(1) COST AND SERVICE INFORMATION. Each year
by July 1, a licensee shall submit the following information to the department:
(a) A cost and service report in which the
licensee reports the child-placing agency's costs, types of services provided,
and number of children served in the previous year for services provided for
foster homes with a Level 3 or 4 certification. The report shall be submitted
on a department-prescribed form.
Note: The cost and service report form is
available on the department website, http://dcf.wisconsin.gov, by clicking on
foster care and adoption/child welfare licensing/rate regulation.
(b) The child-placing agency's
most recent audit report under s.
DCF 54.06(8)
(a).
(2) MAXIMUM ALLOWABLE RATE. Each year no
later than September 1, the department shall notify licensees of the per client
administrative rate that no child-placing agency may exceed for services
provided in the following calendar year.
(3) PROPOSED RATES.
(a) Each year no later than October 1, a
licensee shall submit to the department a proposed rate for the following
calendar year for each child-placing agency program that the licensee operates.
The licensee shall submit the proposed rate on a department-prescribed
form.
(b) A licensee may request an
exception to the department's maximum rate under sub. (2) if the licensee
provides a specialized service or specialized programming to a specific
population of children. The exception request shall explain the benefits of the
service or programming and why the licensee cannot provide the service or
programming within the maximum rate. The exception request shall be made on the
rate request form.
Note: The rate request form is available at
https://dcf.wisconsin.gov/ratereg.
(4) REVIEW OF A PROPOSED RATE. In reviewing a
proposed rate submitted by a licensee under sub. (3), the department shall
consider all of the following:
(a) Whether
the proposed rate exceeds the maximum rate determined by the department under
sub. (2).
(b) The child-placing
agency's most recent cost and service report under sub. (1) (a).
(c) The child-placing agency's most recent
audit report under sub. (1) (b).
(d) Whether the child-placing agency's
reported costs are within a range of similar costs reported by other
child-placing agencies for similar items and services.
(e) The child-placing agency's per client
administrative rate in previous years.
(f) Changes in the consumer price index for
all urban consumers, U.S. city average, as determined by the U.S. department of
labor, for the 12 months ending on June 30 of the year in which the proposed
rate is submitted.
(g) Changes in
the consumer price index for all urban consumers, U.S. city average, for the
medical care group, as determined by the U.S. department of labor, for the 12
months ending on June 30 of the year in which the proposed rate is
submitted.
(h) Changes in the
allowable costs of child-placing agencies based on current actual cost data or
documented projections of costs.
(i) Changes in program utilization that
affect the per client administrative rate.
(j) Changes in the department's expectations
relating to service delivery.
(k)
Changes in service delivery proposed by a child-placing agency and agreed to by
the department.
(L) The loss of any
source of revenue that had been used to pay expenses, resulting in a lower per
client administrative rate for services.
(m) Whether the child-placing agency is
accredited by a national accrediting body that has developed child welfare
standards.
(n) Changes in any state
or federal laws, rules, or regulations that result in any change in the cost of
providing services, including any changes in the minimum wage, as defined in s.
49.141(1) (g), Stats.
(o) Competitive factors.
(p) The availability of funding to pay for
the services to be provided under the proposed rate.
(5) RATE APPROVAL.
(a) Each year no later than November 1, the
department shall notify each licensee that submitted all information as
required under subs. (1) and (3) of the maximum approved per client
administrative rate for the child-placing agency for the following year.
Note: The notification will be sent to the
electronic mail address that the licensee has provided to the
department.
(b) If the
department determines that a proposed rate submitted under sub. (3) is
appropriate based on the factors in sub. (4), the department shall approve the
proposed rate.
(c) If the
department determines that a proposed rate submitted under sub. (3) is not
appropriate based on the factors in sub. (4), the department shall negotiate
with a licensee to determine an agreed to rate. The department's approved rate
under par. (a) following negotiations shall be based on the factors in sub. (4)
and additional relevant information presented during negotiations.
(d) The department may grant a licensee's
request for an exception to the department's maximum rate under sub. (3) (b) if
the department determines that the licensee has shown by clear and convincing
evidence that the licensee's costs are reasonable and necessary given the costs
and benefits of the licensee's specialized service or specialized
programming.
(6)
NONCOMPLIANCE. If a licensee does not submit all information as required under
subs. (1) and (3), the department may impose sanctions and penalties under s.
DCF 54.02(3m) and s.
48.715,
Stats., including license revocation.
