• Revises the provision allowing the licensing agency to require a fence around a play area when there is a safety hazard on the premises or nearby to instead allowing the licensing agency to require that the foster parent take specific actions or have a safety plan to address the safety hazard. • Repeals quantitative requirements on the minimum square feet of living area per household member, minimum square feet per child in a bedroom, minimum floor space in a bedroom, number of feet between beds, number of children that may share a bedroom, number of feet between a top bunk and the ceiling, maximum space between crib slats, maximum space between a crib mattress and the side of a crib, and minimum temperature of the foster home during waking and sleeping hours. • Repeals the prohibition on any foster child over 6 years of age sharing a bedroom with a child of the opposite sex and instead provides that a foster child may share a bedroom with another child if the supervising agency approves and any foster child who is age 6 years or older consents. • Revises the conditions when a foster child one year of age or older may regularly share a bedroom with an adult from only when a medical provider determines it is medically necessary and the licensing agency approves to instead allow a foster child one year of age or older to regularly share a bedroom with a nonparent adult if the foster child and the adult are siblings; the foster child and the adult were sharing a bedroom before the adult turned 18 years of age; or based on the foster child’s needs if the supervising agency approves, the foster child has a sleeping space in another bedroom to return to when the needs subside, and, if the foster child is 6 years of age or over, the foster child consents. • Repeals the prohibition of triple bunk beds. • Modifies the requirement for a safety railing on a top bunk from only if occupied by a foster child under 8 years of age to instead requiring a safety railing when any foster child sleeps in a top or middle bunk. • Revises the prohibition on access to dangerous materials and objects to add the qualifier “as appropriate for a foster child’s age and developmental, emotional, and behavioral needs.” • Repeals the minimum age requirement of 12 years of age for operating hazardous machinery or equipment unless permitted by statute to instead provide that no foster child may operate any hazardous machinery or equipment in violation of a law that specifies a minimum age or that is beyond the foster child’s knowledge or mental or physical capacity. Emergency preparedness
• Requires that the foster parent have an emergency plan that specifies where a foster child will shelter during a tornado warning. • Repeals the requirements of agency approval and specified details of a fire safety evacuation plan and instead require that a foster parent have a written plan for the immediate and safe evacuation of the foster home in the event of a fire. Firearms and other dangerous weapons
• Repeals the prohibition on a loaded firearm in the foster home and instead allows a foster parent to carry a concealed handgun in the presence of a foster child if the foster parent has a license to carry a concealed weapon and carries the handgun using a holster or carry system that ensures that the firearm is in the control of the foster parent at all times. • Maintains the requirement that a firearm be stored unloaded and locked in an area not readily accessible to a foster child and modifies additional storage provisions from requiring that ammunition be stored in a separate locked area to instead requiring that a firearm either be stored in a gun safe with ammunition allowed or one or more of the following: with ammunition locked in a container separate from the firearm, with the trigger lock engaged on the firearm, or with the cable lock engaged on the firearm. Transportation
• Revises the current requirement that the foster parent provide or arrange a foster child’s necessary transportation to instead require that foster parent provide transportation or ensure a foster child’s access to other private transportation, public transportation, taxi, or ride share, so the foster child can attend medical appointments; visit family; get to school; and engage in social, religious, and cultural activities. Capacity
• Clarifies that a child receiving respite care should be included when determining the maximum number of persons that may be receiving care in a foster home and adds that a child of the foster parent who is under 19 years of age and in high school should be included in addition to minor children of the foster parent. • Increases the maximum number of foster children who may be cared for in a foster home from 4 to 6, unless an exception is granted. • Allows the licensing agency to grant an exception to allow up to 8 foster children in a foster home, instead of 7 foster children, if necessary to maintain a sibling connection, a parental connection, or an established meaningful relationship between a child and the foster parent. This last criterion is modified from “maintaining placement continuity” to “maintaining relationship continuity.” • Repeals provisions limiting the number of foster children in a foster home with a Level 3 to 5 certification and limiting the number of foster children who are under 2 years of age and creates a provision authorizing the licensing agency to limit the number of foster children placed in a Leve l to 4 foster home to fewer than 6 and the department exceptions panel to limit the number of foster children placed in a Level 5 foster home to fewer than 6. Care of a foster child
•· Repeals the requirement that a foster parent allow a foster child to keep and wear their own clothing appropriate to the season and setting. •· Allows a foster parent to use a video or audio monitor inside the foster home to monitor a foster child 2 years of age or over only if there is a specific safety need that can only be met through the use of video or audio monitoring and the supervising agency approves; prohibits recording the video or audio used for monitoring; and authorizes a foster parent to take a video or audio recording of a social or recreational activity that a foster child is taking part in. •· Prohibits a foster parent from authorizing any significant changes to a foster child’s hair such as haircuts or style or color changes, without permission from the child’s parent, guardian, legal custodian, or Indian custodian; allows a foster child who is age 12 years or older to make their own hair care decisions; and allows a foster parent to authorize hair care services needed to maintain the style, cut, and color of a foster child’s hair. •· Extends the time allowed for care of the foster child by any other person before supervising agency approval is required from 48 to 72 hours. •· Requires that a foster parent and the supervising agency coordinate transportation for a foster child’s visits with their parent, siblings, and other identified persons under the family interaction plan. •· Repeals the requirement that a foster parent provide a foster child with spending money. •· Allows a licensing agency to grant an exception to the requirement that a foster parent use a licensed or certified child care provider for regular child care outside the foster home if there is no licensed or certified provider within 15 miles of the foster home, there is no opening at a licensed or certified provider that is within 15 miles of the foster home and the foster child has been placed on a waitlist, or the supervising agency determines that care by the unregulated provider is the best interest of the foster child. An unregulated provider will need to pass the background check and abide by the provisions on supervision, discipline, and physical restraint. •· Revises provisions specifying time limits on time-outs for a foster child based on the child’s age and instead provide factors for the foster parent to consider in deciding the appropriate disciplinary action and the use of time-outs. •· Repeals the requirement that the foster parent maintain case records on a foster child. Hearings
•· Clarifies that license revocation remains effective during the appeal process. Level 5 foster homes
•· Incorporates application requirements that have not been in rule. •· Allows a foster parent to have an associate’s degree or higher instead of requiring a bachelor’s degree or higher. •· Requires that the foster parent contact with the foster child include parent-child interactions, such as doing homework, playing games, and going on community outings. •· Repeals traineeship as a qualification for a foster parent and program staff. •· Revises the minimum age requirement for program staff from 21 years of age to 18 years of age. •· Revises the physical exam requirement for program staff from within the past 6 months to within the past 12 months. Foster parent training
•· Repeals the requirement for a foster parent training advisory committee. •· Repeals the requirement that the preplacement training for foster parents who operate a Level 4 foster home include 4 hours of child-specific or population-specific training. •· Repeals the option of an agency curriculum for preplacement training. •· Repeals details of the department’s standardized curriculum for initial licensing training. •· Revises the ongoing training limitation that no more than 20 percent of the required hours be from books, periodicals, web-based resources, or television and radio presentations to instead provide that ongoing training that is not in person or a live video conference not exceed 20 percent of the required hours. Supervising or placing agency
• Repeals the requirement that each foster child with a severe emotional disturbance have a clinical consultant with specified qualifications assigned. • Repeals the requirement for an aftercare plan for a child who is no longer in foster care. • Repeals the qualification requirements for a child welfare professional for foster homes with a Level 3 to 5 certification and instead require that the supervising or placing agency ensure that each child welfare professional is able to perform the specified duties independently or under the supervision of staff with a master’s degree or higher educational level. Licensing agency responsibilities
• Expands the requirement that a licensing agency notify any supervising agency with a foster child placed in a foster home prior to placement of a new foster child in the home from only when there will be more than 2 foster children placed in a foster home with a Level 3 to 5 certification to instead require notification when any new foster child will be placed in a foster home. Respite care for foster parents
• Reduces applicability of the respite care rule for a planned absence of the foster parent from an absence of more than 48 hours to an absence of more than 72 hours. • Provides that a foster child not be in respite care for more than 28 consecutive days and that a licensing agency may establish a limit that is less than 28 consecutive days. Relative or like-kin foster homes
•· Repeals nonsafety-related waivers for relatives and specifies additions, modifications, and exceptions for a relative or like-kin of a child placed or intended to be placed in the home. Summary of Data and Analytical Methodologies
The development of the proposed rule focused on maintaining licensing standards needed for safe caregiving while repealing overly stringent rules that cause unnecessary administrative burden for licensing agencies and inappropriate barriers to licensure of foster parents, especially relatives.
The process began with appointing a DCF 56 Advisory Council that included county foster care licensors, supervisors, and ongoing services professionals, 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.
The department and the DCF 56 Advisory Council compared the shorter and simpler federal Department of Health and Human Services National Model Foster Family Home Licensing Standards (2019) and the department’s current rule. In particular, many of the quantitative requirements in the physical environment section of the current rule were determined to be inappropriate, such as measuring the size of a foster child’s bedroom. In other areas, the department’s proposed rule includes more than what is in the model licensing standards. Additional input was received from other stakeholders, including foster youth at Camp to Belong, the Children’s Court Improvement Program, Indian Child Welfare Directors, and advocates for relative licensing.
The department also made changes to provisions in the current rule for which there are a large number of questions and exception requests, including sleeping arrangements, the requirement to use a licensed or certified child care provider for regular child care outside the foster home, firearms, and care of a foster child’s hair. The proposed rule has fewer prescriptive requirements for sleeping arrangements, allows unregulated child care providers in certain circumstances, allows concealed carry of a handgun, offers additional options for firearm storage requirements, and specifies that major hair care decisions should be made by a foster child’s parent or a foster youth.
_em5sk2qkmbrnIn addition, the proposed rule creates separate licensing standards for relatives and like-kin, as authorized by a federal rule issued in September 2023. The department’s current rule allows for nonsafety-related waivers for relatives based on a previous federal regulation. The licensing standards for relatives and like-kin in the proposed rule are based on the model standards, Kin-Specific Foster Home Approval: Recommended Standards of National Organizations, which were released shortly after the new federal rule by a coalition of 10 national organizations. The department’s relative and like-kin standards align with the kin-specific model standards. Summary of Related Federal Law
42 USC 671 (a) (10) (A) provides that a state shall establish and maintain standards for foster family homes that are reasonably in accord with recommended standards of national organizations concerned with standards for the homes, including standards related to admission policies, safety, sanitation, and protection of civil rights, and which shall permit use of the reasonable and prudent parenting standard. 42 USC 671 (a) (2) Before a child in foster care placed with prospective foster parents, the prospective foster parents will be prepared adequately with the appropriate knowledge and skills to provide for the needs of the child, and that such preparation will be continued, as necessary, after the placement of the child. 42 USC 672 (c) (1) In general, a foster parent may care for not more than 6 children in foster care. State flexibility to exceed this limit is allowed for any of the following reasons: • To allow a parenting youth in foster care to remain with the child of the parenting youth. • To allow siblings to remain together. • To allow a child with an established meaningful relationship with the family to remain with the family. • To allow a family with special training or skills to provide care to a child who has a severe disability. Separate Licensing Standards for Relative or Kinship Foster Family Homes, Department of Health and Human Services, 88 Federal Register 66700 (September 28, 2023) (to be codified at 45 CFR 1355.20 and 45 CFR 1356.21) This federal rule allows state and tribal Title IV–E agencies to adopt a set of foster home licensing or approval standards for individuals related to a child by blood, marriage or adoption and other individuals who have an emotionally significant relationship with the child, including fictive kin, that differ from the foster home licensing or approval standards used for individuals who are not relatives or fictive kin.
National Model Foster Family Home Licensing Standards, Department of Health and Human Services, Administration on Children, Youth, and Families, Children’s Bureau, Information Memorandum 19-01, Attachment A, issued February 4, 2019
The Department of Health and Human Services, Children’s Bureau, developed National Model Foster Family Home Licensing Standards in response to a directive in The Family First Prevention Services Act (2018) to identify reputable model licensing standards for the licensing of foster family homes (Public Law 115-123, Section 50731). Comparison to Adjacent States
Michigan
A foster parent is required to designate sleeping arrangements that are appropriate for each child’s age, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, medical and mental health needs, behavior, and history of abuse. Bedrooms must have a window to the outside that is big enough for evacuation. The use of a video camera in a bedroom of any foster child over the age of 2 is strictly prohibited.
Michigan allows a foster parent to carry a firearm in the foster home and on the property as allowed by law. Firearms must be stored locked either in a gun safe, solid metal gun case, or solid wood gun case with ammunition allowed in the same location or locked with a cable lock or trigger lock with ammunition in a separate locked location that is inaccessible to children. This is similar to the department’s proposed rule.
A foster parent must provide an allowance for a foster child based on agency guidelines or as determined by the social services worker and the foster parent for specific youth. Any money earned or received directly by the child remains the property of the child.
A foster parent must ensure that a child is able to communicate with family and friends in a manner consistent with the child’s expressed wishes, appropriate to the child’s functioning, and in accordance with the child’s treatment plan.
Illinois
A bedroom must be a minimum of 40 square feet for the first child and a minimum of 35 square feet for each additional child sharing the room. Children under six years of age may share a bedroom with related children of the opposite sex who are also under age six if each child is provided with a separate bed or crib.
The provisions on firearms and ammunition requires that they be stored and locked up separately at all times and kept in places inaccessible to children. Loaded guns may not be kept in a foster home unless required by law enforcement officers and in accordance with their law enforcement agency’s safety procedures. This provision is similar to Wisconsin’s current rule on firearms.
Personal allowance money shall be available to the children based upon the child’s age and ability to manage the money. Adolescents may be allowed to earn additional spending money.
