Chapter 48

48.99(3)(b)7. 7. Cases in which a child who is a United States citizen living overseas with his or her family, at least one member of which is in the U.S. armed services and stationed overseas, is removed and placed in a state.

48.99(3)(b)8. 8. The sending of a child by a public child placing agency or a private child placing agency to another state for a visit, as defined by the rules promulgated by the interstate commission.

48.99(3)(c) (c) For purposes of determining the applicability of this compact to the placement of a child with a family member who is in the U.S. armed services, the public child placing agency or private child placing agency may choose the state of the service member’s permanent duty station or the service member’s declared state of legal residence.

48.99(3)(d) (d) Nothing in this compact shall be construed to prohibit the concurrent application of this compact with other applicable interstate compacts including the Interstate Compact for Juveniles and the Interstate Compact on Adoption and Medical Assistance. The interstate commission may, in cooperation with other interstate compact commissions having responsibility for the interstate movement, placement, or transfer of children, promulgate like rules to ensure the coordination of services, the timely placement of children, and the reduction of unnecessary or duplicative administrative or procedural requirements.

48.99(4) (4) Article IV — Jurisdiction.

48.99(4)(a) (a) Except as provided in par. (h), except when sub. (5) (b) 2. or 3. applies in a private or independent adoption, and except for an interstate placement in a custody proceeding in which a public child placing agency is not a party, the sending state shall retain jurisdiction over a child with respect to all matters of custody and disposition of the child over which the sending state would have had jurisdiction if the child had remained in the sending state. That jurisdiction shall also include the power to order the return of the child to the sending state.

48.99(4)(b) (b) When an issue of child protection or custody is brought before a court in the receiving state, that court shall confer with the court of the sending state to determine the most appropriate forum for adjudication.

48.99(4)(c) (c) In a case subject to this compact that is before a court, the taking of testimony for a hearing before a judicial officer may occur in person or by telephone, by audio-video conference, or by such other means as may be approved by the rules of the interstate commission. A judicial officer may communicate with another judicial officer or with any other person involved in the interstate process as may be permitted by the codes of judicial conduct governing those judicial officers and any rules promulgated by the interstate commission.

48.99(4)(d) (d) In accordance with its own laws, the court in the sending state may terminate its jurisdiction if any of the following apply:

48.99(4)(d)1. 1. The child is reunified with the parent in the receiving state who is the subject of allegations or findings of abuse or neglect, but only with the concurrence of the public child placing agency in the receiving state.

48.99(4)(d)2. 2. The child is adopted.

48.99(4)(d)3. 3. The child reaches the age of majority under the laws of the sending state.

48.99(4)(d)4. 4. The child achieves legal independence under the laws of the sending state.

48.99(4)(d)5. 5. A guardianship is created by a court in the receiving state with the concurrence of the court in the sending state.

48.99(4)(d)6. 6. An Indian tribe has petitioned for and received jurisdiction from the court in the sending state.

48.99(4)(d)7. 7. The public child placing agency of the sending state requests termination of the jurisdiction of the court in the sending state and has obtained the concurrence of the public child placing agency in the receiving state.

48.99(4)(e) (e) When a sending state court terminates its jurisdiction, the receiving state child placing agency shall be notified.

48.99(4)(f) (f) Nothing in this subsection shall defeat a claim of jurisdiction by a receiving state court sufficient to deal with an act of truancy, delinquency, crime, or behavior involving a child, as defined by the laws of the receiving state, committed by the child in the receiving state that would be a violation of the laws of the receiving state.

48.99(4)(g) (g) Nothing in this subsection shall limit the receiving state’s ability to take emergency jurisdiction for the protection of the child.

48.99(4)(h) (h) The substantive laws of the state in which an adoption of a child will be finalized shall solely govern all issues relating to the adoption of a child and the court in which the adoption proceeding is filed shall have subject matter jurisdiction regarding all substantive issues relating to the adoption, except when any of the following applies:

48.99(4)(h)1. 1. The child is a ward of another court that established jurisdiction over the child prior to the placement.

48.99(4)(h)2. 2. The child is in the legal custody of a public agency in the sending state.

48.99(4)(h)3. 3. A court in the sending state has otherwise appropriately assumed jurisdiction over the child prior to the submission of the request for approval of the placement.

48.99(4)(i) (i) A final decree of adoption shall not be entered in any jurisdiction until the placement is authorized as an approved placement by the public child placing agency in the receiving state.

48.99(5) (5) Article V — Placement evaluation.

48.99(5)(a) (a) Before sending, bringing, or causing a child to be sent or brought into a receiving state, the public child placing agency of the sending state shall provide a written request for assessment to the receiving state.

48.99(5)(b) (b) For a placement by a private child placing agency, a child may be sent or brought, or caused to be sent or brought, into a receiving state upon receipt and immediate review of the required content of a request for approval of the placement by the public child placing agencies of both the sending state and the receiving state. The required content that must accompany that request for approval shall include all of the following:

48.99(5)(b)1. 1. A request for approval of the placement signed by the person requesting the approval that identifies the child, the birth parents, the prospective adoptive parents, and the supervising agency.

48.99(5)(b)2. 2. The appropriate consents or relinquishments signed by the birth parents in accordance with the laws of the sending state or, where permitted, the laws of the state where the adoption will be finalized.

48.99(5)(b)3. 3. Certification by a licensed attorney or authorized agent of a private adoption agency that the consent or relinquishment is in compliance with the applicable laws of the sending state or, where permitted, the laws of the state where the adoption will be finalized.

48.99(5)(b)4. 4. A home study.

48.99(5)(b)5. 5. An acknowledgment signed by the prospective adoptive parents that the placement is a legal risk placement.

48.99(5)(c) (c) The sending state and the receiving state may request additional information or documentation prior to finalization of an approved placement, but the sending state and receiving state may not delay travel by the prospective adoptive parents with the child if the required content under par. (b) 1. to 5. has been submitted, received, and reviewed by the public child placing agencies in both the sending state and the receiving state.

48.99(5)(d) (d) The approval of the public child placing agency in the receiving state for a provisional placement or an approved placement is required as provided for in the rules of the interstate commission.

48.99(5)(e) (e) The request for assessment shall contain all information and be in such form as provided for in the rules of the interstate commission and the procedures for making a request shall be as provided in those rules.

48.99(5)(f) (f) Upon receipt of a request from the public child placing agency of the sending state, the receiving state shall initiate an assessment of the proposed placement to determine the safety and suitability of that placement. If the proposed placement is a placement with a relative, the public child placing agency of the sending state may request a determination of whether the placement qualifies as a provisional placement.

48.99(5)(g) (g) The public child placing agency in the receiving state may request from the public child placing agency or the private child placing agency in the sending state, and shall be entitled to receive, supporting or additional information as necessary to complete the assessment or approve the placement.

48.99(5)(h) (h) The public child placing agency in the receiving state shall approve a provisional placement and complete or arrange for the completion of the assessment within the time frames established in rules promulgated by the interstate commission.

48.99(5)(i) (i) For a placement by a private child placing agency, the sending state may not impose any additional requirements with respect to completion of the home study that are not required by the receiving state, unless the adoption is finalized in the sending state.

48.99(5)(j) (j) The interstate commission may develop uniform standards for assessing the safety and suitability of interstate placements.

48.99(6) (6) Article VI — Placement Authority.

48.99(6)(a) (a) Except as otherwise provided in this compact, no child who is subject to this compact may be placed into a receiving state until approval for that placement is obtained from the public child placing agency in the receiving state.

48.99(6)(b) (b) If the public child placing agency in the receiving state does not approve the proposed placement, then the child may not be placed. The receiving state shall provide written documentation of any such determination in accordance with the rules promulgated by the interstate commission. That determination is not subject to judicial review in the sending state.

48.99(6)(c) (c)

48.99(6)(c)1. 1. If the proposed placement is not approved, any interested party or person shall have standing to seek an administrative review of the receiving state’s determination.

48.99(6)(c)2. 2. The administrative review and any further judicial review associated with the determination shall be conducted in the receiving state under its applicable administrative procedures act.

48.99(6)(c)3. 3. If a determination not to approve the placement of the child in the receiving state is overturned upon review, the placement shall be considered approved, so long as all administrative or judicial remedies have been exhausted or the time for seeking those remedies has passed.

48.99(7) (7) Article VII — Placing Agency Responsibility.

48.99(7)(a) (a) For the interstate placement of a child made by a public child placing agency or state court, financial responsibility shall be allocated as follows:

48.99(7)(a)1. 1. The public child placing agency in the sending state shall be financially responsible for all of the following:

48.99(7)(a)1.a. a. Ongoing maintenance payments for the child during the period of the placement, unless otherwise provided for in the receiving state.

48.99(7)(a)1.b. b. Services for the child beyond the public services for which the child is eligible in the receiving state, as determined by the public child placing agency in the sending state.

48.99(7)(a)2. 2. The receiving state shall only have financial responsibility for all of the following:

48.99(7)(a)2.a. a. Any assessment conducted by the receiving state.

48.99(7)(a)2.b. b. Supervision conducted by the receiving state at the level necessary to support the placement as agreed upon by the public child placing agencies of the receiving state and the sending state.

48.99(7)(b) (b) Nothing in par. (a) shall prohibit a public child placing agency in a sending state from entering into an agreement with a licensed agency or other person in a receiving state to conduct assessments and provide supervision.

48.99(7)(c) (c) For the placement of a child by a private child placing agency preliminary to a possible adoption, the private child placing agency shall be responsible as follows:

48.99(7)(c)1. 1. Legally responsible for the child during the period of placement as provided for in the law of the sending state until the finalization of the adoption.

48.99(7)(c)2. 2. Financially responsible for the child absent a contractual agreement to the contrary.

48.99(7)(d) (d) The public child placing agency in the receiving state shall provide timely assessments, as provided for in the rules of the interstate commission.

48.99(7)(e) (e) The public child placing agency in the receiving state shall provide, or arrange for the provision of, supervision and services for the child, including timely reports, during the period of the placement.

48.99(7)(f) (f) Nothing in this compact shall be construed so as to limit the authority of the public child placing agency in the receiving state from contracting with a licensed agency or person in the receiving state for an assessment or for the provision of supervision or services for the child or from otherwise authorizing the provision of supervision or services by a licensed agency or person during the period of placement.

48.99(7)(g) (g) Each member state shall provide for coordination among its branches of government concerning the state’s participation in, and compliance with, the compact and interstate commission activities, through the creation of an advisory council or the use of an existing body or board.

48.99(7)(h) (h) Each member state shall establish a central state compact office, which shall be responsible for state compliance with the compact and the rules of the interstate commission.

48.99(7)(i) (i) The public child placing agency in the sending state shall oversee compliance with the federal Indian Child Welfare Act, 25 USC 1901 to 1963, prior to a placement under this compact of an Indian child.

48.99(7)(j) (j) With the consent of the interstate commission, states may enter into limited agreements that facilitate the timely assessment and provision of services and supervision of placements under this compact.

48.99(8) (8) Article VIII — Interstate Commission for the Placement of Children.

48.99(8)(a) (a) There is created the interstate commission for the placement of children. The activities of the interstate commission are the formation of public policy and are a discretionary state function. The interstate commission shall be a joint commission of the member states and shall have all of the responsibilities, powers, and duties set forth in this section and such additional powers as may be conferred upon the interstate commission by subsequent concurrent action of the respective legislatures of the member states.

48.99(8)(b) (b)

48.99(8)(b)1. 1. The interstate commission shall consist of one commissioner from each member state who shall be appointed by the executive head of the state human services administration with ultimate responsibility for the state’s child welfare program. The appointed commissioner may vote on policy-related matters governed by this compact binding the state.

48.99(8)(b)2. 2. Each member state represented at a meeting of the interstate commission is entitled to one vote.

48.99(8)(b)3. 3. A majority of the member states shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business, unless a larger quorum is required by the bylaws of the interstate commission.

48.99(8)(b)4. 4. A commissioner may not delegate a vote to another member state.

48.99(8)(b)5. 5. A commissioner may delegate voting authority to another person from the commissioner’s state for a specified meeting.

48.99(8)(c) (c) In addition to the commissioners of each member state, the interstate commission shall include persons who are members of interested organizations, as defined in the bylaws or rules of the interstate commission. Those members shall not be entitled to vote on any matter before the interstate commission.

48.99(8)(d) (d) The interstate commission shall establish an executive committee that shall have the authority to administer the day-to-day operations and administration of the interstate commission. The executive committee may not engage in rule making.

48.99(9) (9) Article IX — Powers of the Interstate Commission. The interstate commission shall have the power to do all of the following:

48.99(9)(a) (a) Promulgate rules and take all necessary actions to effect the goals, purposes, and obligations enumerated in this compact.

48.99(9)(b) (b) Provide for dispute resolution among member states.

48.99(9)(c) (c) Issue, upon request of a member state, advisory opinions concerning the meaning or interpretation of this compact or the bylaws, rules, or actions of the interstate commission.

48.99(9)(d) (d) Enforce compliance with this compact or the bylaws or rules of the interstate commission under sub. (12).

48.99(9)(e) (e) Collect standardized data concerning the interstate placement of children who are subject to this compact as directed by its rules, which rules shall specify the data to be collected, the means of collection, and data exchange and reporting requirements.

48.99(9)(f) (f) Establish and maintain offices as may be necessary for transacting the business of the interstate commission.

48.99(9)(g) (g) Purchase and maintain insurance and bonds.

48.99(9)(h) (h) Hire or contract for the services of personnel or consultants as may be necessary to carry out its functions under the compact and establish personnel qualification policies and rates of compensation.

48.99(9)(i) (i) Establish and appoint committees and officers including an executive committee as required by sub. (10).

48.99(9)(j) (j) Accept, receive, utilize, and dispose of donations and grants of money, equipment, supplies, materials, and services.

48.99(9)(k) (k) Lease, purchase, accept contributions or donations of, or otherwise own, hold, improve, or use any property, real, personal, or mixed.

48.99(9)(L) (L) Sell, convey, mortgage, pledge, lease, exchange, abandon, or otherwise dispose of any property, real, personal, or mixed.