Unified Organization of the Rule
The current rule is organized into 3 subchapters: general provisions, provisions applicable to the kinship care program only, and provisions applicable to the long-term kinship care program only. The proposed rule creates a single section that lists all of the eligibility conditions for both kinship care and long-term kinship care. Other sections of the rule provide further detail for the more complex eligibility conditions. Differences in detail between kinship care and long-term kinship care are noted throughout the rule where applicable.
Efficient and Consistent Program Administration
The proposed rule includes a number of provisions that will ease the workload of kinship care agencies and provide a more consistent experience for relative caregivers throughout the state, including the following:
Eliminating agency policies other than waiting list priorities.
Requiring the use of forms prescribed by the department throughout the rule.
Consolidating most agency procedures into a single section of the rule.
Specifying home visit evaluation standards.
Requiring a single application if a relative caregiver is applying for payments for more than one child at the same time.
Simplifying eligibility determination if a relative caregiver is applying for payments for a new child within 6 months after the kinship care agency determined that the relative caregiver was eligible to receive payments for a different child. The relative caregiver will complete only the child-specific portions of the new application, and the kinship care agency will use information obtained for the other child’s eligibility and require new information or actions only if necessary.
Ensuring that kinship care payments continue when a family moves within the state.
Allowing the kinship care agency to presume that living with the relative caregiver is in the best interests of the child if the agency is determining the relative caregiver’s eligibility for long-term kinship care or voluntary kinship care and a court order or voluntary transition-to-independent-living agreement placing the child in the relative caregiver’s home expired or was terminated within the previous 6 months. Child Welfare Automation System eWiSACWIS
At the same time that the rule becomes effective, county departments and the department will begin using the department’s child welfare automation system eWiSACWIS for administration of kinship care and long-term kinship care. The eWiSACWIS system will guide agencies on the types of eligibility documentation required and allow agency staff to easily indicate the type of documentation received with less written narrative.
The proposed rule requires that a kinship care agency with access to the eWiSACWIS system enter any information related to a relative caregiver’s eligibility into the eWiSACWIS system within 5 working days after making any decision affecting eligibility. Agencies that do not have access to the eWiSACWIS system will be required to document eligibility decisions by completing a form prescribed by the department and obtaining and retaining supporting documentation as necessary.
With eligibility information on eWiSACWIS, a relative caregiver that moves to an area of the state served by a different kinship care agency will not be required to reapply for payments if the new agency has access to the eWiSACWIS system, and agencies will not need to duplicate work. If the kinship care agency serving either the relative caregiver’s old or new residence does not have access to the eWiSACWIS system, the proposed rule requires that the agency serving the relative caregiver’s old residence transfer eligibility documentation to the agency serving the relative caregiver’s new residence. Tribal kinship care agencies do not have access to the eWiSACWIS system.
Home Visit Requirements
When determining eligibility for both the kinship care and long-term kinship care programs, a kinship care agency is required to determine if living with the relative caregiver is in the best interests of the child. Under the current rule, agencies assessing the best interests of the child are required to visit the relative caregiver’s home when determining eligibility for long-term kinship care, but are not required to visit the relative caregiver’s home when determining eligibility for kinship care.
The proposed rule requires kinship care agencies to visit the home of a relative caregiver when determining eligibility for both kinship care and long-term kinship care, unless the child was placed in the relative caregiver’s home under a court order and is under the placement and care responsibility of a supervising child welfare agency. In practice, most agencies have already been conducting home visits when determining kinship care eligibility and have developed their own evaluation standards, resulting in eligibility criteria that vary by location in the state.
The proposed rule creates statewide home visit assessment criteria, including criteria on the characteristics of a relative caregiver and the physical environment of the relative caregiver’s home, with a focus on the safety of the child.
Voluntary Kinship Payments When Relative Moves
Kinship care agencies issue kinship care and long-term kinship care payments to relative caregivers from funds allocated by the department based on each agency’s expected caseload within the limits of available funding. Under the current rule, a relative caregiver receiving kinship care payments for a child that was not placed in the relative caregiver’s home under a court order (voluntary kinship care) can be put on a waiting list if the relative caregiver moves to an area of state where the kinship care agency does not have funding available to begin the payments.
With the same circumstances under the proposed rule, the kinship care agency in the area of the relative caregiver’s old residence will be required to continue making the kinship care payments to the relative caregiver until the department amends or renews the contract with the kinship care agency in the area of the relative caregiver’s new residence or the agency otherwise has kinship care funding available to make the payments. The kinship care agency in the area of the relative caregiver’s new residence is required to place the relative caregiver’s name at the top of the agency’s waiting list. 2019 Wisconsin Act 9 increases kinship care funding to allow for a higher caseload by $3,399,400 in SFY20 and by $4,392,300 in SFY21, so fewer waiting lists are expected in this biennium. Criminal History Background Check
The proposed rule extends the timeframe for kinship care agencies to begin a criminal history background check from 5 days to 10 working days after the agency receives a complete application from a relative caregiver.
The rule also provides that a director may designate an individual to fulfill the director’s responsibilities of making the background check determinations for long-term kinship care and conducting the review of a barred offense for kinship care, which is the first-level appeal. A designee of the director must be a manager in the kinship care agency that does not directly supervise the agency staff that make eligibility determinations for kinship care or long-term kinship care. If a director designates an individual to these determinations, the kinship agency shall submit the name of the designee and the designee’s position in the agency to the department each January.
In addition, the proposed rule includes the following clarifications regarding the criminal history background check:
Section 48.57 (3p) (d), Stats., requires that kinship care agencies submit the fingerprints of a relative caregiver, prospective adult resident, or prospective employee to the Department of Justice for a search of the databases maintained by the FBI if the person is not a resident of this state; the person has resided outside the state at any time within the preceding 5 years; or the kinship care agency determines that the person’s employment, licensing, or state court records provide a reasonable basis for further investigation.
Barred offenses for kinship care are specified under s. 48.57 (3p) (g), Stats., and these are the only offenses for which a review by the director is available before a hearing with the division of hearings and appeals. Statutory Updates
The proposed rule incorporates the following statutory updates:
2015 Wisconsin Act 55 amends the definition of “child” to provide that the relative caregiver of a child that is 19 or 20 years of age and has an individualized education program under s. 115.787, Stats., in effect may be eligible for kinship care or long-term kinship care only if the child is placed in the relative caregiver’s home under an order under s. 48.355, 48.357, 48.365, 938.355, 938.357, or 938.365, Stats., that terminates under s. 48.355 (4) (b) or 938.355 (4) (am), Stats., after the person attains 18 years of age or under a voluntary transition-to-independent-living agreement under s. 48.366 (3) or 938.366 (3), Stats.
2015 Wisconsin Act 166 authorizes a hearing with the Division of Hearings and Appeals for background check denials. Summary of Data and Analytical Methodologies
In response to a number of legislative inquiries on behalf of constituents that were placed on a waiting list for kinship care following a move to a new county or tribal area, the department is proposing that the kinship care agency in the county or tribal area of the relative caregiver’s old residence continue making voluntary kinship care payments to a relative caregiver that moves to a new county or tribal area where the kinship care agency has a waiting list until other funding is arranged.
The department also reviewed local agency policies and procedures and addressed commonly-asked questions by kinship care agencies when developing the proposed rule. The department received comments on various drafts of the proposed rule from the Out-of-Home Care Committee, kinship care agency coordinators, Indian Child Welfare Directors, and the Relative Caregivers Stakeholder Group.
Summary of Related Federal Law
Funding for kinship care and long-term kinship care is through the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program.
Social security number. Under 45 CFR 205.52, the state’s TANF plan must require that each individual applying for receiving TANF funds furnish a social security number as a condition of eligibility. An individual that does not have a social security number is required to apply to the Social Security Administration with assistance from the state or local agency, provide verification of the application, and provide the number when it is received. Assistance may not be denied or delayed pending the issuance or verification of the number. Child support cooperation. 42 USC 654 (29) (A) requires cooperation with the child support agency’s efforts at enforcing support, subject to good cause as defined by the agency administering the TANF program. Comparison to Adjacent States
Comparable programs in adjacent states appear to offer child-only TANF grants for relative caregivers with few eligibility conditions beyond the TANF requirements for child support cooperation and provision of the child’s social security number. Michigan may also require that a child under 6 years of age receives scheduled immunizations with limited exemptions and a child 6 years of age and over attends school full-time.
Effect on Small Businesses
The department is not aware of any small businesses affected by the proposed rule.
Analysis Used to Determine Effect on Small Businesses
In general, the program is administered by county and tribal agencies, except in Milwaukee where the department’s Milwaukee Division of Child Protective Services contracts with the Professional Services Group, Children’s Hospital, and SaintA to perform assessments. None of these entities is a small business.
Agency Contacts
Jonelle Brom, Section Chief Holly Telfer, Kinship Care Coordinator
Out-of-Home Care Section Out-of-Home Care Section
(608) 422-6930 (608) 422-6921
SECTION 1. DCF 58 is repealed and recreated to read:
KINSHIP CARE AND LONG-TERM KINSHIP CARE
DCF 58.01 Purpose. This chapter is promulgated under the authority of ss. 48.57 (3m) (h) and (i) and (3n) (h) and (i) and 227.11 (2), Stats., to establish criteria and procedures for determining initial and continuing eligibility of a relative providing care and maintenance for a child for a monthly payment to assist with the expenses involved in providing that care and maintenance and for recovering overpayments. DCF 58.02 Definitions. In this chapter:
(1) “Adult resident” means a person 18 years of age or over who meets any of the following conditions:
(a) Lives at the home of a relative caregiver with the intent of making that home the person’s home.
(b) Lives at the home of a relative caregiver for more than 30 days cumulative in any 6−month period.
(2) “Background check” means the requirements under s. 48.57 (3p), Stats., and s. DCF 58.05. (3) “Background information disclosure” means the form prescribed by the department on which a person provides information for purposes of the background check under s. 48.57 (3p), Stats., and s. DCF 58.05. (4) “Child” means a person under 18 years of age. “Child” also includes a person 18 years of age or over if any of the following applies:
(a) The person is under 19 years of age, is a full−time student in good academic standing at a secondary school or its vocational or technical equivalent, and is reasonably expected to complete the program of study and be granted a high school or high school equivalency diploma.
(b) The person is under 21 years of age and meets all of the following conditions:
1. The person is a full−time student at a secondary school or its vocational or technical equivalent.
2. There is an individualized education program under s. 115.787, Stats., in effect for the person.
