CAC Coverage and Accessibility Analysis

Wisconsin Child Advocacy
Center Coverage Report

A geographic analysis of accessibility across Wisconsin's 16 Child Advocacy Centers - examining drive-time coverage, income and demographic disparities, and the distribution of CPS screening cases relative to where CACs are located.
Prepared by
Tito Quinones
Prepared for
CACs of Wisconsin
Date
June 2026
Data Sources
ACS 5-Year, WI DCF, Mapbox, TIGER/Line
Executive Summary

Key Findings

Wisconsin's 16 CAC locations cover the majority of the state's child population and child welfare caseload, but meaningful gaps remain - concentrated in the northern and western regions. An estimated 97,554 children live outside 60-minute drive-time coverage, and an estimated 1,730 screened-in CPS cases (9% of the statewide total) involve families living beyond a one hour drive of any CAC.
16
CAC Locations
Across 16 Wisconsin counties
92.3%
Children within 60 min drive
1,171,587 of 1,269,141 children
97,554
Children outside 60 min coverage
7.7% of Wisconsin's children
19,621
Screened-in CPS cases (CY2024)
of 70,797 total referrals - 27.7% screen-in rate
91%
Screened-in cases within 60 min of a CAC
17,891 of 19,621 cases (estimated)
1,730
Screened-in cases beyond a 1 hour drive
8.8% of statewide cases (estimated from where children live)
Cross-border access. Approximately 10 Wisconsin children each year receive services at the Dickinson Area Child Advocacy Center in Iron Mountain, MI, just across the state line. They are not subtracted from the figures in this report, which measure access to Wisconsin CACs only, but are noted here to recognize the support these families receive across the border.
Map 5 translates these gaps into a single priority index, ranking where a new or satellite CAC would close the largest share of currently-unserved need across Wisconsin.
Map 1 of 5

Drive-Time Coverage

30, 45, and 60 minute drive-time isochrones around each CAC. Toggle individual layers to isolate each threshold.
Interactive - zoom, pan, and toggle drive-time layers using the controls.

Northern Wisconsin has no CAC coverage

The entire northern third of the state falls outside even the 60-minute radius of any CAC. Counties like Ashland, Bayfield, Iron, Vilas, Forest, and Marinette are entirely unserved, leaving an estimated 97,554 children statewide beyond reasonable driving distance.

Southeast Wisconsin is well-served but concentrated

The Milwaukee metro area has dense, overlapping coverage from multiple CACs. This reflects population density and ensures strong accessibility for the state's most populated region.

Drive TimeTracts CoveredChildren CoveredChildren Outside
30 minutes1,098 / 1,542948,902 (74.8%)320,239
45 minutes1,274 / 1,5421,096,051 (86.4%)173,090
60 minutes1,380 / 1,5421,171,587 (92.3%)97,554
How "tracts covered" is measured. A census tract is counted as covered if any part of it overlaps a drive-time zone, even a small sliver. Because the tract is credited in full whenever it intersects the zone, these counts are best read as a generous upper-bound estimate of accessibility rather than an exact figure. The children-covered counts apply the same rule, so a tract's full under-18 population is included whenever the tract touches the zone.
Map 2 of 5

Income, Population and Poverty

Census tract-level economic data overlaid with CAC coverage, revealing the relationship between economic conditions and accessibility.
Toggle between Median Income, Population, and Poverty Rate views. Hover over any tract for details.

Uncovered areas have lower median incomes

At the 60-minute threshold, uncovered tracts have a median household income of $64,740 versus $71,475 in covered areas - a gap of $6,736. The communities with the least access are also among the least resourced to travel farther.

Poverty rates are higher outside coverage zones

The median poverty rate in uncovered tracts is 10.2%, compared to 8.5% in covered tracts. Rural poverty carries distinct barriers - limited transportation, fewer services, and less awareness of available resources.

$71,475
Median income (covered)
Within 60-minute drive of a CAC
$64,740
Median income (uncovered)
Outside 60-minute drive of any CAC
$6,736
Income gap
Between covered and uncovered areas
Map 3 of 5

Demographic Composition

Race and ethnicity by census tract alongside CAC coverage, examining whether gaps disproportionately affect specific communities.
Switch between demographic groups using the buttons. Hover for full breakdowns.

Uncovered areas are predominantly white and rural

Uncovered tracts have a median white non-Hispanic population of 92.5%, compared to 85.9% in covered areas, with very small Black (0.2%) and Hispanic (2.0%) populations - reflecting the rural character of northern and western Wisconsin.

Diverse urban populations are well-covered

Wisconsin's most diverse communities - Milwaukee, Racine, Kenosha, Madison, and the Fox Valley - all fall within 30-minute coverage, positioning the CACs to serve communities with the highest diversity and often the highest need.

Demographic (Median %)CoveredUncoveredDifference
White Non-Hispanic85.9%92.5%+6.6 pp
Black or African American1.3%0.2%-1.1 pp
Hispanic or Latino4.4%2.0%-2.4 pp
Reading this table. Each value is the median across tracts for that single group, calculated independently. The median for one group falls in a different tract than the median for another, so these rows are not parts of one population and do not sum to 100%. Read each row on its own, as a comparison of the typical covered tract with the typical uncovered tract for that group. A positive difference means uncovered areas have a higher share of that group than covered areas.
Map 4 of 5

CPS Screening Caseload

Every CPS referral screened in Wisconsin during calendar year 2024, mapped as a dot within its county of origin. This is the actual child welfare demand the CAC network exists to serve - and it shows where cases concentrate relative to where CACs are located. Toggle screened-out cases and the 60-minute coverage layer to compare demand against accessibility.
Each dot is one CPS case, randomly placed within its county (not an exact location). Toggle layers using the controls. Hover over a county for exact counts.

Most cases are screened out, but screened-in volume is substantial

Of 70,797 total CPS referrals in CY2024, 51,176 (72.3%) were screened out and 19,621 (27.7%) were screened in for assessment or investigation. The screened-in cases represent the families most likely to benefit from CAC services, making their geographic distribution central to coverage planning.

An estimated 1,730 screened-in cases fall beyond a one hour drive

6,982 screened-in cases (36%) originate in the 56 counties that do not host their own CAC, but many of those families live within an hour of a center in a neighboring county. Measured by drive time rather than county lines, an estimated 1,730 cases (8.8% of the statewide total) involve families beyond a one hour drive of any Wisconsin CAC. This is the more accurate measure of who lacks practical access to CAC services.

Cross-border access. Approximately 10 Wisconsin children each year receive services at the Dickinson Area Child Advocacy Center in Iron Mountain, MI, just across the state line. They are not subtracted from the figures in this report, which measure access to Wisconsin CACs only, but are noted here to recognize the support these families receive across the border.

Northern counties show high screen-in rates despite low CAC access

Several northern and rural counties - including Douglas (44%), Oneida (42%), and Barron (39%) - screen in a notably higher share of referrals than the statewide average of 28%, yet none host a CAC. This combination of elevated need and limited access marks these counties as priorities for expansion or satellite services.

Counties With the Most Cases Beyond a 1 Hour DriveScreened-In Cases (CY2024)Est. Beyond 1 HourChildren Beyond 1 Hour
Douglas County358358100%
Saint Croix County28319569%
Polk County149149100%
Grant County15912578%
Sawyer County8282100%
Map 5 of 5

Priority Areas for Future CACs

A data-driven view of where new or satellite CACs would close the largest gaps. Each area is scored on a blended priority index that weights coverage gap most heavily, then unmet CPS demand and child population. Areas already within drive-time coverage score low by design; the hottest areas combine distance from existing CACs with real, currently-unserved need.
Toggle between county and census-tract views. Hover any area for its priority score and the factors behind it.

How the priority score works

Each area receives a 0-100 score combining three normalized factors: coverage gap (share of the area beyond 60-minute CAC coverage, weighted 50%), unmet screened-in CPS cases (caseload located within that gap, 30%), and unmet child population (children within the gap, 20%). Because demand is multiplied by the local coverage gap, a county that already hosts a CAC scores near zero even if its raw caseload is high - the index measures unserved need, not total need.

The northern and western gap rises to the top

The highest-priority areas align closely with the coverage gaps identified throughout this report: northern and western counties that sit beyond the 60-minute radius of any existing CAC yet still generate screened-in CPS cases. These are the locations where a new or satellite center would convert the most currently-unserved demand into reachable services.

County view for siting, tract view for detail

The county view is the practical lens for siting decisions, since CPS caseload and most operational planning happen at the county level. The tract view offers finer spatial detail - apportioning county caseload to tracts by child population - to help identify the specific communities within a priority county where a center would be most central to the population it serves.

Appendix

Methodology

This analysis combines geographic, demographic, routing, and child welfare administrative data from multiple sources.

CAC Locations

16 CAC addresses geocoded via the U.S. Census Bureau Geocoding API to obtain precise coordinates.

Drive-Time Isochrones

Generated via the Mapbox Isochrone API at 30, 45, and 60 minute thresholds using the driving profile.

Demographic Data

ACS 5-Year Estimates via Census API. Tables: B01003 (population), B09001 (children), B19013 (income), B17001 (poverty), B03002 (race/ethnicity).

CPS Screening Data

Wisconsin DCF Appendix E - total CPS referrals and screening decisions by county for CY2024. Cases mapped as randomized dots within county boundaries (dot-density method). Cases beyond a one hour drive are estimated by distributing each county's screened-in cases across its census tracts in proportion to child population, then counting tracts outside 60 minute coverage.

Geographic Boundaries

TIGER/Line Shapefiles (2025) for Wisconsin tracts and counties. All spatial operations in EPSG:4326 (WGS84).

Limitations

Drive times assume normal traffic. CPS dots are randomized within counties and do not show exact case locations. Coverage reflects geographic accessibility only, not CAC capacity. ACS estimates carry margins of error in low-population tracts.

CAC SiteCityCounty
Safe Harbor Child Advocacy Center Inc.MadisonDane
Milwaukee Child Advocacy Center Of Childrens Hospital Of Wisconsin Inc.MilwaukeeMilwaukee
Kenosha Child Advocacy CenterKenoshaKenosha
Family and Childrens Center Stepping Stones CACLa CrosseLa Crosse
Chippewa Valley Child Advocacy CenterEau ClaireEau Claire
Fox Valley Child Advocacy CenterAppletonOutagamie
Childrens Advocacy Center Of North Central WisconsinWausauMarathon
The C.A.R.E CenterWaukeshaWaukesha
YWCA CARE HouseJanesvilleRock
Green County Child Advocacy Center The Brick HouseMonroeGreen
Willow Tree Cornerstone Child Advocacy CenterGreen BayBrown
Marshfield Child Advocacy CenterMarshfieldWood
Racine County Child Advocacy CenterMt. PleasantRacine
Walworth County Child Advocacy CenterElkhornWalworth
Lakeshore Regional Child Advocacy Center (Saukville)SaukvilleOzaukee
Lakeshore Regional Child Advocacy Center (Sheboygan)SheboyganSheboygan
Wisconsin CAC Coverage and Accessibility Analysis
Prepared by Tito Quinones for CACs of Wisconsin - June 2026
Data: U.S. Census Bureau ACS, Wisconsin DCF, Mapbox Isochrone API, TIGER/Line Shapefiles