48.981 Annotation The responsibility of county departments of social services to investigate allegations of child abuse and neglect is discussed. Department staff members may interview a child on public school property and may exclude school personnel from the interview. School personnel cannot condition on-site interviews on notification of the child's parents. 79 Atty. Gen. 49.

48.981 Annotation Members of a social services board in a county with a county executive or a county administrator may be granted access to child abuse and neglect files under this section if access is necessary for the performance of their statutory duties. 79 Atty. Gen. 212.

48.981 Annotation A district attorney or corporation counsel may reveal the contents of a report made under this section in the course of a criminal prosecution or one of the civil proceedings enumerated under sub. (7) (a) 10. 81 Atty. Gen. 66.

48.981 Annotation County departments have authority to transport a child to a county-recognized child advocacy center for the purpose of an investigatory interview without consent of the primary caretaker, if to do so is necessary to an investigation of alleged child maltreatment. OAG 3-98.

48.981 Annotation The confrontation clause does not require a defendant's access to confidential child abuse reports; due process requires that the court undertake an in camera inspection of the file to determine whether it contains material exculpatory evidence. Pennsylvania v. Ritchie, 480 U.S. 39 (1987).

48.981 Annotation To the extent sub. (3) (c) 1. authorizes government officials to interview children suspected of being abused on private property and without a warrant, probable cause, consent, or exigent circumstances, it is unconstitutional as applied. However, it can be constitutionally applied, such as when government officials interview a child on public school property when they have definite and articulable evidence giving rise to a reasonable suspicion that a child has been abused by his or her parents or is in imminent danger of parental abuse. Doe v. Heck, 327 F.3d 492 (2003). See also Michael C. v. Gresbach, 526 F.3d 1008 (2008).

48.981 Annotation This section does not authorize a private cause of action for failure to report. Isley v. Capucian Province, 880 F. Supp. 1138 (1995).

48.982(1)(b) (b) “Board" means the child abuse and neglect prevention board.

48.982(1)(bm) (bm) “Cultural competency" means the ability of an individual or organization to understand and act respectfully toward, in a cultural context, the beliefs, interpersonal styles, attitudes and behaviors of persons and families of various cultures, including persons and families of various cultures who participate in services from the individual or organization and persons of various cultures who provide services for the individual or organization.

48.982(1)(d) (d) “Organization" means a nonprofit organization, as defined under s. 108.02 (19), or a public agency which provides or proposes to provide child abuse and neglect prevention and intervention services or parent education.

48.982(2)(a) (a) Biennially, develop and transmit to the governor and the presiding officer of each house of the legislature a plan for awarding grants and providing technical assistance to organizations and for providing child abuse and neglect prevention information and services on a statewide basis. The plan shall assure that there is an equal opportunity for the establishment of child abuse and neglect prevention programs and family resource centers. The plan shall also ensure that the grants will be distributed throughout all geographic areas of the state and in both urban and rural communities. For grants provided under sub. (6), the plan shall also ensure that the grants are distributed based on population.

48.982(2)(b) (b) Develop and publicize criteria for grant applications.

48.982(2)(c) (c) Review and approve or disapprove grant applications and monitor the services provided under each grant awarded under subs. (4) and (6).

48.982(2)(d) (d) Solicit and accept contributions, grants, gifts, and bequests for the children's trust fund or for any other purpose for which a contribution, grant, gift, or bequest is made and received. Moneys received under this paragraph may be credited to the appropriation accounts under s. 20.433 (1) (i) or (q).

48.982(2)(e) (e) Include as part of its annual report under s. 15.07 (6) the names and locations of organizations receiving grants, the amounts provided as grants, the services provided by grantees and the number of persons served by each grantee.

48.982(2)(f) (f) Establish a procedure for an annual evaluation of its functions, responsibilities and performance. In a year in which the biennial plan under par. (a) is prepared, the evaluation shall be coordinated with the plan.

48.982(2)(g) (g) In coordination with the department and the department of public instruction:

48.982(2)(g)1. 1. Recommend to the governor, the legislature, and state agencies changes needed in state programs, statutes, policies, budgets, and rules to reduce the problems of child abuse and neglect, improve coordination among state agencies that provide prevention services, promote individual, family, and community strengths, build parenting skills, and provide community support for children and families.

48.982(2)(g)2. 2. Promote statewide educational and public awareness campaigns and materials for the purpose of developing public awareness of the problems of child abuse and neglect.

48.982(2)(g)4. 4. Disseminate information about the problems of and methods of preventing child abuse and neglect to the public and to organizations concerned with those problems.

48.982(2)(gm) (gm) Provide, for use by the board in its statewide projects under sub. (5) and for use by organizations that receive grants under subs. (4) and (6), educational and public awareness materials and programming that emphasize the role of fathers in the primary prevention of child abuse and neglect.