST service. This provides the county circuit court data from the Consolidated Court Automation Programs (CCAP) for eviction filings and judgments, which is compiled and presented on the Data Project's website.
If you are experiencing housing instability and need legal resources, consult Wisconsin Judicare, Inc., or Legal Action of Wisconsin. Visit http://wera.help for Emergency Rental
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