Current through February 26, 2024
(1) DEFINITION. In
this section "applicant" means prospective adoptive parents who apply for a
home study under this section and are any of the following:
(a) An adult married couple who live
together, have been married for at least one year on the date of application,
and are applying for a home study jointly.
(b) An unmarried adult
individual.
(2) ELIGIBLE
TO APPLY. Prospective adoptive parents may apply for a home study if any of the
following conditions are met:
(a)
Approved. The prospective adoptive parents completed the
screening process in s.
DCF
50.04, and the department determined that the
prospective adoptive parents meet the screening criteria.
(b)
Exempt. The prospective
adoptive parents are not required to complete the screening process in s.
DCF
50.04 because the prospective adoptive parents are any
of the following:
1. Adult relatives of a
child who is legally free for public adoption or a child who is at legal risk
if the department determines that the child needs an adoptive
placement.
2. Prospective adoptive
parents that are seeking to adopt a child who is already placed in the
prospective adoptive parents' home.
3. Upon the request of a tribal child welfare
department and at the discretion of the department, prospective adoptive
parents that are seeking to adopt an Indian child.
(c)
Expedited. The bureau
director or a designee waived the screening process in s.
DCF
50.04 and authorized the prospective adoptive parents
to apply for a home study based on documentation that the prospective adoptive
parents are expected to be the most suitable placement resource for a child who
is legally free for public adoption or a child who is at legal
risk.
(3) APPLICATION
DEADLINE. The public adoption agency may deny an application for a home study
that is submitted more than 60 days after the prospective adoptive parents
received the application.
(4)
INCOMPLETE APPLICATION. The public adoption agency shall return an incomplete
application to the applicant with a request for further information to complete
the application. The public adoption agency may deny the application if the
application is not complete within 60 days after the date on the notice from
the public adoption agency requesting more information.
(5) POTENTIAL CONFLICT OF INTEREST. A public
adoption agency may not conduct a home study on an employee or a relative of an
employee of the public adoption agency if the employee works in the area of the
public adoption agency that issues foster home licenses or approves home
studies.
(6) ELEMENTS OF A HOME
STUDY. A home study of an applicant for a public adoption shall include all of
the following:
(a) The use of all components
of a standardized assessment tool prescribed by the department to assist in
determining approval of a placement for adoption and issuance of a license to
operate a foster home. Completion shall include dates and signatures where
specified by the tool. If the applicant is licensed as a foster parent using
the standardized assessment tool, use of the tool as necessary to update and
supplement the assessment for the purpose of adoption and for the particular
child if the approval is child specific.
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.
(b) An
assessment of current and potential parenting skills.
(c) An assessment of ability to provide
adequate financial support for a child.
(d) An assessment of level of knowledge and
awareness of adoption issues, including, if appropriate, matters relating to
interracial, cross-cultural, and special needs adoptions.
(e) The evaluation of 3 written or verbal
references.
(f) Verification of
birth records for all individuals in the applicant's household and verification
of marriage, divorce, and naturalization records for the applicant, if
applicable.
(g) Verification of
compliance with background check requirements in s.
48.685,
Stats., and s.
DCF
56.055.
(h) The evaluation of a written statement
from a physician, physician assistant, or nurse practitioner that indicates any
physical or mental conditions of the applicant or any household member that may
affect the ability of the applicant to provide care for a child or threaten the
health or safety of a child. The statement shall be based upon a medical
examination performed within the 6 months prior to the submission of the
application. The public adoption agency may require any of the following:
1. An additional physical, mental health, or
alcohol or drug abuse evaluation of the applicant or any other household
member.
2. Authorization for the
release of records relating to any physical, mental health, or alcohol or drug
abuse evaluation or treatment regarding the applicant or any other household
member.
(7)
QUALIFICATIONS FOR A HOME STUDY APPROVAL. In determining whether an applicant's
home is suitable for placement of a child for the purpose of a public adoption,
the public adoption agency shall consider s.
48.88,
Stats., and all of the following:
(a) The
applicant shall be motivated and able to meet the child's needs, emotionally
mature with healthy interpersonal relationships, in good physical and mental
health, and able to adequately support and parent the child in a healthy and
emotionally secure environment.
(b)
The applicant shall have the capacity to accept and incorporate into the
applicant's family a child born to other parents and to assist the child in
understanding the child's genetic background and adoption.
(c) The applicant shall meet the requirements
for a license to operate a foster home with a certification of Level 2 or above
under ch. DCF 56.
(d) The number of
individuals receiving care in the applicant's home may not exceed 8
persons.
(e) The applicant shall
demonstrate commitment and efforts to support any biological or adopted
children, including any children who are in out-of-home care or in a state
treatment facility under s.
51.01(15),
Stats.
(f) The applicant may not
have had parental rights to a child terminated under the laws of a state or
tribe.
(g) The applicant shall be a
resident of this state.
(8) EXCEPTIONS.
(a) A public adoption agency may approve a
home study for a public adoption for an applicant that does not meet a
qualification in sub. (7) that is a nonstatutory requirement. If the public
adoption agency approves such a home study, the agency shall include in the
home study an explanation of how the exception to the qualification will not
jeopardize the health, safety, or welfare of the child or other children in the
home. If the home study is for a specific child's adoption, the home study
shall also include an explanation of why approving the home study is in the
child's best interest.
(b) For a
department home study, an applicant may request an exception to a nonstatutory
requirement in sub. (7) that the applicant does not meet. The request shall be
submitted to the department on a form prescribed by the department. The bureau
director or a designee may grant an exception to a requirement in sub. (7) if
the exception will not jeopardize the health, safety, or welfare of the child
or other children in the home and, for a child-specific home study, if
approving the home study is in the child's best interest.
Note: DCF-F-5227, Exceptions Form for
Home Study Qualifications, is available in forms section of the
department's website, http://dcf.wisconsin.gov, or by writing the Division of
Safety and Permanence, at P.O. Box 8916, Madison, WI
53708-8916.
(9)
DECISION.
(a)
Deadline. The
public adoption agency shall issue a written decision on a home study for a
public adoption within 6 months after receiving a completed
application.
(b)
Deferral. Notwithstanding par. (a), the public adoption agency
may defer a decision if the applicant fails to meet the qualifications in sub.
(7) for a reason that is expected to be temporary. The public adoption agency
shall issue a written notice that states the reason for the deferral and the
date by which the qualifications must be met. A deferral of a decision shall
toll the deadline in par. (a).
(c)
Approval. The public adoption agency shall approve the
applicant's home study and determine that the applicant's home is suitable for
placement of a child for the purpose of adoption if the applicant meets all of
the qualifications in sub. (7) or received an exception under sub. (8) to any
qualification not met.
(d)
Denial.
1. The public
adoption agency shall deny the applicant's home study and determine that the
applicant's home is not suitable for placement of a child for the purpose of
adoption if the applicant does not meet the qualifications in sub. (7), unless
an exception under sub. (8) is granted for any qualification not met.
2. The public adoption agency may deny the
applicant's home study if any of the following applies:
a. The applicant provided false information
to the public adoption agency.
b.
The public adoption agency has reason to believe that the applicant intends to
use the home study decision to meet the requirements for an adoption that would
not be a public adoption.
3. A notice of denial shall include the
reason for the denial. A notice of denial by the department shall include a
summary of appeal rights under s.
DCF
50.06.
(10) POST-APPROVAL NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS.
(a) Prospective adoptive parents whose home
study has been approved for public adoption shall notify the public adoption
agency immediately if any of the following changes occur:
1. Change of household members, including
death, a foster care placement, an adoptive placement, or a change in residence
for a member of the household.
2.
Change in residence.
3. Change in
marital status.
4. Significant
changes in health, income, or child care arrangements.
5. Any of the changes specified in the
background check notification requirements in s.
DCF 56.05(1)
(g) for any household member.
6. If the prospective adoptive parents have a
foster child placed in the home, any of the serious incidents specified in the
notification requirements in s.
DCF
56.06.
(b) The public adoption agency shall consider
any updated information and may revise the home study findings. Prospective
adoptive parents shall be notified of any change in the findings and the
reasons for the change.
(11) UPDATING. Every 6 months, the public
adoption agency shall contact prospective adoptive parents who are waiting for
placement of a child for the purpose of adoption to request updated information
and revise the home study as appropriate.
