Statement of Scope
Department of Children and Families
Rule Number: Chapter DCF 56 Relating to: Foster Care Licensing
Rule Type: Permanent
This statement of scope was approved by the governor on August 17, 2023.
1. Finding/nature of emergency (for emergency rules only)
Not applicable
2. Detailed description of the objective of the rules
The objective of the proposed rules will be to more closely align the department’s foster care licensing rules with the Department of Health and Human Services National Model Foster Family Home Licensing Standards when appropriate and allowed under state law, remove barriers to licensure, and reduce workload for licensing agencies.
The department will appoint an advisory council to review the entire rule and recommend revisions. The DCF 56 Advisory Council will include county foster care licensors, supervisors, and ongoing services professionals; parents, youth, and relative caregivers with lived experience to the extent possible; and representatives from the Wisconsin County Human Services Association, the Wisconsin Association of Family & Children’s Agencies, tribal child welfare agencies, private child-placing agencies, and the Division of Milwaukee Child Protective Services. Other experts may be invited to participate in meetings in which their area of expertise is discussed.
3. Detailed explanation of statutory authority for the rule
Section 48.619, Stats., Definition of “child” for purposes of ch. 48, Stats., subch. XIV, Foster homes “Child” means a person under 18 years of age. For purposes of the authority to provide care and maintenance for a child and of counting the number of children for whom a foster home or group home may provide care and maintenance, “child” also includes a person 18 years of age or over, but under 21 years of age, who resides in the foster home or group home under an order under s. 48.355, 48.357, 48.365, 938.355, 938.357, or 938.365, Stats., that terminates after the person attains 18 years of age, under a voluntary transition-to-independent-living agreement under s. 48.366 (3) or 938.366 (3), Stats., or under the placement and care responsibility of another state under 42 USC 675 (8) (B) (iv). Section 48.62, Stats., Licensing of foster homes; rates (1) Any person who receives, with or without transfer of legal custody, 4 or fewer children or, if necessary to enable a sibling group to remain together, 6 or fewer children or, if the department promulgates rules permitting a different number of children, the number of children permitted under those rules, to provide care and maintenance for those children shall obtain a license to operate a foster home from the department, a county department or a licensed child welfare agency as provided in s. 48.75, Stats. (6) The department or a county department may recover an overpayment from a foster parent who continues to receive those payments by reducing the amount of the foster parent’s monthly payment. The department may by rule specify other methods for recovering those overpayments. A county department that recovers an overpayment under this subsection due to the efforts of its officers and employees may retain a portion of the amount recovered, as provided by the department by rule.
(8) The department shall promulgate rules relating to foster homes as follows:
(a) Rules providing levels of care that a foster home is licensed to provide. Those levels of care shall be based on the level of knowledge, skill, training, experience, and other qualifications that are required of the licensee, the level of responsibilities that are expected of the licensee, the needs of the children who are placed with the licensee, and any other requirements relating to the ability of the licensee to provide for those needs that the department may promulgate by rule.
(b) Rules establishing a standardized assessment tool to assess the needs of a child placed or to be placed outside the home, to determine the level of care that is required to meet those needs, and to place the child in a placement that meets those needs. A foster home that is certified to provide a given level of care may provide foster care for any child whose needs are assessed to be at or below the level of care that the foster home is certified to provide. A foster home that is certified to provide a given level of care may not provide foster care for any child whose needs are assessed to be above that level of care unless the department, county department, or child welfare agency issuing the foster home license determines that support or services sufficient to meet the child’s needs are in place and grants an exception to that prohibition.
(c) Rules providing monthly rates of reimbursement for foster care that are commensurate with the level of care that the foster home is licensed to provide and the needs of the child who is placed in the foster home. Those rates shall include rates for supplemental payments for special needs, exceptional circumstances, and initial clothing allowances for children placed in a foster home that is receiving an age-related monthly rate under sub. (4). In promulgating the rules under this paragraph, the department shall provide a mechanism for equalizing the amount of reimbursement received by a foster parent prior to the promulgation of those rules and the amount of reimbursement received by a foster parent under those rules so as to reduce the amount of any reimbursement that may be lost as a result of the implementation of those rules.
(d) Rules providing a monthly retainer fee for a foster home that agrees to maintain openings for emergency placements.
Section 48.67, Stats., Rules governing child welfare agencies, child care centers, foster homes, group homes, shelter care facilities, and county departments (intro.) The department shall promulgate rules establishing minimum requirements for the issuance of licenses to, and establishing standards for the operation of, child welfare agencies, child care centers, foster homes, group homes, shelter care facilities, and county departments. Those rules shall be designed to protect and promote the health, safety, and welfare of the children in the care of all licensees. The department shall consult with the department of safety and professional services, the department of public instruction, and the child abuse and neglect prevention board before promulgating those rules. For foster homes, those rules shall include the rules promulgated under s. 48.62 (8), Stats. Those rules shall include rules that require all of the following: (4) (a) That all foster parents successfully complete training in the care and support needs of children who are placed in foster care that has been approved by the department. The training shall be completed on an ongoing basis, as determined by the department. The department shall promulgate rules prescribing the training that is required under this subsection and shall monitor compliance with this subsection according to those rules. The training shall include training in all of the following:
1. Parenting skills, including child development; infant care, if appropriate; the effects of trauma on children; communicating with children in an age-appropriate manner; and recognizing issues such as drug use or addiction or attachment disorder.
1m. Knowledge and skills relating to the use of the reasonable and prudent parent standard in making decisions concerning a child’s participation in age or developmentally appropriate activities including all of the following
— The stages in the development of cognitive, emotional, physical, and behavioral capacities of children.
— Applying the reasonable and prudent parent standard in making decisions on all of the following:
— A child’s participation in extracurricular, enrichment, cultural, or social activities, such as sports, field trips, overnight, and other recreational activities.
— The signing of permission slips and the arrangement of transportation to and from those activities.
— The child’s choices with respect to transportation, employment, peer relationships, and personal expression.
2. For foster parents caring for children 11 years of age or older, teaching and encouraging independent living skills, including budgeting, health and nutrition, and other skills to promote the child’s long-term economic independence and well-being.
3. Issues that may confront the foster parents, in general, and that may confront the foster parents of children with special needs.
4. Child abuse and neglect prevention.
5. The proper use of foster care payments.
6. The availability of resources for foster parents in the local community.
