LRBs0381/1
GMM:wlj:rs
2011 - 2012 LEGISLATURE
SENATE SUBSTITUTE AMENDMENT 1,
TO 2011 SENATE BILL 502
March 7, 2012 - Offered by Senator
Lazich.
SB502-SSA1,2,12
1An Act to renumber and amend 48.355 (2b) and 938.355 (2b);
to amend 48.21
2(5) (d), 48.299 (4) (b), 48.315 (2m) (b), 48.32 (1) (b) 1. c., 48.32 (1) (c), 48.33 (4)
3(c), 48.335 (3g) (c), 48.335 (4), 48.355 (2) (b) 6., 48.355 (2b) (title), 48.355 (2c) (b),
448.355 (2d) (b) (intro.), 48.355 (2d) (c), 48.355 (2e) (b), 48.357 (2v) (c), 48.363 (1)
5(a), 48.365 (2g) (b) 2., 48.365 (2g) (b) 3., 48.365 (2m) (a) 1., 48.365 (2m) (a) 1m.,
648.365 (2m) (a) 3., 48.365 (2m) (ad), 48.365 (7), 48.371 (5), 48.38 (2) (intro.),
748.38 (4) (ar), 48.38 (4) (f) 3., 48.38 (4) (fg) (intro.), 48.38 (4) (fg) 5., 48.38 (4) (fm),
848.38 (4) (i), 48.38 (4m) (title), 48.38 (5) (title), 48.38 (5) (a), 48.38 (5) (am), 48.38
9(5) (c) 5., 48.38 (5) (c) 6. (intro.), 48.38 (5) (c) 6. d., 48.38 (5) (c) 7., 48.38 (5) (f),
1048.38 (5m) (title), 48.38 (5m) (a), 48.38 (5m) (b), 48.38 (5m) (f), 48.38 (6) (a),
1148.417 (1) (a), 48.43 (1) (cm), 48.43 (5m), 48.63 (5) (d) 4., 48.977 (4) (i) (title),
12757.69 (1) (g) 14., 938.21 (5) (d), 938.315 (2m) (b), 938.32 (1) (c) 1. c., 938.32 (1)
13(d), 938.33 (4) (c), 938.335 (3g) (c), 938.335 (4), 938.355 (2) (b) 6., 938.355 (2c)
1(b), 938.355 (2d) (b) (intro.), 938.355 (2d) (c), 938.355 (2e) (b), 938.357 (2v) (c),
2938.363 (1) (a), 938.365 (2g) (b) 2., 938.365 (2g) (b) 3., 938.365 (2m) (a) 1.,
3938.365 (2m) (a) 1m., 938.365 (2m) (a) 3., 938.365 (2m) (ad), 938.365 (7), 938.371
4(5), 938.38 (2) (intro.), 938.38 (4) (ar), 938.38 (4) (f) 3., 938.38 (4) (fg) (intro.),
5938.38 (4) (fg) 5., 938.38 (4) (fm), 938.38 (4) (i), 938.38 (4m) (title), 938.38 (5)
6(title), 938.38 (5) (a), 938.38 (5) (am), 938.38 (5) (c) 5., 938.38 (5) (c) 6. (intro.),
7938.38 (5) (c) 6. d., 938.38 (5) (c) 7., 938.38 (5) (f), 938.38 (5m) (title), 938.38 (5m)
8(a), 938.38 (5m) (b), 938.38 (5m) (f) and 938.38 (6) (a); and
to create 48.355 (2b)
9(a), 48.358, 48.38 (5) (c) 5m., 938.355 (2b) (a), 938.358 and 938.38 (5) (c) 5m. of
10the statutes;
relating to: permanency planning for a child placed in
11out-of-home care, including concurrent permanency goals, trial reunifications,
12and planned permanent living arrangements for such a child.
Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
Introduction
Under current law, for each child living in an out-of-home placement, the
county department of human services or social services, the licensed child welfare
agency, or the Department of Children and Families (DCF) that placed the child or
arranged the placement of the child or the agency assigned primary responsibility
for providing services to the child (collectively "agency") must prepare a permanency
plan for the child. A permanency plan must describe, among other things, the goal
or goals of the permanency plan, with those goals being either the safe return of the
child to his or her home or placement of the child for adoption, with a guardian, with
a fit and willing relative, or in some other alternative permanent placement, such as
sustaining care, independent living, or long-term foster care.
This substitute amendment makes certain changes relating to permanency
planning for a child placed in out-of-home care, including changes relating to: 1)
concurrent planning; 2) trial reunifications; and 3) planned permanent living
arrangements, for such a child.
Concurrent planning
Under current law, an agency, at the same time as the agency is making
reasonable efforts to prevent the removal of a child from his or her home or to make
it possible for the child to return home, may work with an adoption agency in making
appropriate efforts to place the child for adoption, with a guardian, with a fit and
willing relative, or in some other alternative permanent placement (concurrent
reasonable efforts). If an agency is making concurrent reasonable efforts, the child's
permanency plan must include the goals of the permanency plan.
This substitute amendment eliminates the authority of an agency to make
concurrent reasonable efforts and instead permits an agency to engage in concurrent
planning, which the substitute amendment defines as appropriate efforts to work
simultaneously towards achieving more than one permanency goal for a child.
Under the substitute amendment, an agency must determine, in accordance with
standards established by DCF (concurrent planning standards) whether to engage
in concurrent planning. If, according to the concurrent planning standards,
concurrent planning is required, the agency must engage in concurrent planning
unless the court assigned to exercise jurisdiction under the Children's Code and the
Juvenile Justice Code (juvenile court) or a permanency review panel appointed by
the juvenile court determines that concurrent planning is inappropriate. If an
agency determines to engage in concurrent planning for a child, the child's
permanency plan must include the rationale for that determination and a
description of the concurrent plan and the permanency and concurrent permanency
goals of the concurrent plan. In addition, the juvenile court review panel, in
reviewing a child's permanency plan, must determine the continuing
appropriateness, according to the concurrent planning standards, of the permanency
goal and any concurrent permanency goals for the child and, if the juvenile court or
panel does not approve of any of those goals, or if the juvenile court or panel
determines that a concurrent permanency goal is appropriate, that court or panel
must determine the permanency goal and, if appropriate, any concurrent
permanency goal for the child.
Trial reunifications
Current law — changes in placement. Under current law, the juvenile
court, on the request of the person or agency primarily responsible for implementing
a dispositional order, of the juvenile court, may order a change in placement for a
child placed outside of his or her home under a dispositional order of the juvenile
court. The juvenile court may order the change in placement without a hearing,
unless a party receiving the notice files an objection. Current law also permits the
person or agency primarily responsible for implementing the dispositional order to
make an emergency change in placement if emergency conditions necessitate an
immediate change in placement.
The substitute amendment — trial reunifications. This substitute
amendment provides a similar procedure under which the juvenile court may order
a trial reunification, which the substitute amendment defines as authorization for
a child who is placed in an out-of-home placement to reside in the home of the
relative of the child from which the child was removed or in the home of either of the
child's parents for a specified and limited period of seven consecutive days or longer
for the purpose of determining the appropriateness of changing the placement of the
child to that home. The substitute amendment, however, does not permit an
emergency trial reunification. Under the substitute amendment, if an emergency
condition necessitates an immediate removal of the child from his or her
out-of-home placement, the person or agency primarily responsible for
implementing the dispositional order must make an emergency change in placement
as provided under current law.
Under the substitute amendment, the juvenile court may order a trial
reunification on the request of the person or agency primarily responsible for
implementing the dispositional order. Notice of the proposed trial reunification must
1) be provided to the child, the parent, guardian, and legal custodian of the child, any
foster parent or other physical custodian of the child, the child's court-appointed
special advocate, all parties who are bound by the dispositional order, and, in the case
of an Indian child, the Indian child's Indian custodian and tribe; and 2) contain a
statement describing why the trial reunification is in the best interests of the child
and a statement describing how the trial reunification satisfies the objectives of the
child's permanency plan. The juvenile court may order the trial reunification
without a hearing, unless a party receiving the notice files an objection.
If the juvenile court finds that the trial reunification is in the best interests of
the child and that the trial reunification satisfies the objectives of the child's
permanency plan, the juvenile court must grant an order authorizing the trial
reunification. A trial reunification terminates 90 days after the date of the order,
unless the juvenile court specifies a shorter period in the order, extends the trial
reunification, or revokes the trial reunification. At the end of a trial reunification,
the person or agency primarily responsible for implementing the dispositional order
must return the child to his or her previous out-of-home placement, request a
change in placement of the child to a new out-of-home placement, or request a
change-in-placement of the child to the trial reunification home.
The substitute amendment also permits the person or agency primarily
responsible for implementing the dispositional order to request an extension of a
trial reunification. The request must contain a statement describing how the trial
reunification continues to be in the best interests of the child, and the same notice
and hearing requirements that apply to an original request for a trial reunification
also apply to a request for an extension of a trial reunification. If the juvenile court
finds that the trial reunification continues to be in the best interests of the child, the
juvenile court must grant an order extending the trial reunification for a period
specified by the juvenile court. Any number of extensions may be granted, but the
total period for a trial reunification may not exceed 150 days.
In addition, the substitute amendment permits the person or agency primarily
responsible for implementing the dispositional order to remove the child from the
trial reunification home and place the child in the child's previous out-of-home
placement or in a new out-of-home placement, without prior juvenile court order,
if that person or agency determines, based on current circumstances, that the trial
reunification is no longer in the best interests of the child.
If the person or agency removes the child from the trial reunification home and
places the child in the child's previous out-of-home placement, within three days
after that removal, that person or agency must submit a request for revocation of the
trial reunification to the juvenile court that ordered the trial reunification and must
cause notice of the request to be provided to all persons who are entitled to receive
notice of the original trial reunification, and the same notice and hearing
requirements that apply to an original request for a trial reunification also apply to
a request for a revocation of a trial reunification. If the juvenile court finds that the
trial reunification is no longer in the best interests of the child, the juvenile court
must grant an order revoking the trial reunification and approving that placement.
If the person or agency removes the child from the trial reunification home and
places the child in a new out-of-home placement, within three days after that
removal, that person or agency must request a change in placement as provided
under current law, and the change-in-placement procedures provided under current
law apply. If the juvenile court grants a change-in-placement order, the trial
reunification is revoked.
Other planned permanent living arrangement
Under current law, if a goal of a child's permanency plan is an alternative
permanent placement, the permanency plan must document a compelling reason
why it would not be in the best interests of the child to pursue the safe return of the
child to his or her home or placement of the child for adoption, with a guardian, or
with a fit and willing relative.
This substitute amendment changes the term "alternative permanent
placement" to "other planned permanent living arrangement," requires the
arrangement to include an appropriate enduring, relationship between the child and
an adult, and eliminates independent living as a planned permanent living
arrangement option. The substitute amendment also permits a child's permanency
plan to include the permanency goal of placement of the child in a planned
permanent living arrangement only if the agency determines that there is a
compelling reason why it currently would not be in the best interests of the child to
pursue the safe return of the child to his or her home or placement of the child for
adoption, with a guardian, or with a fit and willing relative as the permanency goal
for the child. If an agency makes that determination, the child's permanency plan
must include a statement of that compelling reason and, notwithstanding that
compelling reason, a concurrent plan towards achieving the concurrent permanency
goal of safely returning the child to his or her home or placing the child for adoption,
with a guardian, or with a fit and willing relative in addition to the permanency goal
of placing the child in some other planned permanent living arrangement.
The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do
enact as follows:
SB502-SSA1,6,22
48.21
(5) (d) If the judge or circuit court commissioner finds that any of the
3circumstances specified in s. 48.355 (2d) (b) 1. to 5. applies with respect to a parent,
4the judge or circuit court commissioner shall hold a hearing under s. 48.38 (4m)
1within 30 days after the date of that finding to determine the permanency
plan goal
2and, if applicable, any concurrent permanency goals for the child.
SB502-SSA1,6,184
48.299
(4) (b) Except as provided in s. 901.05, neither common law nor
5statutory rules of evidence are binding at a hearing for a child held in custody under
6s. 48.21, a hearing for an adult expectant mother held in custody under s. 48.213, a
7runaway home hearing under s. 48.227 (4), a dispositional hearing, or a hearing
8about changes in placement,
trial reunifications, revision of dispositional orders,
9extension of dispositional orders
, or termination of guardianship orders entered
10under s. 48.977 (4) (h) 2. or (6) or 48.978 (2) (j) 2. or (3) (g). At those hearings, the court
11shall admit all testimony having reasonable probative value, but shall exclude
12immaterial, irrelevant
, or unduly repetitious testimony or evidence that is
13inadmissible under s. 901.05. Hearsay evidence may be admitted if it has
14demonstrable circumstantial guarantees of trustworthiness. The court shall give
15effect to the rules of privilege recognized by law. The court shall apply the basic
16principles of relevancy, materiality
, and probative value to proof of all questions of
17fact. Objections to evidentiary offers and offers of proof of evidence not admitted may
18be made and shall be noted in the record.
SB502-SSA1, s. 3
19Section
3. 48.315 (2m) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB502-SSA1,7,220
48.315
(2m) (b) The court making an initial finding under s. 48.38 (5m) that
21the agency primarily responsible for providing services to the child has made
22reasonable efforts to achieve the
goals permanency goal of the child's permanency
23plan more than 12 months after the date on which the child was removed from the
24home or making any subsequent findings under s. 48.38 (5m) as to those reasonable
1efforts more than 12 months after the date of a previous finding as to those
2reasonable efforts.
SB502-SSA1, s. 4
3Section
4. 48.32 (1) (b) 1. c. of the statutes is amended to read:
SB502-SSA1,7,74
48.32
(1) (b) 1. c. If a permanency plan has previously been prepared for the
5child, a finding as to whether the county department, department, or agency has
6made reasonable efforts to achieve the
permanency goal of the child's permanency
7plan
, including, if appropriate, through an out-of-state placement
,.
SB502-SSA1,7,139
48.32
(1) (c) If the judge or circuit court commissioner finds that any of the
10circumstances specified in s. 48.355 (2d) (b) 1. to 5. applies with respect to a parent,
11the judge or circuit court commissioner shall hold a hearing under s. 48.38 (4m)
12within 30 days after the date of that finding to determine the permanency
plan goal
13and, if applicable, any concurrent permanency goals for the child.
SB502-SSA1,7,2515
48.33
(4) (c) Specific information showing that continued placement of the child
16in his or her home would be contrary to the welfare of the child, specific information
17showing that the county department, the department, in a county having a
18population of 500,000 or more, or the agency primarily responsible for providing
19services to the child has made reasonable efforts to prevent the removal of the child
20from the home, while assuring that the child's health and safety are the paramount
21concerns, unless any of the circumstances specified in s. 48.355 (2d) (b) 1. to 5.
22applies, and, if a permanency plan has previously been prepared for the child,
23specific information showing that the county department, department, or agency has
24made reasonable efforts to achieve the
permanency goal of the child's permanency
25plan
, including, if appropriate, through an out-of-state placement
,.
SB502-SSA1, s. 7
1Section
7. 48.335 (3g) (c) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB502-SSA1,8,52
48.335
(3g) (c) That, if a permanency plan has previously been prepared for the
3child, the county department, department, or agency has made reasonable efforts to
4achieve the
permanency goal of the child's permanency plan
, including, if
5appropriate, through an out-of-state placement
,.
SB502-SSA1,8,117
48.335
(4) At hearings under this section, s. 48.357,
48.358, 48.363
, or 48.365,
8on the request of any party, unless good cause to the contrary is shown, the court may
9admit testimony on the record by telephone or live audiovisual means, if available,
10under s. 807.13 (2). The request and the showing of good cause may be made by
11telephone.
SB502-SSA1, s. 9
12Section
9. 48.355 (2) (b) 6. of the statutes is amended to read:
SB502-SSA1,9,513
48.355
(2) (b) 6. If the child is placed outside the home, a finding that continued
14placement of the child in his or her home would be contrary to the welfare of the child,
15a finding as to whether the county department, the department, in a county having
16a population of 500,000 or more, or the agency primarily responsible for providing
17services under a court order has made reasonable efforts to prevent the removal of
18the child from the home, while assuring that the child's health and safety are the
19paramount concerns, unless the court finds that any of the circumstances specified
20in sub. (2d) (b) 1. to 5. applies, and, if a permanency plan has previously been
21prepared for the child, a finding as to whether the county department, department,
22or agency has made reasonable efforts to achieve the
permanency goal of the child's
23permanency plan
, including, if appropriate, through an out-of-state placement. The
24court shall make the findings specified in this subdivision on a case-by-case basis
25based on circumstances specific to the child and shall document or reference the
1specific information on which those findings are based in the court order
,. A court
2order that merely references this subdivision without documenting or referencing
3that specific information in the court order or an amended court order that
4retroactively corrects an earlier court order that does not comply with this
5subdivision is not sufficient to comply with this subdivision.
SB502-SSA1, s. 10
6Section
10. 48.355 (2b) (title) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB502-SSA1,9,77
48.355
(2b) (title)
Concurrent reasonable efforts permitted planning.
SB502-SSA1, s. 11
8Section
11. 48.355 (2b) of the statutes is renumbered 48.355 (2b) (b) and
9amended to read:
SB502-SSA1,9,2510
48.355
(2b) (b) A county department, the department, in a county having a
11population of 500,000 or more, or the agency primarily responsible for providing
12services to a child under a court order
may, at the same time as the county
13department, department, or agency is making the reasonable efforts required under
14sub. (2) (b) 6. to prevent the removal of the child from the home or to make it possible
15for the child to return safely to his or her home, work with the department, a county
16department under s. 48.57 (1) (e) or (hm), or a child welfare agency licensed under
17s. 48.61 (5) in making reasonable efforts to place the child for adoption, with a
18guardian, with a fit and willing relative, or in some other alternative permanent
19placement, including reasonable efforts to identify an appropriate out-of-state
20placement shall determine, in accordance with standards established by the
21department, whether to engage in concurrent planning. If, according to those
22standards, concurrent planning is required, the county department, department, or
23agency shall engage in concurrent planning unless the court or permanency review
24panel determines under s. 48.38 (5) (c) 5m. that concurrent planning is
25inappropriate.
SB502-SSA1,10,52
48.355
(2b) (a) In this subsection, "concurrent planning" means appropriate
3efforts to work simultaneously towards achieving more than one of the permanency
4goals listed in s. 48.38 (4) (fg) 1. to 5. for a child who is placed in out-of-home care
5and for whom a permanency plan is required under s. 48.38 (2).
SB502-SSA1,10,147
48.355
(2c) (b) When a court makes a finding under sub. (2) (b) 6. as to whether
8the county department, department, in a county having a population of 500,000 or
9more, or agency primarily responsible for providing services to the child under a
10court order has made reasonable efforts to achieve the
permanency goal of the
11permanency plan, the court's consideration of reasonable efforts shall include the
12considerations listed under par. (a) 1. to 5. and whether visitation schedules between
13the child and his or her parents were implemented, unless visitation was denied or
14limited by the court.