42 USC 673 requires foster parents to be prepared adequately with appropriate knowledge and skills before a child is placed in their foster home and requires that the preparation be continued as necessary after the placement of the child. Under s. 48.833, Stats., a child is placed for adoption in a licensed foster home prior to adoption. Required Training for Prospective Adoptive Parents in an Intercountry Adoption
In intercountry adoptions, Department of State regulations at 22 CFR Part 96 require prospective adoptive parents to use a primary adoption services provider that is an accredited agency or approved person under the regulations and is responsible for ensuring that adoption services comply with the regulations. Under 22 CFR 96.48, the accredited agency or approved person is required to provide prospective adoptive parents with at least 10 hours of training on issues related to intercountry adoptions before they travel to adopt a child or a child is placed with the prospective adoptive parents for adoption. The agency or person can exempt prospective adoptive parents from all or part of the training if the department or person determines that the prospective adoptive parents have received adequate prior training or have prior experience as parents of children adopted from abroad. The Department of State regulations have applied to all adoptions of a foreign child by a U.S. citizen since July 14, 2014, when The Intercountry Adoption Universal Accreditation Act of 2012 (UAA) went into effect. The UAA assures families pursuing an intercountry adoption that regardless of the country from which they intend to adopt, the adoption services provider will need to comply with the same ethical standards of practice and conduct. From July 1, 2008, to July 13, 2014, the Department of State regulations only applied to adoption services provided for a U.S. prospective adoptive parent if the child resided in a country that was a party to the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Cooperation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption. The Hague Convention is a multilateral treaty that entered into force in the U.S. on July 1, 2008.
Proposed changes to the Department of State rules on intercountry adoptions were published in the Federal Register on September 8, 2016. On April 4, 2017, the Department of State withdrew the proposed rules and announced that it will be drafting new rules.
In addition, regulations promulgated by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services provide that prospective adoptive parents who intend to bring a foreign child to the U.S. for adoption must complete any preadoption training required by their state of residence before the child’s immigration petition will be approved. 8 CFR 204.305 Comparison to Adjacent States
Minnesota. The special needs for which adoption assistance may be available include the child meets the disability criteria for SSI eligibility, the child has another documented disability, the child is a member of a sibling group being adopted at the same time, the child is in an adoptive placement in the home of a parent who previously adopted a sibling for whom they received adoption assistance, or the child is an at-risk child.
Illinois. The special needs for which adoption assistance may be available include the child has a disability, is one year of age or older, is a member of a sibling group, or is being adopted by adoptive parents who previously adopted a sibling of the child for whom they receive adoption assistance.
Iowa. The special needs for which adoption assistance may be available include the child is age eight or older and Caucasian, the child is age two or older and is a member of a minority race or ethnic group, the child is a member of a sibling group of 3 or more, the child has a medically diagnosed disability.
Michigan. The special needs for which adoption assistance may be available include the child is age 3 and older, has documented higher medical or mental health needs, is eligible for SSI, or is being adopted by relatives or with siblings.
Effect on Small Businesses
The proposed rules may affect small businesses as defined in s. 227.114 (1), Stats., including private adoption agencies and entities authorized to provide preadoption training under s. 48.84 (1), Stats. The effect of the rules will be minimal. Analysis Used to Determine Effect on Small Businesses
The proposed rules incorporate statutory changes and minor updates and provide needed clarification of the requirements in the rules.
2015 Wisconsin Act 379 increases the hours of required training for prospective adoptive parents, which may increase costs for adoption agencies. Department Contact
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” 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 the division of hearings and appeals 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 an adoption agency has identified as the 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.
