48.48(12)(b)
(b) This subsection shall be administered by the department according to criteria, standards and review procedures which it shall establish.
48.48(13)
(13) To promulgate rules for the payment of an allowance to children in its institutions and a cash grant to a child being discharged from its institutions.
48.48(16m)
(16m) To employ under the unclassified service in an office of the department that is located in a 1st class city a director of the office of urban development who shall be appointed by the secretary to serve at the pleasure of the secretary and who shall coordinate the provision of child welfare services in a county having a population of 750,000 or more with the implementation of the Wisconsin works program under
ss. 49.141 to
49.161 in a county having a population of 750,000 or more.
48.48(17)(a)(a) In a county having a population of 750,000 or more, to administer child welfare services and to expend such amounts as may be necessary out of any moneys which may be appropriated for child welfare services by the legislature, which may be donated by individuals or private organizations or which may be otherwise provided. The department shall also have authority to do all of the following:
48.48(17)(a)1.
1. Investigate the conditions surrounding nonmarital children, children in need of protection or services and unborn children in need of protection or services within the county and to take every reasonable action within its power to secure for them the full benefit of all laws enacted for their benefit. Unless provided by another agency, the department shall offer social services to the caretaker of any child, and to the expectant mother of any unborn child, who is referred to the department under the conditions specified in this subdivision. This duty shall be discharged in cooperation with the court and with the public officers or boards legally responsible for the administration and enforcement of these laws.
48.48(17)(a)2.
2. Accept legal custody of children transferred to it by the court under
s. 48.355, to accept supervision over expectant mothers of unborn children who are placed under its supervision under
s. 48.355, and to provide special treatment or care for children and expectant mothers if ordered by the court and if providing special treatment or care is not the responsibility of the county department under
s. 46.215,
51.42, or
51.437. A court may not order the department to administer psychotropic medications to children and expectant mothers who receive special treatment or care under this subdivision.
48.48(17)(a)3.
3. Provide appropriate protection and services for children and the expectant mothers of unborn children in its care, including providing services for those children and their families and for those expectant mothers in their own homes, placing the children in licensed foster homes or group homes in this state or another state within a reasonable proximity to the agency with legal custody, placing the children in the homes of guardians under
s. 48.977 (2), or contracting for services for those children by licensed child welfare agencies, except that the department may not purchase the educational component of private day treatment programs unless the department, the school board, as defined in
s. 115.001 (7), and the state superintendent of public instruction all determine that an appropriate public education program is not available. Disputes between the department and the school district shall be resolved by the state superintendent of public instruction.
48.48(17)(a)4.
4. Provide for the moral and religious training of children in its care according to the religious belief of the child or of his or her parents.
48.48(17)(a)5.
5. Place children in a county children's home in the county, to accept guardianship of children when appointed by the court and to place children under its guardianship for adoption.
48.48(17)(a)7.
7. Contract with any parent or guardian or other person for the care and maintenance of any child.
48.48(17)(a)9.
9. Use in the media a picture or description of a child in its guardianship for the purpose of finding adoptive parents for that child.
48.48(17)(a)11.
11. Contract with the county department under
s. 46.215,
51.42 or
51.437 or with a licensed child welfare agency to provide any of the services that the department is authorized to provide under this chapter.
48.48(17)(am)
(am) The requirement of statewide uniformity with respect to the organization and governance of human services does not apply to the administration of child welfare services under
par. (a).
48.48(17)(b)
(b) In performing the functions specified in
par. (a), the department may avail itself of the cooperation of any individual or private agency or organization interested in the social welfare of children and unborn children in the county.
48.48(17)(bm)
(bm) As soon as practicable after learning that a person who is receiving child welfare services under
par. (a) from the department has changed his or her county of residence, the department shall provide notice of that change to the county department of the person's new county of residence. The notice shall include a brief, written description of the services offered or provided to the person by the department and the name, telephone number, and address of a person to contact for more information.
48.48(17)(c)
(c) From the appropriations under
s. 20.437 (1) (cx),
(gx),
(kw), and
(mx), the department may provide funding for the maintenance of any child who meets all of the following criteria:
48.48(17)(c)2.
2. Is enrolled in and regularly attending a secondary education classroom program leading to a high school diploma.
48.48(17)(c)4.
4. Is living in a foster home, group home, or residential care center for children and youth or in a supervised independent living arrangement.
48.48(18)
(18) To contract with public or voluntary agencies or others for the following purposes:
48.48(18)(a)
(a) To purchase in full or in part care and services that the department is authorized by any statute to provide as an alternative to providing that care and those services itself.
48.48(18)(b)
(b) To purchase or provide in full or in part the care and services that county agencies may provide or purchase under any statute and to sell to county agencies such portions of that care and those services as the county agency may desire to purchase.
48.48(18)(d)
(d) To sell services, under contract, that the department is authorized to provide by statute, to any federally recognized tribal governing body.
48.48 History
History: 1973 c. 90,
333;
1977 c. 29;
1977 c. 83 s.
26;
1977 c. 354,
418,
447,
449;
1979 c. 34 ss.
833m,
834,
2102 (20) (a);
1979 c. 221,
300;
1983 a. 27 s.
2202 (20);
1983 a. 189 s.
329 (17);
1983 a. 447;
1985 a. 135,
176;
1985 a. 332 s.
251 (3);
1987 a. 339;
1989 a. 31,
107,
359;
1991 a. 316;
1993 a. 16,
375,
385,
446,
491;
1995 a. 27 ss.
2526 to
2534m,
9126 (19),
9145 (1);
1995 a. 77;
1997 a. 27,
35,
80,
105,
292;
1999 a. 9;
2001 a. 38,
59,
69;
2005 a. 25,
293;
2007 a. 20;
2009 a. 28,
71,
94,
180,
185;
2011 a. 258;
2013 a. 20;
2013 a. 165 s.
115;
2013 a. 334.
48.48 Cross-reference
Cross-reference: See also ch.
DCF 51, Wis. adm. code.
48.48 Annotation
An allegation that the department failed to adopt rules or to exercise supervision over a local social service agency and that those failures led to a deprivation of child custody without due process stated a cause of action for deprivation of civil rights. Roe v. Borup,
500 F. Supp. 127 (1980).
48.48 Annotation
The state has ultimate foster care responsibility, and dismissal of a 42 USC 1983 action against the state for civil rights violations by a county agency was not appropriate. Jeanine B. by Blondin v. Thompson,
877 F. Supp. 1268 (1995).
48.481
48.481
Grants for children's community programs. From the appropriation under
s. 20.437 (1) (bc), the department shall distribute the following grants for children's community programs:
48.481(1)
(1) Foster care placement continuation. 48.481(1)(a)(a) The department shall distribute foster care continuation grants in each fiscal year to counties for the purpose of supplementing payments for the care of an individual who attains age 18 after 1986 and who resided in a home licensed under
s. 48.62 for at least 2 years immediately prior to attaining age 18 and, for at least 2 years, received payments for exceptional circumstances in order to avoid institutionalization, as provided under rules promulgated by the department, so that the individual may live in a family home or other noninstitutional situation after attaining age 18. No county may use funds provided under this paragraph to replace funds previously used by the county for this purpose. Beginning in fiscal year 2013-14, a county is eligible to receive funding under this paragraph only if the county received such funding in fiscal year 2012-13.
48.481(1)(b)
(b) A county shall evaluate the proposed living arrangement of an individual under
par. (a) to determine whether that living arrangement is cost-effective compared to other care reasonably available to the county including other community care as well as institutional care. If the proposed living arrangement is not cost-effective, the county may not use funds distributed under
par. (a) for the care of that individual in the proposed living arrangement. A county shall evaluate the cost-effectiveness of the living arrangement of an individual for whom funds are provided under
par. (a) at least once every 5 years.
48.481(2)
(2) Transition to independent living. The department shall distribute at least $231,700 in each fiscal year for the purpose of assisting individuals who attain the age of 18 while residing in a foster home, group home, or residential care center for children and youth, in the home of a relative other than a parent, or in a supervised independent living arrangement to make the transition from out-of-home care to independent living. No county may use funds provided under this subsection to replace funds previously used by the county for this purpose.
48.481(3)
(3) Grants to runaway programs. The department shall distribute $50,000 in each fiscal year as grants to programs that provide services for runaway children.
48.481 History
History: 1999 a. 9,
149;
2003 a. 33;
2007 a. 20 ss.
1117 to
1121; Stats. 2007 s. 48.481;
2009 a. 28;
2013 a. 20,
334.
48.485
48.485
Transfer of Indian children to department for adoption. 48.485(1)(1) If the department accepts guardianship or legal custody or both from a tribal court under
s. 48.48 (3m), the department shall seek a permanent adoptive placement for the child or seek to enter into a subsidized guardianship agreement under
s. 48.623 (2) with a proposed guardian of the child and petition the court for the appointment of that individual as the guardian of the child under
s. 48.977 (2) or under a substantially similar tribal law.
48.485(2)
(2) If a permanent adoptive or subsidized guardianship placement is not in progress within 2 years after entry of the termination of parental rights order by the tribal court, the department may petition the tribal court to transfer legal custody or guardianship of the Indian child back to the Indian tribe, except that the department may not petition the tribal court to transfer back to an Indian tribe legal custody or guardianship of an Indian child who was initially taken into custody under
s. 48.195 (1).
48.487
48.487
Tribal family services. 48.487(1m)
(1m)
Tribal family services grants. From the appropriation account under
s. 20.437 (1) (bd), the department may distribute tribal family services grants to the elected governing bodies of the Indian tribes in this state. An elected governing body that receives a grant under this subsection may expend the grant moneys received for any of the purposes specified in
subs. (2),
(3) (b),
(4m) (b),
(5) (b),
(6), and
(7) as determined by that body.
48.487(2)
(2) Adolescent self-sufficiency services. An elected governing body of an Indian tribe may expend moneys from a grant received under
sub. (1m) to provide services for adolescent parents. Those services shall emphasize high school graduation and vocational preparation, training, and experience and may be structured so as to strengthen the adolescent parent's capacity to fulfill parental responsibilities by developing social skills and increasing parenting skills. An Indian tribe that provides those services shall develop a proposed service plan that is approved by the department.
48.487(3)
(3) Adolescent pregnancy prevention services. 48.487(3)(a)(a) In this subsection, "high-risk adolescent" means a person who is at least 13 years of age but under the age of 20 and who is at risk of becoming an unmarried parent as an adolescent and of incurring long-term economic dependency on public funds and is characterized by one or more of the following:
48.487(3)(a)5.
5. Low school achievement, as a pupil who is one or more years behind his or her pupil age group in the number of school credits attained or in basic school skill levels.
48.487(3)(b)
(b) An elected governing body of an Indian tribe may expend moneys from a grant received under
sub. (1m) to provide pregnancy and parenthood prevention services to high-risk adolescents. Those services shall be structured so as to increase the development of decision-making and communications skills, promote graduation from high school, and expand career and other options and may address needs of adolescents with respect to pregnancy prevention.
48.487(4m)(a)1.
1. "Adolescent" means a person who is at least 10 years of age but under the age of 18.
48.487(4m)(b)
(b) An elected governing body of an Indian tribe may expend moneys from a grant received under
sub. (1m) to provide information to members of the Indian tribe in order to increase community knowledge about the problems of adolescents and to provide information to and activities for adolescents, particularly female adolescents, in order to enable the adolescents to develop skills with respect to all of the following:
48.487(4m)(b)1.
1. Reducing adolescent pregnancy and high school dropout rates.
48.487(4m)(b)2.
2. Increasing economic self-sufficiency and expanding career options for adolescents, particularly options with respect to occupations with wages higher than the minimum wage.
48.487(4m)(b)3.
3. Enhancing individual adolescent self-esteem, interpersonal skills and responsible decision making.
48.487(4m)(c)
(c) An Indian tribe that provides services under
par. (b) shall provide those services in an area of the state that is approved by the Indian tribe and the department. The department shall determine the boundaries of the regions in this state within which the Indian tribes may provide services under
par. (b) before approving the service area of an Indian tribe under this paragraph.
48.487(4m)(d)
(d) Prior to approving the service area of an Indian tribe under
par. (c), the department shall consider whether and how the Indian tribe proposes to coordinate its services with other public or private resources, programs, or activities in the region and the state.
48.487(4m)(e)
(e) The department shall work closely with the women's council and the department of public instruction, on a continuing basis, concerning the scope and direction of activities conducted under
par. (b).
48.487(5)(a)1.
1. "Domestic abuse" means physical abuse, including a violation of
s. 940.225 (1),
(2), or
(3), or any threat of physical abuse between adult family or adult household members, by a minor family or minor household member against an adult family or adult household member, by an adult against his or her adult former spouse or by an adult against an adult with whom the person has a child in common.
48.487(5)(a)2.
2. "Domestic abuse services" means any of the following:
48.487(5)(a)3.
3. "Family member" means a spouse, a parent, a child, or a person related by blood or adoption to another person.
48.487(5)(a)4.
4. "Household member" means a person currently or formerly residing in a place of abode with another person.
48.487(5)(b)
(b) Subject to
pars. (c) and
(d), an elected governing body of an Indian tribe may expend moneys from a grant received under
sub. (1m) to provide domestic abuse services. If an elected governing body of an Indian tribe expends those moneys for those services, the body shall provide matching funds or in-kind contributions in an amount to be determined by the department. The department shall establish guidelines regarding the types of contributions that qualify as in-kind contributions.
48.487(5)(c)
(c) An elected governing body of an Indian tribe may provide shelter facilities only if the department of safety and professional services determines that the physical plant of the facility will not be dangerous to the health or safety of the residents when the facility is in operation. An elected governing body of an Indian tribe may provide shelter facilities or private home shelter care only if the body ensures that the following services will be provided either by that Indian tribe or by another person:
