AB674: Bill Text

LRB-3027/4

GMM:sac:rs

2013 - 2014 LEGISLATURE

2013 Assembly BILL 674

January 27, 2014 - Introduced by Representatives Loudenbeck, Krug, Bies, Jacque, Kleefisch, Sargent and Bernier, cosponsored by Senators Farrow, Petrowski and Lassa. Referred to Committee on Children and Families.

AB674,1,6 An Act to renumber 48.58 (1); to renumber and amend 48.63 (1); to amend 48.028 (5) (a), 48.38 (2) (d), 48.38 (4) (d) 1., 48.57 (3n) (am) 6. c., 48.615 (1) (b), 48.64 (1), 48.64 (1m), 48.64 (1r), 48.64 (2), 48.979 (1) (c), 48.979 (2), 253.10 (3) (c) 2. c., 938.22 (2) (c) and 938.38 (2) (d); and to create 48.58 (5) and 48.63 (1) (b) of the statutes; relating to: placement of a child in a shelter care facility under a voluntary agreement.

Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau

Under current law, a child who has been taken into custody under the Children's Code or the Juvenile Justice Code, who has been ordered by the court assigned to exercise jurisdiction under the Children's Code and the Juvenile Justice Code to be held in temporary physical custody, or who is in need of a transitional placement when emergency conditions necessitate an immediate change in placement may be held in a shelter care facility, which is a nonsecure place of temporary care and physical custody for children licensed by the Department of Children and Families (DCF).

This bill permits a child to be placed in a shelter care facility under a voluntary agreement for not more than 20 days. Specifically, under the bill, a child's parent, guardian, or Indian custodian, DCF, the Department of Corrections (DOC), a county department of human services or social services (county department), or a child welfare agency licensed to place children in shelter care facilities, may place the child or negotiate or act as intermediary for the placement of the child in a shelter care facility that DCF has approved for use for such voluntary placements. A shelter care facility placement under a voluntary agreement may not exceed 20 days from the date on which the child was placed in the shelter care facility under the voluntary agreement and may not be extended.

Under the bill, a person licensed to operate a shelter care facility may request DCF to permit the shelter care facility to be used for voluntary placements and DCF must review the request based on the needs of children in the area served by the shelter care facility and the services provided by the shelter care facility. If DCF determines that those services would meet those needs, DCF may approve the request.

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:

AB674,1 Section 1. 48.028 (5) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB674,3,3 48.028 (5) (a) Out-of-home care placement. A voluntary consent by a parent or Indian custodian to an out-of-home care placement of an Indian child under s. 48.63 (1) (a) or (b) or (5) (b) or a delegation of powers by a parent regarding the care and custody of an Indian child under s. 48.979 is not valid unless the consent or delegation is executed in writing, recorded before a judge, and accompanied by a written certification by the judge that the terms and consequences of the consent or delegation were fully explained in detail to and were fully understood by the parent or Indian custodian. The judge shall also certify that the parent or Indian custodian fully understood the explanation in English or that the explanation was interpreted into a language that the parent or Indian custodian understood. Any consent or delegation of powers given under this paragraph prior to or within 10 days after the birth of the Indian child is not valid. A parent or Indian custodian who has executed a consent or delegation of powers under this paragraph may withdraw the consent or delegation for any reason at any time, and the Indian child shall be returned to the parent or Indian custodian. A parent or Indian custodian who has executed a consent or delegation of powers under this paragraph may also move to invalidate the out-of-home care placement or delegation of powers under sub. (6).

AB674,2 Section 2. 48.38 (2) (d) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB674,3,6 48.38 (2) (d) The child was placed under a voluntary agreement between the agency and the child's parent under s. 48.63 (1) (a) or (5) (b).

AB674,3 Section 3. 48.38 (4) (d) 1. of the statutes is amended to read:

AB674,3,9 48.38 (4) (d) 1. That the placement is made pursuant to a voluntary agreement under s. 48.63 (1) (a).

AB674,4 Section 4. 48.57 (3n) (am) 6. c. of the statutes is amended to read:

AB674,3,13 48.57 (3n) (am) 6. c. The date on which the child is placed outside the long-term kinship care relative's home under a court order or under a voluntary agreement under s. 48.63 (1) (a) or (b) or (5) (b).

AB674,5 Section 5. 48.58 (1) of the statutes is renumbered 48.58.

AB674,6 Section 6. 48.58 (5) of the statutes is created to read:

AB674,3,17 48.58 (5) Provide temporary shelter care for children placed in the county children's home under a voluntary agreement under s. 48.63 (1) (b).

AB674,7 Section 7. 48.615 (1) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB674,3,23 48.615 (1) (b) Except as provided in par. (e), before the department may issue a license under s. 48.60 (1) to a child welfare agency that places children in licensed foster homes, licensed group homes, shelter care facilities approved under s. 938.22 (2) (c), and in the homes of guardians under s. 48.977 (2), the child welfare agency must pay to the department a biennial fee of $254.10.

AB674,8 Section 8. 48.63 (1) of the statutes is renumbered 48.63 (1) (a) and amended to read:

AB674,4,13 48.63 (1) (a) Acting under court order or voluntary agreement, the child's parent, guardian, or Indian custodian, or the department, the department of corrections, a county department under s. 46.215, 46.22, or 46.23, or a child welfare agency licensed to place children in foster homes or group homes may place a child or negotiate or act as intermediary for the placement of a child in a foster home or group home. Voluntary agreements under this subsection paragraph may not be used for placements in facilities other than foster homes or group homes and may not be extended. A foster home placement under a voluntary agreement may not exceed 180 days from the date on which the child was removed from the home under the voluntary agreement. A group home placement under a voluntary agreement may not exceed 15 days from the date on which the child was removed from the home under the voluntary agreement, except as provided in sub. (5). These periods do not apply to placements made under s. 48.345, 938.183, 938.34, or 938.345.

AB674,4,22 (c) Voluntary agreements may be made only under this subsection and par. (a) or (b) or sub. (5) (b) and, shall be in writing, and shall specifically state that the agreement may be terminated at any time by the parent, guardian, or Indian custodian or by the child if the child's consent to the agreement is required. In the case of an Indian child who is placed under this subsection and par. (a) or (b) by the voluntary agreement of the Indian child's parent or Indian custodian, the voluntary consent of the parent or Indian custodian to the placement shall be given as provided in s. 48.028 (5) (a). The child's consent to the an agreement under par. (a) or (b) is required whenever the child is 12 years of age or older.

AB674,5,3 (d) If a county department, the department, or the department of corrections places a child or negotiates or acts as intermediary for the placement of a child under this subsection and par. (a) or (b), the voluntary agreement shall also specifically state that the county department, department, or department of corrections has placement and care responsibility for the child as required under 42 USC 672 (a) (2) and has primary responsibility for providing services to the child.

AB674,9 Section 9. 48.63 (1) (b) of the statutes is created to read:

AB674,5,15 48.63 (1) (b) Acting under a voluntary agreement, a child's parent, guardian, or Indian custodian, the department, the department of corrections, a county department under s. 46.215, 46.22, or 46.23, or a child welfare agency licensed to place children in shelter care facilities, may place the child or negotiate or act as intermediary for the placement of the child in a shelter care facility that the department has approved under s. 938.22 (2) (c) for use for placements under this paragraph. A voluntary agreement under this paragraph may not be used for placement in a facility other than an approved shelter care facility. A shelter care facility placement under a voluntary agreement may not exceed 20 days from the date on which the child was placed in the shelter care facility under the voluntary agreement and may not be extended.

AB674,10 Section 10. 48.64 (1) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB674,5,21 48.64 (1) Definition. In this section, "agency" means the department, the department of corrections, a county department under s. 46.215, 46.22, or 46.23, or a licensed child welfare agency authorized to place children in foster homes or, group homes, or shelter care facilities approved under s. 938.22 (2) (c) or in the homes of relatives other than a parent.

AB674,11 Section 11. 48.64 (1m) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB674,6,18 48.64 (1m) Out-of-home care agreements. If an agency places a child in a foster home or group home or in the home of a relative other than a parent under a court order or places a child in a foster home or, group home, or shelter care facility approved under s. 938.22 (2) (c) under a voluntary agreement under s. 48.63, the agency shall enter into a written agreement with the head of the home or facility. The agreement shall provide that the agency shall have access at all times to the child and the home or facility, and that the child will be released to the agency whenever, in the opinion of the agency placing the child or the department, the best interests of the child require release to the agency. If a child has been in a foster home or group home or in the home of a relative other than a parent for 6 months or more, the agency shall give the head of the home written notice of intent to remove the child, stating the reasons for the removal. The child may not be removed from a foster home, group home, or home of a relative other than a parent before completion of the hearing under sub. (4) (a) or (c), if requested, or 30 days after the receipt of the notice, whichever is later, unless the safety of the child requires it or, in a case in which the reason for removal is to place the child for adoption under s. 48.833, unless all of the persons who have the right to request a hearing under sub. (4) (a) or (c) sign written waivers of objection to the proposed removal. If the safety of the child requires earlier removal, s. 48.19 applies. If an agency removes a child from an adoptive placement, the head of the home shall have no claim against the placing agency for the expense of care, clothing, or medical treatment.

AB674,12 Section 12. 48.64 (1r) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB674,7,2 48.64 (1r) Notification of school district. When an agency places a school-age child in a foster home or, group home, or shelter care facility approved under s. 938.22 (2) (c) or in the home of a relative other than a parent, the agency shall notify the clerk of the school district in which the foster home, group home, shelter care facility, or home of the relative is located that a school-age child has been placed in a foster home, group home, shelter care facility, or home of a relative in the school district.

AB674,13 Section 13. 48.64 (2) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB674,7,8 48.64 (2) Supervision of out-of-home care placements. Every child who is placed in a foster home or, group home , or shelter care facility approved under s. 938.22 (2) (c) shall be under the supervision of an agency. Every child who is placed in the home of a relative other than a parent under a court order shall be under the supervision of an agency.

AB674,14 Section 14. 48.979 (1) (c) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB674,7,13 48.979 (1) (c) A parent who has legal custody of a child may not place the child in a foster home, group home, shelter care facility, or inpatient treatment facility by means of a delegation of powers under par. (a). Those placements may be made only by means of a court order or as provided in s. 48.63 or 51.13.

AB674,15 Section 15. 48.979 (2) of the statutes is amended to read:

AB674,7,16 48.979 (2) A power of attorney complies with sub. (1) (a) if the power of attorney substantially conforms to the following form:

AB674,7,17 power of attorney

AB674,7,18 delegating parental power

AB674,7,19 Authorized by s. 48.979, Wis. Stats.

AB674,7,20 NAME(S) OF CHILD(REN)

AB674,7,22 This power of attorney is for the purpose of providing for the care and custody of:

AB674,7,23 Name, address, and date of birth of child ....

AB674,7,24 Name, address, and date of birth of child ....