Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez tours Family and Children’s Center in La Crosse

LA CROSSE, Wis. (WXOW) – Wisconsin Lt. Gov. and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Sara Rodriguez toured the Family and Children’s Center in La Crosse on Monday.

Rodriguez heard about the work the facility provides for children and families throughout western Wisconsin.

The center offers domestic and child abuse services, mental health care and family support services.

After the tour, Rodriguez spoke about how organizations like the Family and Children’s Center make a lasting impact on the community.

“I’m so happy that these types of organizations exist,” Rodriguez said. “If we can prevent issues from happening before they occur, we know that that’s better for the family, it’s better for the child, and to be honest, we’re going to spend less money at the end of the day because we’ve prevented all these things from occurring later on.”

Rodriguez also noted that during her visit, she heard concerns from the organization about the upcoming changes to Medicaid and the potential impact it could have on the services they provide.

The story originally aired on WXOW on June 15, 2026.

LA CROSSE (WKBT) — Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez visited the Family and Children’s Center in La Crosse Monday, meeting with staff to discuss the organization’s efforts to address domestic and child abuse, mental health care, and family support services.

During the visit, Rodriguez heard directly from staff about the programs the center offers to families in the region, including services aimed at preventing abuse before it occurs.

Rodriguez stressed the importance of early intervention, saying that getting mental health resources to children sooner produces stronger long-term results for families.

“If we can prevent issues from happening before they can occur, we know that that’s better for the family, it’s better for the child,” Rodriguez said. “We’re gonna spend less money because we prevented all of these things from occurring later on.”

The Family and Children’s Center provides a range of services to families in the La Crosse area, including domestic abuse support, child abuse prevention, and mental health care.

Rodriguez’s visit underscores a growing focus at the state level on funding and expanding early childhood mental health services as a strategy for reducing long-term social and economic costs.

The story originally aired on WKBT on June 15, 2026.