Wisconsin Administrative Code › Department of Children and Families › DCF 021-99 - Safety and Permanence › Chapter DCF 54 - Child-Placing Agencies › Section DCF 54.04 - Social services

Current through June 24, 2024
(1) GENERAL REQUIREMENTS.
(a) The agency shall provide services to
				children who need and seek its care without discrimination on the basis of race
				or cultural identification, sex, sexual orientation, age, creed, ancestry,
				disability, political affiliations, religious beliefs, color, or national
				origin.
(b) Each agency shall:
1. Develop and follow written intake policies
				that include asking the referring person or agency to indicate if the child or
				at least one of the child's biological parents is of American Indian
				descent.
2. Secure and record
				information which substantiates the planning for the child.
3. Accept a child for placement only when
				legally authorized to do so.
4.
				Obtain from the parent or guardian of every child accepted for care a written
				authorization for emergency surgical care, for necessary vaccinations and
				immunizations, for routine medical examinations and treatment.
(c) The agency shall substantiate
				that continuing social services to the child, to his parents and to the foster
				parents on a planned basis are provided while the child is in
				placement.
(d) Adopt written
				policies for placement and discharge from service.
(e) When the agency is terminating its
				responsibility to the child release the child only to a person or agency
				authorized to accept the child.
(f)
				Requirements to be met by licensee in order to place children in boarding care.
				A child welfare agency with authority to place children in licensed foster
				homes and to license foster homes (s.
				48.61(3)
				and (7), Stats.) shall:
1. Have a social service supervisory staff of
				one or more persons who meet the requirements of s.
				DCF 54.03(2) (c)
				2. and have at least one year's experience in
				the study of foster homes, licensing, placement and supervision of foster
				care.
2. License only homes which
				meet the foster home rules.
3.
				Place children only in homes which meet the foster home rules.
4. Place and/or supervise a minimum of 5
				children a year in foster care, exclusive of adoptive placement.
5. Assign the responsibility for supervision
				to one staff person when there are fewer than 20 children in foster
				care.
6. Place no child under the
				care of the agency in the home of a staff person employed by the agency or a
				member of the board of directors. This does not pertain to persons whose only
				employment by the agency is in the foster parent role.
7. Maintain individual foster home records
				for each home used by the agency which includes signed applications and
				agreements.
8. Establish an
				administrative plan for periodic review of children in boarding home
				placement.
(g)
				Requirements to be met by licensee in order to accept guardianship. A child
				welfare agency with authority to accept guardianship and place children for
				adoption under ss.
				48.43(1),
				48.61(5)
				and
				48.70(4),
				Stats., shall:
1. Furnish evidence of
				providing a service to cover a geographic area with no less than a 50 mile
				radius or 200,000 population base.
2. Have a social service supervisory staff of
				one or more persons available, who, in addition to meeting the requirements of
				s.
				DCF 54.03(2) (c)
				2., have one year's experience in the study,
				placement, and postplacement services in an agency authorized to place children
				for adoption.
3. Place at least 15
				children in adoption a year.
4. If
				fewer than 20 children are under supervision or placed within one year, assign
				this responsibility to one staff person.
5. Assign to one worker no less than 5
				placements a year.
6. Accept
				applicants only from the geographical area covered by the license.
7. Develop and follow written intake policies
				for the acceptance of children and prospective adoptive families. Intake
				policies shall include asking the referring person or agency to indicate if the
				child or at least one of the child's biological parents is of American Indian
				descent.
8. Establish an
				administrative plan for a periodic review of children in the agency's
				guardianship.
9. When a child is
				determined ready for placement the child shall be placed within 3 months by the
				guardianship agency or referred to another agency or resource for
				placement.
10. Provide
				postplacement services to the adoptive family for the purpose of effecting a
				successful integration of the child into the family.
11. Maintain a record of the study of the
				adoptive home and of the placement and postplacement services.
12. Require workers to inform prospective
				adoptive parents interested in adopting a special needs child about the
				subsidized adoption program and that they may submit an application for an
				adoption subsidy.
13. Comply with
				ch. DCF 53 regarding adoption information search and disclosure to adoptees and
				disclosure of medical, genetic and non-identifying social history information
				to the courts, adoptees, adoptive parents or birth parents.
(h) An agency shall complete all
				components of a standardized assessment tool prescribed by the department to
				conduct the home study required for approval of a placement for adoption,
				recognition of a foreign adoption, and issuance of a license to operate a
				foster home. Completion shall include dates and signatures where specified by
				the tool.
Note:
The standardized assessment tool
				  prescribed by the department is the Structured Analysis Family Evaluation
				  (SAFE) tool. Contact the department's Division of Safety and Permanence for
				  further information at P.O. Box 8916, Madison, WI 53708-8916.