Place Where Comments are to be Submitted and Deadline for Submission
Comments may be submitted to Elaine Pridgen, Office of the Secretary, Department of Children and Families, 201 E. Washington Avenue, P.O. Box 8916, Madison, WI, 53708-8916 or dcfpublichearing@wisconsin.gov. The comment deadline is February 7, 2018. SECTION 1. Chapter DCF 49 and DCF 49 Appendix A are repealed.
SECTION 2. Chapter DCF 42 is renumbered to be ch. DCF 49.
SECTION 3. Chapters DCF 50 and 51 are repealed and recreated to read:
FACILITATING PUBLIC ADOPTIONS AND ADOPTION ASSISTANCE
DCF 50.01 Authority and purpose. (1) Facilitating public adoptions. Sections DCF 50.02 to 50.08 are promulgated under the authority of ss. 48.48 (1), (2), and (8); 48.55 (2); 48.88 (2); and 227.11 (2), Stats., to facilitate public adoptions by doing all of the following: (a) Establishing criteria and procedures for determining if prospective adoptive parents are qualified to adopt a child who is under the guardianship of a public adoption agency in this state.
(b) Connecting children who are legally free for public adoption and children who are at legal risk with qualified prospective adoptive parents through a state adoption information exchange.
(2) Adoption assistance. Sections DCF 50.02 and 50.09 to 50.17 are promulgated under the authority of s. 48.975, Stats., to specify criteria and procedures necessary to implement the adoption assistance program, under which the department makes payments to adoptive or proposed adoptive parents of an eligible child with special needs when the department determines such assistance is necessary to assure the child’s adoption. DCF 50.02 Definitions. In this chapter:
(1) “Adoption” means a process provided by law to establish the legal relationship of parent and child between persons who do not have that relationship by birth, with the same mutual rights, obligations, and legal consequences that exist between the child and the child’s biological parents.
(2) “Adoption agency” means a public or private adoption agency that is licensed to accept guardianship and to place children under its guardianship for adoption, to license and maintain foster homes for the purpose of placing children for adoption, or both.
(3) “Adoption assistance” means payments by the department to the adoptive or proposed adoptive parents of a child that are designed to assist in the cost of care of that child after an agreement under s. 48.975 (4), Stats., has been signed and the child has been placed for adoption with the adoptive or proposed adoptive parents. “Adoption assistance” may include monthly payments by the department under s. 48.975 (3) (a), Stats.; medical assistance under Title XIX of the Social Security Act of 1935, as amended, as provided under s. 48.975 (3) (b), Stats.; or reimbursement of nonrecurring adoption expenses as provided under s. 48.975 (3) (c), Stats. (4) “Adoption information exchange” or “exchange” means a department program created to facilitate the adoption of children who are legally free for public adoption by promoting public adoptions and connecting children who are legally free for public adoption and children who are at legal risk with qualified prospective adoptive parents.
(5) “Bureau director” means the director of the division’s bureau of permanence and out-of-home care.
(6) “Child” means a person under 18 years of age.
Note: An adoptee who is 18 years of age or over, but under 21 years of age, may be eligible for adoption assistance under s. DCF 50.15 (3).
(7) “County department” means a county department of social services under s. 46.22, Stats.; a county department of human services under s. 46.23, Stats.; or, in a county having a population of 750,000 or more, the department. (8) “Department” means the department of children and families.
(9) “Division” means the department’s division of safety and permanence.
(10) “Division of hearings and appeals” means a division in the department of administration.
(11) “Final substantiated finding” means all of the following:
(a) A final determination made after January 1, 2015, that a person has abused or neglected a child under s. 48.981 (3) (c) 5m., Stats., and s. DCF 40.04 if the final determination has not been reversed or modified on appeal. (b) A determination made before January 1, 2015, that a person has abused or neglected a child under s. 48.981 (3) (c) 4., 2011 Stats., if the determination has not been reversed or modified on appeal. (12) “Foster home” means a facility operated by a person licensed under s. 48.62 (1), Stats. (13) “Home study” means an investigation to determine whether the prospective adoptive parents’ home is suitable for placement of a child for the purpose of a public adoption.
(14) “Indian child” has the meaning given in s. 48.02 (8g), Stats. (15) “Legal risk” means the status of a child who has a permanency plan that includes adoption when the parental rights of one or both of the child’s parents have not been not been terminated under the laws of a state or tribe or when a court order terminating parental rights is being appealed.
(16) “Legally free for public adoption” means the status of a child when the legal rights of the child’s parents have been severed through death or a termination of parental rights under ss. 48.40 to 48.437, Stats., the laws of another state, or the laws of a tribe in this state, and the court has transferred guardianship and custody of the child to a public adoption agency pending adoptive placement. (17) “Nurse practitioner” has the same meaning as “advanced practice nurse” under s. N 8.02 (1). (18) “Out-of-home care” means care in a foster home, a group home under s. 48.625, Stats., or a residential care center for children and youth under s. 48.60, Stats. (19) “Permanency plan” means a plan required under s. 48.38 (2), Stats., that is designed to ensure that a child is safely reunified with the child’s family whenever appropriate, or that the child quickly attains a safe placement or home providing long-term stability. (20) “Photolisting” means publication of photos and descriptions of children who are or may be available for public adoption to assist prospective adoptive parents identify a child to adopt.
(21) “Physician” has the same meaning as in s. 448.01 (5), Stats. (22) “Physician assistant” has the same meaning as in s. 448.01 (6), Stats. (23) “Private adoption agency” means a child welfare agency with the powers and duties of an adoption agency under ss. 48.60 and 48.61 (5) and (7), Stats., or a comparable agency authorized under the laws of another state. (24) “Prospective adoptive parents” means an individual or married couple that is going through the process to become adoptive parents.
(25) “Proposed adoptive parents” means an individual or married couple that has been identified as prospective adoptive parents for a specific child.
(26) “Public adoption” means the adoption of a child under the guardianship of the department, a county department, or a tribal child welfare department in this state if the adoption is under the laws of this state.
(27) “Public adoption agency” means the department, a county department, or a tribal child welfare department in this state.
(28) “Relative” has the same meaning as in s. 48.02 (15), Stats. (29) “Supplemental payment” means the portion of a monthly adoption assistance payment that is based on a child’s identified needs.
DCF 50.03 Need for adoptive parents. (1) Assessment. The department shall periodically determine the need to recruit prospective adoptive parents considering a public adoption by reviewing all of the following:
(a) Children who need or may need adoptive parents. 1. The number of children for whom any of the following conditions are met:
a. The children are legally free for public adoption and do not have proposed adoptive parents.
b. The children are at legal risk and do not have proposed adoptive parents.
2. The characteristics of the children who meet the conditions under subd. 1., including the children’s ages, race, ethnicity, sibling status, and level of special needs.
(b) Prospective adoptive parents. 1. The number of prospective adoptive parents whose home study has been approved for a public adoption that are searching for a child to adopt.
2. The characteristics of the prospective adoptive parents and the characteristics of the children these prospective adoptive parents are willing to adopt.
(2) Information for recruitment. After each assessment under sub. (1), the department shall provide updated information to the adoption information exchange, public adoption agencies, and persons making inquiries on the types of prospective adoptive parents considering a public adoption that are most needed for children who meet the conditions under sub. (1) (a) 1.
DCF 50.04 Screening for public adoption. (1) Informational meetings. (a) The department shall offer informational meetings for prospective adoptive parents considering a public adoption.
(b) The meetings shall include information on all of the following:
1. Adoption procedures and resources.
2. The general characteristics of children who need or may need adoptive parents under s. DCF 50.03 (1) (a). 3. The type of prospective adoptive parents that are most needed based on the most recent assessment under s. DCF 50.03. (2) Screening form. (a) The department shall provide a screening form to the prospective adoptive parents at the informational meeting.
(b) Prospective adoptive parents may only obtain a screening form at an informational meeting.
(3) Screening criteria. (a) The department may limit the total number of prospective adoptive parents selected for an adoption home study and shall screen prospective adoptive parents based on the following criteria:
1. The home study of the prospective adoptive parents is likely to be approved.
2. The prospective adoptive parents would be a good match for the type of children who are legally free for public adoption or are at legal risk.
3. Prospective adoptive parents willing to accept placement of a child who is at legal risk.
4. Preference may be given to the following types of prospective adoptive parents:
a. Prospective adoptive parents with greater interest or experience in caring for children with special needs, including particular types of special needs, particular levels of special needs, or multiple types of special needs.
b. Prospective adoptive parents that will accept sibling groups for placement and encourage and support sibling contact when siblings must be separated.
(4) Additional information. The department may obtain additional information needed to make a screening decision by requesting additional written information or by conducting a screening interview.
(5) Screening determination. (a) Deadline for determination. The department shall determine whether prospective adoptive parents meet the screening criteria in sub. (3) within 30 days after receiving all requested information under sub. (4).
(b) Approval. The department shall send an application for a home study to prospective adoptive parents that meet the screening criteria in sub. (3).
(c) Denial. The department shall send a written notice of denial to prospective adoptive parents that do not meet the screening criteria in sub. (3) that specifies the reasons for the denial and includes information on appeal rights under s. DCF 50.06 to prospective adoptive parents that do not meet the screening criteria under sub. (3). DCF 50.05 Home study for public adoption. (1) definition. In this section “applicant” means prospective adoptive parents who apply for a home study under this section and are any of the following:
(a) An adult married couple who live together, have been married for at least one year on the date of application, and are applying for a home study jointly.
(b) An unmarried adult individual.
(2) Eligible to apply. Prospective adoptive parents may apply for a home study if all of the following conditions are met:
(a) Approved. The prospective adoptive parents completed the screening process in s. DCF 50.04, and the department determined that the prospective adoptive parents meet the screening criteria. (b) Exempt. The prospective adoptive parents are not required to complete the screening process in s. DCF 50.04 because the prospective adoptive parents are any of the following: a.. Adult relatives of a child who is legally free for public adoption or a child who is at legal risk if the department determines that the child needs an adoptive placement.
b. Prospective adoptive parents that are seeking to adopt a child who is already placed in the prospective adoptive parents’ home.
c. Upon the request of a tribal child welfare department and at the discretion of the discretion of the department, prospective adoptive parents that are seeking to adopt an Indian child.
(c) Expedited. The bureau director or a designee waived the screening process in s. DCF 50.04 and authorized the prospective adoptive parents to apply for a home study based on documentation that the prospective adoptive parents are expected to be the most suitable placement resource for a child who is legally free for public adoption or a child who is at legal risk.
