Scope Statements
Children and Families
Subject
Revises Chapter
DCF 56, relating to foster care levels of care.
Policy Analysis
Levels of Care, Phase Two
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Rules providing levels of care that a licensed foster home is certified 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 the needs of the child that the department may promulgate by rule.
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Rules establishing a standardized assessment tool to assess the needs of a child placed or to be placed outside the home, the assessment shall be used 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.
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Rules providing monthly rates of reimbursement for foster care that are commensurate with the level of care that the licensed foster home is certified 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 of the child and exceptional circumstances for a foster home that is receiving an age-related monthly rate. In promulgating the rules, 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 these rules.
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Rules providing a monthly retainer fee for a foster home that agrees to maintain openings for emergency placements.
The Department is implementing the rules on levels of care in two phases. A previous rulemaking order created the process for certification of licensed foster homes at Level 1 and Level 2. This rulemaking order will create the requirements for foster homes and licensing agencies at Levels 3 to 5, establish the customized assessment tool, provide the process to determine monthly rates of reimbursement above the basic maintenance payment under levels of care, and provide for a monthly retainer fee for a foster home that agrees to maintain openings for emergency placements.
Physical Restraint of Foster Children
A physical restraint is any physical hold, apparatus, or mechanical support, excluding a medical restraint prescribed by a child's physician, that interferes with the free movement of a person's limbs or body. The proposed rules will provide that generally foster parents may not use any type of physical restraint with a foster child unless there is an immediate risk to the safety of the foster child or another person that cannot be managed by alternative means. An exception approval process will allow for limited circumstances in which foster parents would have approval to use physical restraint with a foster child. Foster parents shall use means of diffusing a situation such as de-escalation techniques rather than physical restraint whenever possible.
Protecting Foster Children from the Effects of Second-Hand Smoke
The proposed rules will also require that foster parents refrain from smoking or allowing any other person to smoke in the foster home while foster children are present and refrain from smoking or allowing any other person to smoke in vehicles while transporting foster children. The licensing agency may grant a non-safety related waiver to this requirement for a foster parent who is a relative of the child, unless granting the waiver is contraindicated by the specific health needs of the child in care.
Statutory Authority
Comparison with Federal Regulations
None.
Entities Affected by the Rule
Prospective and current foster parents, county and tribal human or social services agencies, and licensed child-placing agencies.
Estimate of Time Needed to Develop the Rule
400 hours.
Contact Information
Jonelle Brom, Out-of-Home Care Specialist
Bureau of Permanence and Out-of-Home Care
Phone: (608) 264-6933
Employee Trust Funds
Subject
Repeals and recreates section
ETF 20.055 to reflect statutory changes in department practices regarding spousal consent on benefit applications.
Policy Analysis
ETF is responsible for administering the benefit programs authorized under Chapter
40 of the Wisconsin Statutes. Since s.
ETF 20.055 was promulgated, a spousal consent provision for separation benefits was enacted in
1993 Wisconsin Act 426. The purpose of this rulemaking is to amend s.
ETF 20.055 to reflect the provisions in Wisconsin Act 426 and expand the language related to spousal consent waivers.
Statutory Authority
Comparison with Federal Regulations
No existing or proposed federal regulation addresses the contemplated rule changes.
Entities Affected by the Rule
The new rules will affect Wisconsin Retirement System participants and their spouses.
Estimate of Time Needed to Develop the Rule
State employees will spend an estimated 35 hours to develop these rules.
Financial Institutions — Securities
Subject
Revises section
DFI-Sec 1.02, relating to the definition of “institutional investor".
Policy Analysis
The proposed rule will create s.
DFI-Sec 1.02 (21) (a) to
(g). The purpose of this rule is to reinstate former rule s.
DFI-Sec 1.02 (8) (a) to
(c) and
(e) to
(h) regarding the “institutional investor" definition inadvertently deleted in the 2009 securities rule revisions.
Statutory Authority
Comparison with Federal Regulations
Rule 501(a) (1)-(3) of the federal Securities Act of 1933.
Entities Affected by the Rule
Issuers of registered securities or securities exempt from registration, broker-dealers and their securities agents, investment advisers and their investment adviser representatives, federal and state securities regulatory authorities, and securities self-regulatory organizations.
Estimate of Time Needed to Develop the Rule
20 hours.
Contact Information
