48.983(4)(am)(am) Grants; start-up costs and capacity building. In the first year in which a grant under this section is awarded to a county, city, private agency, or Indian tribe, the county, city, private agency, or Indian tribe may use a portion of the grant to pay for start-up costs and capacity building related to the program under this section. The department shall determine the maximum amount of a grant that a county, city, private agency, or Indian tribe may use to pay for those start-up costs and that capacity building.

48.983(4)(b)1.1. A county, city, private agency, or Indian tribe that is selected to participate in the program under this section shall offer all pregnant women in the county or city, the area in which that private agency is providing services, or the reservation of the tribe who are eligible for Medical Assistance under subch. IV of ch. 49 an opportunity to undergo an assessment through use of a risk assessment instrument to determine whether the person assessed presents risk factors for poor birth outcomes or for perpetrating child abuse or neglect. Persons who agree to be assessed shall be assessed during the prenatal period. The risk assessment instrument shall be developed by the department and shall be based on risk assessment instruments developed by the department for similar programs that are in operation. The department need not promulgate as rules under ch. 227 the risk assessment instrument developed under this subdivision. A person who is assessed to be at risk of poor birth outcomes or of abusing or neglecting his or her child shall be offered home visitation program services that shall be commenced during the prenatal period. Home visitation program services may be provided to a family with a child identified as being at risk of child abuse or neglect until the identified child reaches 3 years of age. If a family has been receiving home visitation program services continuously for not less than 12 months, those services may continue to be provided to the family until the identified child reaches 3 years of age, regardless of whether the child continues to be eligible for Medical Assistance under subch. IV of ch. 49. If risk factors for child abuse or neglect with respect to the identified child continue to be present when the child reaches 3 years of age, home visitation program services may be provided until the identified child reaches 5 years of age. Home visitation program services may not be provided to a person unless the person gives his or her written informed consent to receiving those services or, if the person is a child, unless the child’s parent, guardian, or legal custodian gives his or her written informed consent for the child to receive those services.

48.983(4)(b)1m.1m. No person who is required or permitted to report suspected or threatened abuse or neglect under s. 48.981 (2) may make or threaten to make such a report based on a refusal of a person to receive or to continue receiving home visitation program services under subd. 1.

48.983(4)(b)3.3. A county, city, private agency, or Indian tribe that is providing home visitation program services under subd. 1. shall provide to a person receiving those services the information relating to shaken baby syndrome and impacted babies required under s. 253.15 (6).

48.983(5)(5) Selection of counties, cities, private agencies, and Indian tribes. The department shall provide competitive application procedures for selecting counties, cities, private agencies, and Indian tribes for participation in the program under this section. The department shall establish a method for ranking applicants for selection based on the quality of their applications. In ranking the applications, the department shall give favorable consideration to a county, city, private agency, or Indian tribe that submits a joint application under sub. (3). The department shall also provide application requirements and procedures for the renewal of a grant awarded under this section. The application procedures and the renewal application requirements and procedures shall be clear and understandable to the applicants. The department need not promulgate as rules under ch. 227 the application procedures, the renewal application requirements or procedures, or the method for ranking applicants established under this subsection.

48.983(6)(a)1.1. Information on how the applicant’s home visitation program is comprehensive, incorporates practice standards that have been developed for home visitation programs by entities concerned with the prevention of poor birth outcomes and child abuse and neglect and that are acceptable to the department, and incorporates practice standards and critical elements that have been developed for successful home visitation programs by a nationally recognized home visitation program model and that are acceptable to the department.

48.983(6)(a)2.2. Documentation that the application was developed through collaboration among public and private organizations that provide services to children and families, especially children who are at risk of child abuse or neglect and families that are at risk of poor birth outcomes, or that are otherwise interested in child welfare and a description of how that collaboration effort will support a comprehensive home visitation program.

48.983(6)(a)3.3. An identification of existing poor birth outcome and child abuse and neglect prevention services that are available to residents of the county or city, the area in which the private agency is providing services, or the reservation of the Indian tribe and a description of how those services and any additional needed services will support a comprehensive home visitation program.

48.983(6)(a)4.4. An explanation of how the home visitation program will build on existing poor birth outcome and child abuse and neglect prevention programs, including programs that provide support to families, and how the home visitation program will coordinate with those programs.

48.983(6)(a)4m.4m. An explanation of how the applicant will encourage private organizations to provide services under the applicant’s home visitation program.

48.983(6)(a)5.5. An explanation of how the applicant, in collaboration with local prenatal care coordination providers, will implement strategies aimed at achieving healthy birth outcomes, as determined by performance measures prescribed by the department and the department of health services, in the county, city, or reservation of the Indian tribe.

48.983(6)(a)6.6. An identification of how the home visitation program is comprehensive and incorporates the practice standards and critical elements for successful home visitation programs referred to in subd. 1., including how services will vary in intensity levels depending on the needs and strengths of the participating family.

48.983(6)(a)6m.6m. An explanation of how the services to be provided under the home visitation program, including the risk assessment under sub. (4) (b) 1., will be provided in a culturally competent manner.

48.983(6)(a)7m.7m. A statement of whether the applicant intends to use a portion of the grant in the first year in which the grant is awarded to pay for start-up costs or capacity building related to the program under this section and an explanation of how the applicant would use any amounts authorized by the department under sub. (4) (am) for those purposes.

48.983(6)(b)1.1. ‘Flexible fund for home visitation programs.’ The applicant demonstrates in the application that the applicant has established, or has plans to establish, if selected, a fund from which payments totaling not less than $250 per calendar year may be made for appropriate expenses of each family that is participating in the home visitation program under sub. (4) (b) 1. or that is receiving home visitation services under s. 49.45 (44). The payments shall be authorized by an individual designated by the applicant. If an applicant makes a payment to or on behalf of a family under this subdivision, one-half of the payment shall be from grant moneys received under this section and one-half of the payment shall be from moneys provided by the applicant from sources other than grant moneys received under this section.

48.983(6)(b)2.2. ‘Flexible fund for cases.’ The applicant demonstrates in the grant application that the applicant has established, or has plans to establish, if selected, a fund from which payments totaling not less than $250 for each case may be made for appropriate expenses related to the case. The payments shall be authorized by an individual designated by the applicant. If an applicant makes a payment to or on behalf of a person under this subdivision, one-half of the payment shall be from grant moneys received under this section and one-half of the payment shall be from moneys provided by the applicant from sources other than grant moneys received under this section. The applicant shall demonstrate in the grant application that it has established, or has plans to establish, if selected, procedures to encourage, when appropriate, a person to whom or on whose behalf payments are made under this subdivision to make a contribution to the fund described in this subdivision up to the amount of payments made to or on behalf of the person when the person’s financial situation permits such a contribution.

48.983(6)(b)4.4. ‘Nonentitlement.’ No individual is entitled to any payment from a fund established under subd. 1. or 2. Nothing in this section shall be construed as requiring a county, city, private agency, or Indian tribe to make a determination described in sub. (1) (b) 2. A determination described in sub. (1) (b) 2. may not be construed to be a determination described in s. 48.981 (3) (c) 4.

48.983(6)(f)(f) Reinvestment of Medical Assistance reimbursement. The applicant agrees to reinvest in the program under this section a portion of the reimbursement received by the applicant under the Medical Assistance program under subch. IV of ch. 49. The department and the applicant shall negotiate the amount of that reinvestment based on the applicant’s administrative costs for billing the Medical Assistance program for reimbursement for services provided under this section and the ratio of Medical Assistance reimbursement received for those services to the amount billed to the Medical Assistance program for those services.