sarah smith
After growing up in rural western Wisconsin, Sarah moved to Dane County to attend UW-Madison and fell in love with the community. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in History and went on to graduate with a Master’s in Educational Policy from UW-Madison as well. She has been active in volunteer organizations during her time in Dane County, including running a group of volunteers for the Quality Assurance division while she worked at Epic. Sarah has also organized with the Women’s March and served as State Chair for the Young Democrats of Wisconsin. She currently volunteers as a member of the City of Monona Sustainability Committee.
Sarah has previously served as Chief of Staff to State Treasurer Sarah Godlewski and as Communication Director for former state Senator Patty Schachtner. She is now the Director of Public Affairs at the Wisconsin Office of the Commissioner of Insurance. Sarah has represented District 24 on the Dane County Board of Supervisors since April 2020.
In these monthly newsletters, I will share updates from the County Board and other information about the important issues facing our community!
Back in the Board Room
After more than two years as a Board Supervisor, I attended my first in-person County Board meeting held in the City-County Building on June 16! I am very excited to see county government, and other area local governments, embracing the opportunities presented by hybrid meetings.
From now on, county residents will be able to watch and testify virtually or in-person for every full County Board meeting. Many committee meetings may also be conducted virtually or in a hybrid structure.
Sign up for updates regarding the committees and other meetings that you care about at dane.legistar.com.
June Dane County Board Actions
At our June 22 meeting, the County Board took a step toward greater gender equity by establishing a policy requiring gender-inclusive restrooms at county facilities. This resolution, which I was proud to cosponsor, passed overwhelmingly and affirms our commitment to safety, accessibility, and inclusion of every person in our community. At our June 8 meeting, we also passed an ordinance amendment that regulates the conduct of county officials to prevent sexual harassment and creates a mechanism for investigation of alleged harassment.
In June, the Board also accepted a State of Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade, and Consumer Protection Soil & Water Resource Management grant to implement the second year of our Brown on Green project focused on reducing manure runoff and incentivizing producers to utilize alternative cropping systems.
The Board also approved the continuation of the Dane County Broadband Task Force to build upon its first year of work to expand high quality, affordable internet access across the county. Finally, we also approved the establishment of an independent investigation of the Henry Vilas Zoo after concerning allegations of racism were made by current and past staff.
Accessing Abortion Today
As of June 24, 2022, providing an abortion in Wisconsin can be charged as a felony. But pregnant people still have options to access an abortion either outside of Wisconsin or with a safe, at-home medication.
I am committed to sharing information for those in need of an abortion so they can access the health care they need. If you are an abortion access supporter, please join me in sharing trusted resources, amplifying abortion experts, and helping those in your life that may need to access an abortion someday.
Abortion funds like Women’s Medical Fund can help cover the costs of traveling to Illinois or other states and the costs of the procedure itself. Abortion remains legal in states like Illinois and Minnesota. In Illinois, only one appointment is needed and there is no waiting period to have an abortion. People of all genders are affirmed and supported by Women’s Medical Fund.
The Pregnancy Options Wisconsin: Education, Resources, and Support (POWERS) helpline is also available. POWERS is run by a team of doctors, midwives, doulas, and educators to answer questions and share resources. Contact POWERS at (608) 514-1714.
While we now live in a post-Roe time, we have safer at-home abortion options than were available in the pre-Roe times. Self-managed at-home abortions can be done safely with medications that are available online or over-the-counter. Websites like AidAccess.org and PlanCPills.org can help you find online pharmacies that will provide prescriptions for mifepristone and misoprostol, two common abortion pills. Taking these medications is incredibly safe. In fact, taking mifepristone results in fewer emergency room visits than taking a Tylenol.
Emergency contraception, commonly known as Plan B, may be a good option to prevent an unwanted pregnancy early on. Plan B, or its generic versions, must be taken within 120 hours of unprotected sex and are available without a prescription. They are about 87% effective, depending where you are in your cycle when they are taken. You can find Plan B, and other contraception like birth control pills or condoms, at the Public Health Madison & Dane County clinic and they can be contacted at (608) 243-0411.
Abortion Ban Nonenforcement
On May 23, I published an open letter calling upon Wisconsin’s District Attorneys, Sheriffs, and Police Chiefs to pledge that they will not utilize the resources of their offices to investigate or prosecute individuals’ health care decisions including accessing abortion care. This open letter was signed by over 60 local elected officials from over a dozen Wisconsin counties.
All people who need abortions should be able to access them safely and on demand without threat of investigation, prosecution, or other harm. Consuming investigative and prosecutorial resources to enforce an abortion ban at the expense of other law enforcement efforts will not keep our communities any safer. Instead, it will inflict further harm on survivors of rape, human trafficking, and domestic violence.
Just over a month after we issued this call to action from District Attorneys, Sheriffs, and Police Chiefs, the U.S. Supreme Court officially overturned Roe v. Wade. After that decision was issued, District Attorney Ismael Ozanne and Sheriff Kalvin Barrett broke their silence and committed to nonenforcement.
Supporting Health Care Workers
The Health Care and Public Health Workforce subcommittee of the Health & Human Needs Committee held their first meeting in June. At this meeting, survey results were presented which found that 1 in 6 Dane County health care workers rated the impact of the pandemic on their physical and mental wellbeing as a 10 out of 10, the worst rating. The average rating out of 10 was 7.4. Eighty six percent of health care workers in Dane County experienced stress and trauma due to the pandemic, 82% experienced depression or anxiety, and 72% experienced insomnia or sleeplessness.
This data is an important foundation for us to evaluate and address the impact of the pandemic on our health care workforce. Eighty two percent of health care workers have either considered leaving or know a co-worker who has considered leaving due to the pandemic. We rely on the services and care from health care workers every day, and in this challenging employer market, it’s critical that we can better support and retain health care providers for the future.
If you are a health care worker, please don’t hesitate to reach out to share your perspective on the pandemic impact. As the work of this subcommittee continues, I will continue to be engaged in their work and support it wherever possible.
988 in Wisconsin
Please continue to call 800-273-8255 for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline until the launch of 988.
The Criminal Justice Council hosted a presentation by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services about the new 988 suicide prevention number. Beginning July 16, anyone in the US can call or text 988 to be connected to the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.
Learn more about how Wisconsin will be implementing 988 here.
