Wisconsin Legislature: DHS 134.13(39)(a)

(18) “IPP” or “individual program plan” means a written statement of the services which are to be provided to a resident based on an interdisciplinary assessment of the individual’s developmental needs, expressed in behavioral terms, the primary purpose of which is to provide a framework for the integration of all the programs, services and activities received by the resident and to serve as a comprehensive written record of the resident’s developmental progress.

(18m) “Involuntary administration of psychotropic medication” means any of the following:

(a) Placing psychotropic medication in an individual’s food or drink with knowledge that the individual protests receipt of the psychotropic medication.

(b) Forcibly restraining an individual to enable administration of psychotropic medication.

(19) “Licensed practical nurse” means a person licensed as a practical nurse under ch. 441, Stats.

(20) “Life safety code” means the National Fire Protection Association’s standard 101.

(21) “Living unit” means the area of a facility that houses the residents’ bedrooms and may include dining and activity areas.

(22) “Medical care plan” means a formal plan for providing physician services and related medical care services.

(23) “Mobile nonambulatory” means unable to walk without assistance, but able to move from place to place with the use of a device such as a walker, crutches, a wheel chair or a wheeled platform.

(23m) “Neglect” has the meaning specified under s. DHS 13.03 (14).

(24) “New construction” or “newly constructed” means construction for the first time of any building or addition to an existing building, for which the plans are approved by the department after July 1, 1988.

(25) “New facility” means a facility that was not licensed under ch. H 34 or 132 on July 1, 1988.

(26) “NFPA” means national fire protection association.

(27) “Nonambulatory” means unable to walk without assistance.

(28) “Nonmobile” means unable to move from place to place.

(29) “Nurse” means a registered nurse or a licensed practical nurse.

(30) “Nurse practitioner” means a registered professional nurse who meets the requirements of s. DHS 105.20.

(31) “Nursing assistant” means a person who is employed primarily to provide direct care services to residents but is not registered or licensed under ch. 441, Stats.

(32) “Pharmacist” means a person registered as a pharmacist under ch. 450, Stats.

(33) “Physical therapist” means a person licensed to practice physical therapy under ch. 448, Stats.

(34) “Physician” means a person licensed to practice medicine or osteopathy under ch. 448, Stats.

(35) “Physician extender” means a person who is a physician’s assistant or a nurse practitioner acting under the general supervision and direction of a physician.

(36) “Physician assistant” means a person certified under ch. 448, Stats., to perform as a physician assistant.

(37) “Practitioner” means a physician, dentist, podiatrist or other person permitted under Wisconsin law to distribute, dispense and administer prescription drugs, including controlled substances, in the course of professional practice.

(38) “Primarily serves” means that at least 51% of an existing facility’s residents, calculated on an annual basis, have a developmental disability, and 100% of a new facility’s residents have a developmental disability.

(38g) “Protest” means make more than one discernible negative response, other than mere silence, to the offer of, recommendation for, or other proffering of voluntary receipt of psychotropic medication. “Protest” does not mean a discernible negative response to a proposed method of administration of the psychotropic medication.

(38r) “Psychotropic medication” means a prescription drug, as defined in s. 450.01 (20), Stats., that is used to treat or manage a psychiatric symptom or challenging behavior.

(39) “QIDP” or “qualified intellectual disabilities professional” means a person who has specialized training in intellectual disabilities or at least one year of experience in treating or working with people with intellectual disabilities or other developmental disabilities, and is one of the following:

(a) A psychologist licensed under ch. 455, Stats.;

(b) A physician;

(c) A social worker with a graduate degree from a school of social work accredited or approved by the council on social work education or with a bachelor’s degree in social work from a college or university accredited or approved by the council on social work education;

(d) A physical or occupational therapist who meets the requirements of s. DHS 105.27 or 105.28;

(e) A speech pathologist or audiologist who meets the requirements of s. DHS 105.30 or 105.31;

(f) A registered nurse;

(g) A therapeutic recreation specialist who is a graduate of an accredited program or who has a bachelor’s degree in a specialty area such as art, dance, music, physical education or recreation therapy; or

(h) A human services professional who has a bachelor’s degree in a human services field other than those listed in pars. (a) to (g), such as rehabilitation counseling, special education or sociology.

(40) “Recuperative care” means care anticipated to be provided for a period of 90 days or less for a resident whose physician has certified that he or she is convalescing or recuperating from an illness or a medical treatment.

(41) “Registered nurse” means a person who holds a certificate of registration as a registered nurse under ch. 441, Stats.

(42) “Rehabilitation” means treatment provided to restore the individual to the fullest possible level of physical, social and economic functioning until the individual’s level and patterns of needs and abilities do not show significant change. “Rehabilitation” may include medical treatment, psychiatric treatment, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech and hearing therapy, nursing care, vocational counseling, social services or recreational therapy.

(43) “Resident” means a person cared for or treated in any facility on a 24-hour basis.

(44) “Respite care” means care anticipated to be provided for a period of 28 days or less for the purpose of temporarily relieving a family member or other caregiver from his or her daily caregiving duties.

(45) “Short-term care” means recuperative care or respite care.

(46) “Small facility” means a facility licensed to serve 16 or fewer persons.

(47) “Specialized consultation” means the provision of professional or technical advice such as systems analysis, crisis resolution or inservice training, to assist the facility in maximizing service outcomes.

(48) “Supervision” means at least intermittent face-to-face contact between a supervisor and his or her assistant, with the supervisor instructing and overseeing the assistant, but does not require the continuous presence of the supervisor in the same building as the assistant.

(49) “Unit dose drug delivery system” means a system for the distribution of medications in which single doses of medications are individually packaged and sealed for distribution to residents.

History: Cr. Register, June, 1988, No. 390, eff. 7-1-88; corrections in (30), (39) (d) and (e) made under s. 13.93 (2m) (b) 7., Stats., Register, April, 2000, No. 532; CR 03-033: am. (7), (10) (a), (12), (13), (17) and (39) (intro.) Register December 2003 No. 576, eff. 1-1-04; CR 04-053: r. and recr. (1), (2) and (3), am. (4), (5), (10) and (13), cr. (4m) and (23m) Register October 2004 No. 586, eff. 11-1-04; CR 07-042: cr. (18m), (38g) and (38r) Register October 2007 No. 622, eff. 11-1-07; corrections in (1), (8), (23m), (30), (39) (d) and (e) made under s. 13.92 (4) (b) 6. and 7., Stats., Register January 2009 No. 637; 2019 Wis. Act 1: am. (9) (intro.), (39) Register May 2019 No. 761, eff. 6-1-19; CR 23-046: am. (9) (intro.) Register April 2024 No. 820, eff. 5-1-24.

DHS 134.14 Licensure.

(1) Application. Application for a license to operate an FDD shall be made on a form provided by the department.

Note: To obtain a copy of the application form for a license to operate an FDD, write: Division of Quality Assurance, P.O. Box 2969, Madison, Wisconsin 53701-2969.

(2) Restrictions.

(a) A new FDD may not have more than 16 residents, except that:

1. A center serving people with developmental disabilities may have more than 16 residents; and

2. A home licensed under ch. DHS 132 on July 1, 1988 which under ch. DHS 122 has converted or converts all of a building or a physically identifiable distinct part of a building to be an FDD may have a capacity that is equal to the total number of beds approved under s. DHS 122.07 (2).

(b) A home licensed under ch. DHS 132 may not be issued a license to operate as an FDD after July 1, 1988 if it is not an FDD on July 1, 1988, except as provided in par. (a) 2.

(3) Requirements for a license.

(a) An applicant for a license shall submit the following information to the department:

1. The identities of all persons or business entities having the authority, directly or indirectly, to direct or influence the direction of the management or policies of the facility;

2. The identities of all persons or business entities having any ownership interest in the facility, whether direct, or indirect, and whether the interest is in the profits, land or building, including owners of any business entity which owns any part of the land or building;

3. The identities of all creditors holding a security interest in the premises, whether in the land or the building; and

4. In the case of a change of ownership, disclosure of any relationship or connection between the old licensee and the new licensee, or between any owner or operator of the old licensee and the owner or operator of the new licensee, whether direct or indirect.

(b) The applicant shall provide any additional information requested by the department during its review of the license application.

(c) The applicant shall submit evidence to establish that he or she has sufficient resources to permit operation of the facility for a period of 6 months.

(d) No license may be issued until the applicant has supplied all information requested by the department.

(4) Action by the department.

(a) After receiving a complete application, the department shall investigate the applicant to determine the applicant’s ability to comply with this chapter.

(b) Within 60 days after receiving a complete application for a license, including all information required under sub. (3) (a) to (c), the department shall either approve the application and issue a license or deny the application. If the application for a license is denied, the department shall give the applicant reasons, in writing, for the denial.

(5) Types of license.

(a) Probationary license. If the applicant has not previously been licensed under this chapter or if the facility is not in operation at the time application is made, the department shall issue a probationary license. A probationary license shall be valid for 12 months from the date of issuance unless sooner suspended or revoked under s. 50.03 (5), Stats. If the applicant is found to be in compliance with this chapter, a regular license shall be issued.

(b) Regular license. If the applicant has been previously licensed, the department shall issue a regular license if the applicant is found to be in compliance with this chapter. A regular license is valid indefinitely unless suspended or revoked.

(5m) Annual report. Every 12 months, on a schedule determined by the department, an FDD licensee shall submit a report to the department in the form and containing the information that the department requires, including payment of the fee required under s. 50.135 (2) (a), Stats. If a complete report is not timely filed, the department shall issue a warning to the licensee. If the licensee of an FDD who has not filed a timely report fails to submit a complete report to the department within 60 days after the date established under the schedule determined by the department, the department may revoke the license.

(5r) Reporting involuntary administration of psychotropic medication. The licensee shall provide, in a format approved by the department, information required by the department to assess the facility’s compliance with s. 55.14, Stats., relating to involuntary administration of psychotropic medication to a resident.

(6) Scope of license.

(a) A license is issued only for the premises and the persons named in the license application, and may not be transferred or assigned by the licensee.

(b) The license shall state any applicable restrictions, including maximum bed capacity and any other limitation that the department considers appropriate and necessary taking all facts and circumstances into account.

(7) Condition for medical assistance provider certification. In order to claim reimbursement from the department’s medical assistance program for the cost of care provided to medical assistance recipients, an FDD is required to be a certified provider under that program. The sole condition for certification, stated in s. DHS 105.12, is that the FDD be licensed under this chapter. For services covered by the MA program and for prior authorization requirements, see chs. DHS 101 to 108.

History: Cr. Register, June, 1988, No. 390, eff. 7-1-88; corrections in (2) (a) 2. and (7) made under s. 13.93 (2m) (b) 7., Stats., Register, April, 2000, No. 532; am. (5), cr. (5m), Register, August, 2000, No. 536, eff. 9-1-00; CR 03-033: am. (1), (2) (a) (intro.) and (5m) Register December 2003 No. 576, eff. 1-1-04; CR 04-053: am. (2) (a) 1. Register October 2004 No. 586, eff. 11-1-04; CR 07-042: cr. (5r) Register October 2007 No. 622, eff. 11-1-07; corrections in (2) and (7) made under s. 13.92 (4) (b) 7., Stats., Register January 2009 No. 637.

DHS 134.15 Waivers and variances.

(1) Definitions. In this section:

(a) “Variance” means the approval of an alternate requirement in place of a requirement of this chapter.

(b) “Waiver” means the granting of an exemption from a requirement of this chapter.

(2) Requirements for waivers or variances. The department may grant a waiver or variance if the department finds that the waiver or variance will not adversely affect the health, safety or welfare of residents, taking into account the size of the facility and the condition of the residents, and that:

(a) Strict enforcement of a requirement would result in unreasonable hardship on the facility or a resident; or

(b) An alternative to a rule which may involve introducing a new concept, method, procedure or technique, using new equipment, modifying personnel qualifications or providing for the conduct of pilot projects, is in the interests of better care or management.

(3) Procedures.

(a) Applications.

1. All applications for a waiver or variance shall be made in writing to the department, specifying the following: