SB70-AA3,416 Section 416. 48.57 (3n) (cm) of the statutes is amended to read:

SB70-AA3,281,23 48.57 (3n) (cm) A long-term kinship care relative provider who receives a payment under par. (am) for providing care and maintenance for a child is not eligible to receive a payment under sub. (3m) or s. 48.62 (4) or 48.623 (1) or (6) for that child.

SB70-AA3,417 Section 417. 48.57 (3n) (h) of the statutes is amended to read:

SB70-AA3,282,8 48.57 (3n) (h) A county department or, in a county having a population of 750,000 or more, the department may recover an overpayment made under par. (am) from a long-term kinship care relative provider who continues to receive payments under par. (am) by reducing the amount of the long-term kinship care relative's provider's monthly payment. The department may by rule specify other methods for recovering overpayments made under par. (am). A county department that recovers an overpayment under this paragraph due to the efforts of its officers and employees may retain a portion of the amount recovered, as provided by the department by rule.

SB70-AA3,418 Section 418. 48.57 (3p) (h) 3. (intro.) of the statutes is amended to read:

SB70-AA3,282,19 48.57 (3p) (h) 3. (intro.) The director of the county department, the person designated by the governing body of an Indian tribe or, in a county having a population of 750,000 or more, the person designated by the secretary shall review the denial of payments or the prohibition on employment or being an adult resident to determine if the conviction record on which the denial or prohibition is based includes any arrests, convictions, or penalties that are likely to adversely affect the child or the ability of the kinship care relative provider to care for the child. In reviewing the denial or prohibition, the director of the county department, the person designated by the governing body of the Indian tribe or the person designated by the secretary shall consider all of the following factors:

SB70-AA3,419 Section 419. 48.57 (3p) (h) 3. b. of the statutes is amended to read:

SB70-AA3,282,22 48.57 (3p) (h) 3. b. The nature of the violation or penalty and how that violation or penalty affects the ability of the kinship care relative provider to care for the child.

SB70-AA3,420 Section 420. 48.57 (3p) (h) 4. of the statutes is amended to read:

SB70-AA3,283,10 48.57 (3p) (h) 4. If the director of the county department, the person designated by the governing body of the Indian tribe or, in a county having a population of 750,000 or more, the person designated by the secretary determines that the conviction record on which the denial of payments or the prohibition on employment or being an adult resident is based does not include any arrests, convictions, or penalties that are likely to adversely affect the child or the ability of the kinship care relative provider to care for the child, the director of the county department, the person designated by the governing body of the Indian tribe, or the person designated by the secretary may approve the making of payments under sub. (3m) or may permit a person receiving payments under sub. (3m) to employ a person in a position in which that person would have regular contact with the child for whom payments are being made or permit a person to be an adult resident.

SB70-AA3,421 Section 421. 48.57 (3n) (i) of the statutes is renumbered 48.57 (3n) (i) (intro.) and amended to read:

SB70-AA3,283,14 48.57 (3n) (i) (intro.) The department shall promulgate rules to implement this subsection. Those rules shall include rules all of the following:

SB70-AA3,283,16 1. Rules governing the provision of long-term kinship care payments for the care and maintenance of a child after the child attains 18 years of age.

SB70-AA3,422 Section 422. 48.57 (3n) (i) 2. of the statutes is created to read:

SB70-AA3,283,21 48.57 (3n) (i) 2. Rules governing the provision of payments for exceptional circumstances to enable siblings or a minor parent and minor children to reside together and for initial clothing allowances for children residing in a home of a long-term kinship care provider who is receiving a monthly rate under par. (am).

SB70-AA3,423 Section 423. 48.60 (2) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:

SB70-AA3,283,25 48.60 (2) (a) A relative or like-kin, guardian, or person delegated care and custody of a child under s. 48.979 who provides care and maintenance for such children.

SB70-AA3,424 Section 424. 48.62 (2) of the statutes is amended to read:

SB70-AA3,284,16 48.62 (2) A relative or like-kin, a guardian of a child, or a person delegated care and custody of a child under s. 48.979 who provides care and maintenance for the child is not required to obtain the license specified in this section. The department, county department, or licensed child welfare agency as provided in s. 48.75 may issue a license to operate a foster home to a relative or like-kin who has no duty of support under s. 49.90 (1) (a) and who requests a license to operate a foster home for a specific child who is either placed by court order or who is the subject of a voluntary placement agreement under s. 48.63. The department, a county department, or a licensed child welfare agency may, at the request of a guardian appointed under s. 48.977, 48.978, or 48.9795, ch. 54, 2017 stats., or ch. 880, 2003 stats., license the guardian's home as a foster home for the guardian's minor ward who is living in the home and who is placed in the home by court order. Relatives and like-kin with no duty of support and guardians appointed under s. 48.977, 48.978, or 48.9795, ch. 54, 2017 stats., or ch. 880, 2003 stats., who are licensed to operate foster homes are subject to the department's licensing rules.

SB70-AA3,425 Section 425. 48.62 (4) of the statutes is amended to read:

SB70-AA3,285,6 48.62 (4) Monthly payments in foster care shall be provided according to the rates specified in this subsection. Beginning on January 1, 2022, the rates are $300 for care and maintenance provided for a child of any age by a foster home that is certified to provide level one care, as defined in the rules promulgated under sub. (8) (a) and 2024, for care and maintenance provided by a foster home that is certified to provide care at a any level of care that is higher than level one care, $420 $441 for a child under 5 years of age; $460 $483 for a child 5 to 11 years of age; $522 $548 for a child 12 to 14 years of age; and $545 $572 for a child 15 years of age or over. In addition to these grants for basic maintenance, the department, county department, or licensed child welfare agency shall make supplemental payments for foster care to a foster home that is receiving an age-related rate under this subsection that are commensurate with the level of care that the foster home is certified to provide and the needs of the child who is placed in the foster home according to the rules promulgated by the department under sub. (8) (c).

SB70-AA3,426 Section 426. 48.64 (1) of the statutes is amended to read:

SB70-AA3,285,12 48.64 (1) Definition. In this section, “agency" means the department, the department of corrections, a county department under s. 46.215, 46.22, or 46.23, or a licensed child welfare agency authorized to place children in foster homes, group homes, or shelter care facilities approved under s. 938.22 (2) (c) or, in the homes of relatives other than a parent, or in the homes of like-kin.

SB70-AA3,427 Section 427. 48.64 (1m) of the statutes is amended to read:

SB70-AA3,286,10 48.64 (1m) Out-of-home care agreements. If an agency places a child in a foster home or group home or in the home of a relative other than a parent or in the home of like-kin under a court order or places a child in a foster home, group home, or shelter care facility approved under s. 938.22 (2) (c) under a voluntary agreement under s. 48.63, the agency shall enter into a written agreement with the head of the home or facility. The agreement shall provide that the agency shall have access at all times to the child and the home or facility, and that the child will be released to the agency whenever, in the opinion of the agency placing the child or the department, the best interests of the child require release to the agency. If a child has been in a foster home or group home or in the home of a relative other than a parent or in the home of like-kin for 6 months or more, the agency shall give the head of the home written notice of intent to remove the child, stating the reasons for the removal. The child may not be removed from a foster home, group home, or home of a relative other than a parent or the home of like-kin before completion of the hearing under sub. (4) (a) or (c), if requested, or 30 days after the receipt of the notice, whichever is later, unless the safety of the child requires it or, in a case in which the reason for removal is to place the child for adoption under s. 48.833, unless all of the persons who have the right to request a hearing under sub. (4) (a) or (c) sign written waivers of objection to the proposed removal. If the safety of the child requires earlier removal, s. 48.19 applies. If an agency removes a child from an adoptive placement, the head of the home shall have no claim against the placing agency for the expense of care, clothing, or medical treatment.

SB70-AA3,428 Section 428. 48.64 (2) of the statutes is amended to read:

SB70-AA3,286,16 48.64 (2) Supervision of out-of-home care placements. Every child who is placed in a foster home, group home, or shelter care facility approved under s. 938.22 (2) (c) shall be under the supervision of an agency. Every child who is placed in the home of a relative other than a parent or in the home of like-kin under a court order shall be under the supervision of an agency.

SB70-AA3,429 Section 429. 48.64 (4) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:

SB70-AA3,287,25 48.64 (4) (a) Except as provided in par. (d), any decision or order issued by an agency that affects the head of a foster home or group home, the head of the home of a relative other than a parent or the home of like-kin in which a child is placed, or the child involved may be appealed to the department under fair hearing procedures established under rules promulgated by the department. Upon receipt of an appeal, the department shall give the head of the home reasonable notice and an opportunity for a fair hearing. The department may make any additional investigation that the department considers necessary. The department shall give notice of the hearing to the head of the home and to the departmental subunit, county department, or child welfare agency that issued the decision or order. Each person receiving notice is entitled to be represented at the hearing. At all hearings conducted under this paragraph, the head of the home, or a representative of the head of the home, shall have an adequate opportunity, notwithstanding s. 48.78 (2) (a), to examine all documents and records to be used at the hearing at a reasonable time before the date of the hearing as well as during the hearing, to bring witnesses, to establish all pertinent facts and circumstances, and to question or refute any testimony or evidence, including an opportunity to confront and cross-examine adverse witnesses. The department shall grant a continuance for a reasonable period of time when an issue is raised for the first time during a hearing. This requirement may be waived with the consent of the parties. The decision of the department shall be based exclusively on evidence introduced at the hearing. A transcript of testimony and exhibits, or an official report containing the substance of what transpired at the hearing, together with all papers and requests filed in the proceeding, and the findings of the hearing examiner shall constitute the exclusive record for decision by the department. The department shall make the record available at any reasonable time and at an accessible place to the head of the home or his or her representative. Decisions by the department shall specify the reasons for the decision and identify the supporting evidence. No person participating in an agency action being appealed may participate in the final administrative decision on that action. The department shall render its decision as soon as possible after the hearing and shall send a certified copy of its decision to the head of the home and to the departmental subunit, county department, or child welfare agency that issued the decision or order. The decision shall be binding on all parties concerned.