Foster Care - Subsidized Guardianship

The Child Protective Services (CPS) System aims to support caregivers to make sure children are safe in their homes. In Wisconsin, CPS is a county-run system in 71 counties, and state-run in Milwaukee County. An Overview of the CPS Process is a visual representation of the process.

Anyone can report child abuse and/or neglect to their local CPS agency. If you have concern that a child is at risk of abuse or neglect, contact your local CPS Agency to report your concern.

Wisconsin Child Protective Services (CPS) Process - Learn more about the CPS Process and caseworker requirements.

Foster Care

Children in foster care have a caseworker assigned to monitor the case. This caseworker will help to coordinate services for the child and parents. They also have specific requirements that they must meet. For example, they must:

• Ask tough, and sometimes personal, questions to make sure you are a safe caregiver for the child
• See the child in your home at least one time per month (or more often) to confirm the child's safety
• Develop a plan for child/parent interactions at least one time per week unless a court orders otherwise
• Create a permanency plan for the child and update the plan every 6 months

When a child is placed in foster care, the CPS agency has placement and care responsibility of the child. This means they are responsible for supporting the placement. However, the parents still maintain "legal custody." Because parents still have legal custody, they still have the right to make decisions for the child. In order for a foster parent to make many decisions, they need the child's parent to consent or a court order.

• For example, without the parent's consent, a foster parent may not access medical care for the child. If the parent is unwilling to consent for care that is medically necessary, a court can order that the care to be provided.

Sometimes, community members report concerns for children already living in foster care. If there are concerns for the child's safety, an assessment will take place. The agency that licensed the foster parent's home cannot complete the assessment. This means that an agency and caseworker that are not involved in the current case will become involved to assess the situation.

• If the assessment finds the report to be true, it may be "substantiated." A substantiation means that an assessment found evidence that child abuse or neglect occurred.
• If there is not enough evidence to support the reported claim, the report is "unsubstantiated."

The assessment decision is documented on the Wisconsin Caregiver Background Check.

Subsidized Guardianship

If the child is under a Subsidized Guardianship, a caseworker is no longer assigned to monitor the case. The CPS agency will follow-up with you every year to make sure you are still eligible for the benefit, or you request an amendment to your monthly rate. You must continue to meet the following conditions to remain eligible:

• You are still the child's guardian
• You are supporting the child and legally responsible for the child
• The child is attending elementary, middle, intermediate, or high school on a full-time basis
• The child is living with you
• The child is not married
• The child is not in the military
• The child's parent is not living in your home
• The child is not placed outside of your home by a county, tribal, or state human services agency at public expense

Sometimes, community members report concerns for children living with their guardian. If there are concerns for the child's safety, an assessment will take place. This means that the CPS agency will assign a caseworker to assess the report.

• If the assessment finds the report to be true, it may be "substantiated." A substantiation means that an assessment found evidence that child abuse or neglect occurred.
• If there is not enough evidence to support the reported claim, the report is "unsubstantiated."

The assessment decision is documented on the Wisconsin Caregiver Background Check.

Determining the best type of permanence for a child is a very important decision for you as a caregiver. If your child has an assigned caseworker, you should work with them to determine the best option. When considering your options, look to the information outlined below.

Reunification

Reunification occurs when the child returns to the care of his or her parents or caregivers. Often, reunification is in the best interest of the child. In Wisconsin, over 50% of children in foster care reunify home to their parents. When considering what is in the best interest of the child, caseworkers look to many factors. Examples of questions caseworkers and the courts ask when making a reunification decision are:

• Is the parent able to meet all of the child’s needs?
• Have the parents fixed the conditions that led to placement?
• Are there new conditions that make it unsafe for a child to live with their parent?
• What strengths do the parents/child have that can or cannot support reunification?

Adoption

Adoption is a permanency option when it is not in the child’s best interest to return to their parent’s care. Before adoption, a Termination of Parental Rights* (TPR) for the child must take place. A TPR ends the parent’s legal authority for the child and allows a new parent to be responsible.

Guardianship

Guardianship is a permanency option when it is not in the child's best interest to return to their parent's care. When guardianship is the permanency option, a TPR does not usually occur. Instead, the court transfers parental decision-making authority to you. This means, the parents still have their legal rights to the child. Parents may ask the court to return their decision-making authority for the child in the future.

Guardianship would allow you, as the child’s caregiver, to make decisions for the child. This would include decisions about health care, education, mental health services, etc.

Based on your answers on the previous page, you may be eligible for Subsidized Guardianship (SG). SG is an option for relative and some like-kin caregivers of children in foster care. SG provides a monthly payment and options for services for the child to eligible families after you receive guardianship. The agency must complete an eligibility determination if you want to pursue SG.

The KinFACTS Guides provide caregivers with information about the differences between Adoption and Guardianship.

• Permanency decisions
• Decisiones de permanencia

Based on the information you provided, you may be eligible for Kinship Care payments. Note, you may not receive Kinship Care Benefits and Foster Care or Subsidized Guardianship payments at the same time for the same child.

Kinship Care is a program to help support a child who lives outside of his or her parental home with a relative. Caregivers that qualify for this program receive a monthly payment. Understanding the Uniform Foster Care Rate provides monthly rate information.

To apply for Kinship Care, contact your local county or tribal human services agency.

Children in foster care or Subsidized Guardianship are eligible for Medicaid due to their placement. Based on your answers on the previous page, your child falls into one of these categories. This means that the child should have Wisconsin Medicaid to cover their health care needs. You do not need to apply for BadgerCare Plus for the child. The State of Wisconsin enrolls the child in Medicaid for you.

If you move out-of-state, your child might be able to continue to receive Medicaid coverage. Some states agree to cover Wisconsin children without specific terms. Other states have specific eligibility requirements. Contact the Department of Children and Families for Medicaid Coverage Information and out-of-state coverage options.

Even with coverage through Medicaid, you may put the child on your own private health insurance if you are the child's guardian. If you choose to do this, your private health insurance would become primary insurance. This means your insurance would be billed first for any service. Medicaid would be secondary insurance. This means Medicaid will only pay for services not covered by your insurance.

The KinFACTS Guides details more information about health care in Wisconsin.

• Health care coverage
• Cobertura de Atención Médica

You must have court ordered decision making authority to make health care decisions for the child in your care. This means if the child in your care is currently placed by a human services agency, that child’s parent must make health care decisions for the child. A medical consent may be signed for health care service providers.

If you are currently the guardian of the child, you may be able to make health care decisions for the child. The guardianship order that you received following court may limit decision making authority. The final page of the order will specify if there are any limits to your decision-making authority.

The KinFACTS Guides details more information about health care in Wisconsin.

• Health care coverage
• Cobertura de Atención Médica

Finding Child Care

YoungStar is Wisconsin’s 5-star quality rating and improvement system for early care and education programs. The Department of Children and Families maintains a child care finder YoungStar rated programs in Wisconsin.

Child Care Subsidy

Wisconsin Shares is the child care subsidy program for low-income families. It subsidizes a part of the cost of child care while the caregivers are participating in another activity.

• Wisconsin Shares eligibility is based on household income and involvement in “approved activities”
  • Employment
  • W-2 placement
  • Education, etc.

The financial eligibility for children in foster care or Subsidized Guardianship first looks at the child’s parent’s household income. If the parent's income is higher than the Federal Poverty Level (FPL), financial eligibility is then based on the your household income.

All household caregivers must participate in an “approved activity.” If there is more than one caregiver, the subsidy covers the time when the approved activities overlap. For example, if Caregiver 1 works from 8am-5pm and Caregiver 2 works from 12pm-8pm, the subsidy would cover 5 hours per day, from 12pm-5pm.

To apply, either visit access.wi.gov, or contact your local Wisconsin Shares Agency in-person or by phone!

To receive the Wisconsin Shares Subsidy, you must use a YoungStar rated program.

The KinFACTS Guides provide more information about YoungStar and Wisconsin Shares.

• Child care options
• Opciones de cuidado infantil

You must have court ordered decision making authority to make educational decisions for the child in your care. This means if the child in your care is currently placed by a human services agency, that child’s parent must make educational decisions for the child. The Reasonable and Prudent Parent Standard allows you to make decisions regarding extra-curricular activities for the child.

If you are currently the guardian of the child, you may be able to make educational decisions for the child. The guardianship order that you received following court may limit decision making authority. The final page of the order will specify if there are any limits to your decision-making authority.

The KinFACTS Guides offers more information about making educational decisions.

• Education
• Educación

The Wisconsin Child Support Program is supervised by the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families (DCF) and run by local county child support agencies. Sometimes a caregiver can receive child support for the child placed in their home.

A child in Foster Care or under a Subsidized Guardianship may have an order for support. Any funds from a child support order that remain after covering the child’s cost of care will be kept in a trust account. Any remaining funds in the trust account will be provided to the child or the child’s caregiver upon their exit from care.

If you are in the Wisconsin Kinship Program, there is probably already an open child support order. The State is assigned to that order. If the child support payments paid in a month add up to more than the Kinship Care payment, you may receive the difference.

You can access child support services by contacting your local child support agency. Find your local child support agency, visit DCF Local Child Support Agencies or call 211.

The KinFACTS Guides provide more information about child support services.

• Child support
• Manutención de menores

You may have questions regarding your legal rights. You may also feel as though you need legal assistance as you navigate the court process.  You might find it beneficial to consult with an attorney about your role as a caregiver and the rights that you may have.

The KinFACTS Guides offers more information about legal questions and services.

• Legal
• Legal

Knowledge is power. When you are equipped with the tools and resources necessary to care for yourself and the children in your home, you will feel confident and empowered against potential hardships. Here you will find access to trainings and conferences that are focused on supporting the unique experience of relative caregiving.

Kinship Navigator Web-Based Training for Relative Caregivers

This training video resource provides a glimpse into the thoughts and feelings of caregivers in situations like yours. We hope that you recognize that the feelings and challenges you may be experiencing are common, and you are not alone.

Families Like Mine Conference

Department of Children and Families, with the Coalition for Children, Youth and Families, is excited to announce our 2nd annual Families Like Mine Conference. This is a completely virtual conference.

View pre-recorded presentations from experts in the field and participate in real-time, interactive video discussion sessions regarding substance abuse, mental health, guardianship law, trauma informed parenting, and parenting children of color. Recorded presentations will be available the week of September 14-18, 2020. Live discussion sessions will be held via Zoom and will be pre-scheduled with additional registration required during the following week, September 21-25, 2020.

Regardless of your relation to the child in your home, being a caregiver can be stressful. Although it often falls to the bottom of your to-do list, it is important to focus on your needs. Without meeting your own needs, it is often even more difficult to meet the needs of children in your care.

Humans are social creatures, so you need to give yourself time to find social enjoyment. Think about some of the following options to support your Social-Emotional health:

Relative Caregiver Support Groups

Contact the agencies in your region to ask about relative caregiver support groups!

Mental Health Needs

If you want to access Mental Health services but don’t know where to start, the Child Welfare Information Gateway has a helpful guide for Finding and Working With Adoption-Competent Therapists.

In addition, the Wisconsin Adoption & Permanency Support Program has a Mental Health Professionals Directory of therapists who have either:

• Attended training on trauma, attachment, foster care and adoption issues
• Been recommended by an adoption or permanency professional
• Been recommended by a family

If you or your child are members of BadgerCare Plus, you may want to access a Mental Health Professional that accepts Wisconsin Medicaid. Check out the ForwardHealth Provider Search or contact BadgerCare Plus Member Services at

1 (800) 362-3002 to talk about therapist options.

Other Resources

• Coalition for Children, Youth & Families
• Kids Matter, Inc.
• Generations United
• AARP Grandfacts