MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Increasing home ownership in Wisconsin, particularly among young people, is the focus of a new task force started by state Treasurer Sarah Godlewski.

The group, comprised mostly of local treasurers, met for the first time on Wednesday and plans to issue a report by the end of the year. Godlewski told the Wisconsin State Journal in a story published Friday that the goal of the group is to help people buy their first homes and be able to stay in them.

Godlewski is also trying to restore importance to the state treasurer's office after lawmakers have removed nearly all of its duties since the mid-1990s.

Her task force will seek to develop a network of local treasurers and community organizations that can work together to improve home ownership and prevent foreclosures.

According to the Wisconsin Realtors Association, rates of home ownership have declined in Wisconsin from 2007 to 2017 across all age groups except seniors, with the youngest age group seeing the largest drop.

The home ownership rate among Wisconsin’s African American population is about 25%, while the rate among the Hispanic population is 47% and the rate among the white population is over 70%.