Adoptive Parent

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.

Adoption

Because you are the adoptive parent of the child, a caseworker is not assigned to monitor the case. The CPS agency will only 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.

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 parent of the child, you have decision making authority. This means you have authority to make all health care decisions for the child.

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.

Because you are the parent of the child, financial eligibility is based on your household income. If your household income falls within the Federal Poverty Level (FPL), you should 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 parent of the child, you have decision making authority. This means you have authority to make all educational decisions for the child.

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.

The child in your care is your child. Any previous child support order in place prior to the adoption has ended. 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.

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 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