Future State Project
The Future State project reimagines the services Milwaukee County provides to everyone who lives, works, and plays in our community. Guided by Milwaukee County's vision of racial and health equity and our strategic goals, we are striving towards a future state where we can truly meet the community's needs.
This historic project is an opportunity to critically reflect on Milwaukee County's programming and service delivery and to boldly ask if we are maximizing impact for those we serve. Milwaukee County has never undertaken such an in-depth examination of our services before.
By the Fall of 2026, Milwaukee County will finalize a future state model that will enable us to reimagine how we best serve Milwaukee County residents.
Check out the frequently asked questions below to learn more, and reach out to the Future State project team at [email protected] to share additional questions or comments.
Future State Draft Recommendations
The Future State draft recommendations are ideas to improve Milwaukee County’s services, policies, practices, and organizational structure. These proposals aim to move our community towards our shared goal of being the healthiest county in Wisconsin.
Future State draft recommendations PDF
Bilingual (English, español) handout PDF, summarizing the draft recommendations
The draft recommendations cover many topics: community engagement, County operations, housing, legal services, parks, public health, social services, transit, and the zoo.
Written by consultants BerryDunn and Kairo Communications, these proposed changes are based on the Current State Assessment and Gap Analysis report. The draft recommendations are also shaped by research on racial equity programming and services as well as overall health and quality of life in other communities across the country.
The draft recommendations are just that — recommendations. They are a starting point for conversations about what is possible.
During Spring 2026, the draft recommendations will be shared with the community for feedback. Project consultants will weave this feedback into a final Future State report to be presented before County leaders by Fall 2026.
An overview of community engagement efforts for this phase of the Future State project is available here.
2026 Community Listening Sessions
Milwaukee County, BerryDunn, and Kairo Communications held six listening sessions to hear community feedback on the draft Future State recommendations:
- Franklin Public Library on Tuesday, March 3rd
- Kosciuszko Community Center on Wednesday, March 4th
- Brown Deer Public Library on Thursday, March 5th
- Washington Park Senior Center on Monday, March 9th
- Grace Fellowship Church of Milwaukee, hosted by 5Points Neighborhood Association, on Wednesday, March 11th
- ThriveOn King on Thursday, March 12th
Additional listening sessions were hosted in collaboration with Employ Milwaukee and Wisconsin LGBT Chamber of Commerce to gather input from their partners.
During these sessions, the Future State project team gave a brief overview of the draft recommendations. Participants were then invited to join small group discussions focused on one of six areas: County operations and transit, criminal justice and legal services, parks and the zoo, public health and social services, housing, and community engagement. Attendees also shared their ideas by writing on wall charts and filling out surveys.
The County and its partners are deeply grateful for the community members who attended and shared valuable insights as well as the many collaborators whose contributions made these sessions possible.
The Future State project team will continue to attend community events and visit local organizations, sharing the draft recommendations and gathering feedback through early April.
Media and Related Materials
- Future State Get Involved PDF Flyer — English | español (March 2026)
- Future State Community Listening Session PDF Flyer — English | español (March 2026)
- Social Media PNG Image, Future State Community Listening Sessions — English | español (March 2026)
- News Article | Crowley announces sweeping county initiative, seeks community input (March 5, 2026)
- Press Release | Milwaukee County Invites Community Input on Newly Released Draft Recommendations for Future State Project (March 2, 2026)
- List of Milwaukee County Public Services PDF (July 2025)
Current State Assessment and Gap Analysis Report
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In order to build a healthier and more vibrant future for everyone, we must begin by understanding our current situation. One of the Future State project’s deliverables is a Current State Assessment and Gap Analysis Report. Released in February 2026, this report provides an overview of County programs and services while identifying gaps, inefficiencies, and opportunities for improvement. Since 2024, the Future State project team has engaged more than 1,000 stakeholders—including staff across departments, program leads, community members, and partner organizations—to ensure the assessment accurately reflects Milwaukee County’s work and impact. |
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Future State project? What is the goal of the project?
The Future State project grew out of the County’s vision to become the healthiest county in Wisconsin by achieving racial equity. While we have innovated in a number of ways to advance this vision, Milwaukee County’s policies, practices, and culture were built over the years and have not changed enough to equitably meet the diverse needs of the community. The long history of health disparities in our community continues, with people of color continuing to experience the worst health outcomes of any population.
This project seeks to understand the answers to what the greatest needs of Milwaukee County residents are, what services the County should provide to best meet the needs of our residents, and how should those ‘businesses’ be prioritized and structured.
The Future State project reviewed and documented our existing programs, services, and policies in a Current State Assessment and Gap Analysis report. With the support of consultants BerryDunn and Kairo Communications, Milwaukee County will now look at different ways of improving what we do to identify a “future state” that will help us eliminate disparities and achieve our vision.
At the end of the project, Milwaukee County will receive an inventory and analysis of its services, a shared framework for prioritizing County services, and recommendations on a future state for Milwaukee County’s organization and financial practices to optimize delivery of high-priority services.
Examples of the recommendations may include expanding certain services to a broader population, shifting service delivery from Milwaukee County to a third-party partner, or tailoring a service to a narrower population. Recommendations may also include changes to the County’s organizational structure.
What is a “Future State,” and why is it important?
Milwaukee County has the opportunity to improve health outcomes for our residents by embracing innovative approaches and building on our strengths. Milwaukee County will not be able to change health outcomes for residents by doing things the way we have always done them. We will have to reimagine the way we do business and carry out our work.
So, is this a new vision? How does this connect to Milwaukee County’s current strategy?
This is not a new vision. Milwaukee County continues to be guided by the vision adopted unanimously by the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors in 2020. The Future State project is an essential step to understand how to fully achieve that vision and its accompanying strategic plan.
Our vision tells us what we want to accomplish: by achieving racial equity, Milwaukee County becomes the healthiest county in Wisconsin. Our strategic goals define what we have to focus on. The Future State project will describe how we are going to get there — the changes we need to make to County services in order to advance our vision.
Who will be involved in the project?
The Future State project needs to be shaped and influenced by multiple perspectives and experiences — from Milwaukee County employees, to residents and service recipients, to community partners and stakeholders. Many different perspectives are key to defining the current state and what our ideal future state could look like. Everyone has a role in this project, and we value everyone’s participation.
Who are the consultants Milwaukee County is working with to complete the project? What is their role?
Milwaukee County hired a national consulting firm, BerryDunn, that specializes in helping local governments visualize, identify, and realize better ways of operating. BerryDunn will be partnering with Kairo Communications, a local Milwaukee firm that brings extensive experience with community outreach and racial equity organizational development. BerryDunn and Kairo will partner together to help us assess our current state as an organization and identify areas to improve in order to achieve our vision.
The consulting team’s role is to:
1. Facilitate a process that documents the current state of Milwaukee County programs and services through broad input and perspectives from County residents, employees, communities, and partners.
2. Help Milwaukee County identify and research “benchmark” counties across the U.S. that have improved health outcomes for their residents and how they achieved better results.
3. Identify and make recommendations for changing our structure and service delivery to help us operate more efficiently and contribute to a better quality of life for Milwaukee County residents and communities.
The consultants’ recommendations are informed by Milwaukee County employees, our residents, our communities, and the benchmark counties.
How is equity embedded in this project?
The goal of the Future State project is to identify where disparities exist and then develop recommendations, so Milwaukee County is best positioned to address these disparities. This project is based in equity, and it is woven into how the project is implemented.
Kairo Communications, one of our consulting partners, in collaboration with Milwaukee County’s Office of Equity, developed a racial equity approach that will guide the entire Future State project. The consultants used Milwaukee County’s Health and Equity Framework and strategic goals to guide the approach. The Future State project’s racial equity approach will use a “racial equity lens” that will ensure the recommendations enable us to achieve our vision and are not contributing to racial disparities.
What will happen once the Future State project is complete? What will be done based on feedback provided and recommendations made?
By the summer of 2026, the consulting team will share recommendations for changes to organizational structures, policies, practices, and service delivery.
These recommendations will be based on information collected and analyzed through the previous project phases. This includes the current state assessment, an in-depth review of Milwaukee County services, benchmarking of other counties’ service delivery models and structure, and community listening sessions.
Which recommendations and whether or not to implement them will be made by County leadership: the County Board of Supervisors, County Executive, cabinet, and department directors.
What is the timeline for the project?
The Future State project has three phases: the Current State Assessment (Fall-Summer 2025), Benchmarking (Summer-Fall 2025), and Analysis and Recommendations (Fall 2025- Fall 2026).
Once the project is complete and recommendations are provided to Milwaukee County, implementing them will be a process of changes — some small, some large, some easy to implement, others difficult — that will yield tangible, improved results for our residents and communities. It will be an ongoing process as we continue to close the racial equity gap.