Guardian

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.

Guardianship

In general, there is no caseworker assigned after you become guardian. If you are receiving a Kinship Care subsidy, there will be a caseworker assigned to assess eligibility each year. The CPS agency may also become involved if there is a concern for the child in your home.

Sometimes, community members report concerns for children who were previously adopted. 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. As Guardian, the child in your care already has permanency, but there are other options that might be appropriate for your family. 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. As the child’s guardian, you can determine if contact with the child’s parents is in his or her best interest. Examples of questions to ask when making decisions about contact with parents 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 be 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.

Even though you are currently the guardian and human services is no longer involved, you may still adopt the child. Because human services is no longer involved, the process will be different for you. To begin the process, you must find and pay for an attorney to complete the TPR and all court processes. Additionally, you would have to pay for a private adoption home study and all other adoption expenses.

The child in your home may be eligible for an Adoption Assistance Agreement if they meet certain requirements.

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.

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.

Because you are the guardian of the child in your care, you are responsible for ensuring they have health care coverage. You should be able to add the child to your health care plan.

If you are currently:

• Receiving BadgerCare Plus, contact your Income Maintenance Agency to add the child to your coverage
• Covered by a private health insurance plan, contact your health insurance provider to add the child to your plan
• Uncovered or are unable to add the child to your current plan, you can find out if you are eligible for BadgerCare Plus on the Apply for Benefits page
• Uncovered and do not meet income eligibility requirements for BadgerCare Plus, you can access private health insurance options through the Health Insurance Marketplace

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

• Health care coverage
• Cobertura de Atención Médica

As 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.

As the child’s guardian, your eligibility requirements differ based on participation in the Kinship Care program. You will fall within one of the two categories below

If you receive Kinship Care benefits:

• Financial eligibility for the child 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 your household income.

If you do not receive Kinship Care benefits:

• Financial eligibility is based on your household income. If your household income falls within the Federal Poverty Level (FPL), you may be eligible to receive the subsidy.

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

As 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 and run by local county child support agencies. Sometimes a caregiver can receive child support for the child placed in their home.

Any parent or person with custody of a child who needs help to obtaining or making changes to an order can apply for child support services. 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. To 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 annual Families Like Mine Conference. This is a relative caregiver focused conference for caregivers! Topics are chosen based on relative caregiver input. Presentations from experts in the field, provide sessions regarding substance abuse, mental health, guardianship law, trauma informed parenting, and navigating the child welfare system. 

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