LRB-3742/2
RLR:rs&cjs:pg
2001 - 2002 LEGISLATURE
January 31, 2002 - Introduced by Representatives Kaufert, Albers, Hahn, Hines,
Owens, Townsend and
Turner, cosponsored by Senators Darling, Welch and
Burke. Referred to Committee on Criminal Justice.
AB763,1,2
1An Act to create 948.47 of the statutes;
relating to: harboring a child runaway
2without the consent of the child's parent or guardian and providing a penalty.
Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
Under current law a licensed foster home, group home, or shelter may provide
housing or services to a child runaway if both the child and his or her parent or
guardian consent to the provision of housing or services. If the parent or guardian
does not consent, the foster home, group home, or shelter must notify the agency
responsible for providing child welfare services of the child's presence in the home
or shelter within 12 hours of the child's arrival at the home or shelter. After such
notification, a hearing is held to determine whether the child must be returned to the
parent or guardian or permitted to stay at the foster home, group home, or shelter
for up to 20 days. A child runaway may not remain at a foster home, group home,
or shelter for longer than 20 days unless the state files a petition alleging that the
child or juvenile is in need of protection or services. Current law does not provide for
a person who is not licensed as a foster parent or as a group home or shelter service
provider to house a child runaway.
This bill imposes criminal penalties on any person who receives a child
runaway into his or her home, if the person knows or reasonably should know that
the child is a child runaway and the person fails to notify the police or child welfare
agency of the child's presence in his or her home immediately after the child arrives
in the home or after the person discovers that the child is a child runaway, whichever
is later. The bill defines a "child runaway" as a child who is absent from the home
of his or her parent or guardian without the consent of the parent or guardian and
who does not intend to return to that home.
The bill makes harboring a child runaway a Class C misdemeanor for which a
person may be jailed for not more than 30 days or fined not more than $500 or both.
Under the bill, the crime of harboring a runaway is not applicable to a foster home,
group home, or shelter that is authorized to receive child runaways.
For further information see the state and local fiscal estimate, which will be
printed as an appendix to this bill.
The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do
enact as follows:
AB763, s. 1
1Section
1. 948.47 of the statutes is created to read:
AB763,2,2
2948.47 Harboring a runaway child. (1) In this section:
AB763,2,53
(a) "Appropriate county department" means a county department under s.
446.22 or 46.23, or in the case of a county having a population of 500,000 or more, the
5department of health and family services.
AB763,2,86
(b) "Child runaway" means a child who is absent from the home of his or her
7parent or guardian without the consent of the parent or guardian and who does not
8intend to return to that home.
AB763,2,13
9(2) Whoever receives a child runaway into his or her home, if the person knows
10or reasonably should know that the child is a child runaway and fails to notify the
11police or the appropriate county department of the child's presence immediately after
12the child arrives in the home or immediately after the person discovers that the child
13is a child runaway, whichever is later, is guilty of a Class C misdemeanor.
AB763,2,15
14(3) This section does not apply to a person who operates a runaway home under
15s. 48.227.
