Wisconsin Department of Children and Families - Division of Early Care and Education
Bureau of Child Care Subsidy Administration

Wisconsin Shares Handbook

 

 

9.2 Financial Eligibility

Financial eligibility is tested against 200% Federal Poverty Level (FPL) and is based upon the child’s biological or adoptive parents’ income at the time the child was removed from the home for the following out-of-home placement types:

These amounts were effective February 1, 2023. FPL amounts are updated annually. The current FPL amounts are published on the DCF website, on the How to Apply for Wisconsin Shares Apply page.

 

AG Size

200% FPL Limit

2

$3,287

3

$4,143

4

$5,000

5

$5,857

6

$6,713

7

$7,570

8

$8,427

9

$9,283

10+

$10,140

 

For relatives with court-ordered placement who are not receiving the Kinship Care payment, financial eligibility is based on the caretaker relative’s income and the income of other individuals who are included in the assistance group.

If a parent adopts a child that was previously placed with them in an out-of-home care arrangement, the adoptive family must meet financial eligibility criteria based on their income. A family who has not previously met the 185% FPL application income limit (see 6.1.1) will need to have income below the application limit for continued eligibility. A family whose income was previously under 185% FPL when they applied will need to have income below the ongoing income limit (see 6.1.2) for continued eligibility.

Example 1: Norma and Derek applied for Wisconsin Shares in August. They have one (1) foster child, Sean. They do not have any biological or adopted children. Their income places them at 275% FPL. However, since Sean is a foster child whose biological parents had income under 200% FPL, he is eligible for Wisconsin Shares. In October, Norma and Derek adopt Sean. Because they have not yet passed the initial income limit for Wisconsin Shares, their income is tested against 185% FPL for November. Since their income is over 185% FPL, Sean is no longer eligible for Wisconsin Shares starting in November.

 

Example 2: Trish applies for Wisconsin Shares in March for her niece, Lexi. Lexi is placed with Trish under a court order and Trish receives the Kinship Care payment. Trish does not have any biological or adopted children. Trish’s income places her at 115% FPL. Lexi’s eligibility is based on the income of her biological parents at the time she was removed from the home. However, Lexi would be financially eligible regardless of her biological parent’s income because Trish’s income is below 185% FPL. In July, Trish adopts Lexi. Her income is used for August. Since Trish’s income passed the 185% FPL initial income limit when she applied in March, her income is tested against the ongoing income limit of 85% State Median Income (SMI) for August. Lexi’s eligibility continues because Trish’s income is below 85% SMI.

 

The income and Assistance Group (AG) size is usually available from the child welfare professional who is involved in the child's case; a verbal or written statement regarding the income information from the child welfare professional involved in the child's case is sufficient to document the biological or adoptive parent’s income. If the biological or adoptive parent's income is verified through a collateral contact with the child welfare professional, the agency worker must enter a case comment that includes the name and title of the individual with whom the agency worker had contact, the telephone number or email address, and the date and time of the conversation or email response. If the child welfare professional is unable to provide the biological or adoptive parents’ income and AG size, the child must be considered financially eligible. The agency worker must follow the process below for entering this correctly in CWW.

Process: If the child welfare professional involved in the child’s case can provide the biological or adoptive parents’ income and AG size, the agency worker must enter the information on the Manual Child Care Eligibility page in CWW. The agency worker must manually determine the FPL based on the income amount and AG size. If the family’s FPL is 200% or less, the agency worker must enter “S – Passes the income test” as the Eligibility Result.  

If the biological parent’s income is more than 200% FPL, the agency worker must enter “F – Fails the income test” as the Eligibility Result. Eligibility is then systematically tested against the caregiver household income at 185% FPL. If the caregivers’ household income exceeds 185% FPL, the children in out-of-home care are not eligible for Wisconsin Shares.

If the child welfare professional is unable to provide the biological or adoptive parents’ income and AG size, the agency worker must leave the Family Size and Total Income fields blank and enter “S – Passes the income test” as the Eligibility Result. The agency worker must enter a case comment (see 12.1) that the child welfare professional was unable to provide the information.

 

Note: This financial eligibility determination and verification exception is separate from the requirement that all parents must verify participation in approved activity (see 7.8).

 

For Wisconsin Shares, approval to receive the Kinship Care payment qualifies as receiving the Kinship Care payment. Being on the waitlist does not qualify as receipt of a Kinship Care payment. Proof of Kinship Care payment approval may be provided by written confirmation from or collateral contact with the Kinship Care Coordinator.

 

Note: Confirmation provided by the Kinship Care Coordinator must state that the Kinship Care payment has been approved. Stating that the family will probably receive the Kinship Care payment does not qualify as approval to receive a Kinship Care payment.

 

If the Kinship Care payment status is verified through collateral contact, the agency worker must enter a case comment (see 12.1) that includes the name and title of the individual with whom the agency worker had contact, the telephone number or email address, the date and time of the conversation or email response, and whether the family has been approved to receive the payment.

Foster care parents, subsidized guardians, interim caretakers, relatives with court-ordered placement who receive the Kinship Care payment and individuals caring for children in tribal placement homes under a substantially similar Wisconsin tribal law who need Wisconsin Shares for their biological or adopted children must meet financial eligibility requirements for their own children (see 6.1). The financial eligibility exception only applies to the children in out-of-home care.

 

This section last updated 10/1/2023