State of Wisconsin
Department of Children and Families
Information to Be Provided to Physical Custodians
of Children in Out-of-Home Care
DCF 37
The Wisconsin Department of Children and Families proposes to repeal and recreate ch. DCF 37, and to repeal ch. DCF 37 Appendices A and B, relating to information to be provided to physical custodians of children in out-of-home care. Analysis Prepared by the Department of Children and Families
Related statute or rule: Section 48.371, Stats. Explanation of Agency Authority
Section 895.485 (4), Stats., provides that the department shall promulgate rules specifying the kind of information that an agency that places a child in a foster home or family-operated group home shall disclose to the foster parent or family-operated group home operator that relates to a medical, physical, mental, or emotional condition of the child. Section 48.67 (intro.), Stats., provides that the department shall promulgate rules establishing minimum requirements for the issuance of licenses to, and establishing standards for the operation of, child welfare agencies, child care centers, foster homes, group homes, shelter care facilities, and county departments. Those rules shall be designed to protect and promote the health, safety, and welfare of the children in the care of all licensees. Summary of the Proposed Rule
The current ch. DCF 37, Information to be Provided to Foster Parents, requires placing agencies to use the forms in Appendices A and B to provide information to a foster parent or operator of a family-operated group home about a child who may be placed or has been placed in the foster home or the family-operated group home. The current rule and forms have not been updated since the rule became effective in 1995. Among other reasons, the forms need to be revised to respond to the finding by the Administration for Children and Families that the Wisconsin child welfare system needs to do all of the following:
• Improve the assessment of a child’s needs and provide that information to caregivers providing services to the child.
• Provide consistent information to all out-of-home care providers.
• Establish plans for caregivers to follow to manage challenging behaviors by the child.
The revised forms will incorporate basic information and language from the Child and Adolescent Needs and Strengths (CANS) assessment tool that was implemented in 2011 and will be organized in a more logical manner for communicating the child’s needs. Also, under the proposed rules, the placing agency will be required to use the forms when a child is placed with any physical custodian, including a foster parent; the operator of a group home; the operator of a residential care center for children and youth; a person who is not a relative with whom the child is placed under s. 48.207 (1) (f), Stats.; or a relative with whom the child has been placed by order of the court under ch. 48 or ch. 938, Stats. Under the current rule, the forms are required only when a child is placed in a foster home or a family-operated group home. In addition, the revised forms will require a plan for managing challenging behaviors by the child. Under the proposed rule, the actual forms will not be in rule, so minor updates to the form can be made in a timely manner. The rule will include the types of information that placing agencies will be required to gather to complete the forms.
Timing. The proposed rule provides that before a prospective physical custodian agrees to placement of a child, the placing agency shall gather information required by the forms, enter it on the appropriate form or attach it to the form, and provide the forms to the prospective physical custodian.
After the placing agency provides the forms to the prospective physical custodian, the agency is required to make reasonable attempts to gather information required by the forms that was not available to the agency before providing the forms to the physical custodian. For information required under s. DCF 37.04 (4) (a) to (k), the placing agency shall provide the information it receives after providing the forms to the physical custodian as soon as possible, but no later than 2 days after the date that the child is placed is with the physical custodian. For information required under s. DCF 37.04 (4) (L) to (y), the placing agency shall provide the information it receives after providing the forms to the physical custodian as soon as possible, but no later than 7 days after the date that the child is placed with the physical custodian. An exception requires the agency to provide information it determines is of critical importance to the health, safety, or welfare of the child or the physical custodian to the physical custodian no later than 2 days after receiving the information.
If the placing agency receives information required by the forms that the agency has not provided to the physical custodian, the agency shall provide the information to the physical custodian as soon as possible, but no later than 7 days after the date that the agency receives the information, except the agency shall provide information it determines is of critical importance to the health, safety, or welfare of the child or the physical custodian no later than 2 days after receiving the information.
Allegation. The placing agency may not include information on the forms regarding the child or the child’s family that is an allegation, unless the placing agency determines that, if substantiated, the allegation would have a significant impact on the success of the placement and related services or on the health, safety, or welfare of the child, the physical custodian, others in the physical custodian’s home or facility, or the community. If the placing agency informs the physical custodian of an allegation about the child or the child’s family, the agency shall record the allegation in the child’s case record and shall include the justification for providing the information.
Exception. A placing agency may make an exception to the provision of any information to a physical custodian for either of these reasons:
• The information is confidential, the placing agency does not have access to the information, and the placing agency has made a reasonable effort to obtain the information through appropriate releases of information.
• The exception does not jeopardize the health, safety, or welfare of the child, the physical custodian, others in the physical custodian’s home or facility, or the community and the information is not critical to the success of the placement and related treatment or services.
Except as permitted under s. 252.15 (6), Stats., a physical custodian that receives information on these forms, other than the information regarding the child’s religious affiliation or belief, shall keep the information confidential and may disclose that information only for the purposes of providing care for the child or participating in a court hearing or permanency plan review concerning the child. Summary of Factual Data and Analytical Methodologies
The non-statutory provisions of the proposed rules and the revised forms are based on suggestions from the Out-of-Home Care/Adoption Committee, Case Process Committee, Foster Parent Advisory Committee, and meetings with county foster care coordinators.
Summary of Related Federal Law
The current 42 USC 671 (a) (24) requires that the state plan under Title IV-E of the Social Security Act for foster care and adoption assistance include a certification that, before a child in foster care is placed with prospective foster parents, the prospective foster parents will be prepared adequately with the appropriate knowledge and skills to provide for the needs of the child, and that the preparation will be continued, as necessary, after the placement of the child.
