Current through August 26, 2024
(1) PROVIDE INFORMATION.
(a) Before a foster home license is issued or
renewed, the applicant and any nonclient resident in the home shall each do all
of the following:
1. Complete and submit to
the agency the department's background information disclosure and written
authorization for the agency to make follow-up contact with the Wisconsin
department of justice and any other person or organization to determine if
there is any reason under sub. (4) why the applicant should not be granted a
license or have an existing license renewed.
Note: DCF-F-2978-E, Background
Information Disclosure, is available in the forms section of the
department website, http://dcf.wisconsin.gov, or by writing to the Division of
Safety and Permanence, P.O. Box 8916, Madison WI 53708-8916.
2. Provide the agency with information on
each person's places of residence during the 5-year period before submission of
the license application.
(b) Before an initial foster home license is
issued or a license is renewed after a break in licensure, the applicant shall
provide the agency or its designated agent with a set of fingerprints
sufficiently clear to submit to the Wisconsin department of justice or other
law enforcement agency for submission to the national crime information
database as provided in s.
48.685(2) (c) 1, Stats.
(2) CONDUCT BACKGROUND CHECK. The agency
shall do all of the following:
(a) Obtain the
information required under s.
48.685(2) (am), Stats., regarding the applicant and any
nonclient resident in the applicant's home.
Note: Information on how to conduct an initial
search of some of the required Wisconsin records is at
https://recordcheck.doj.wi.gov. Following the search, the agency will receive a
report from the Department of Justice regarding results of the criminal records
search and a report from the Department of Health Services regarding results of
the search of other integrated databases. Further investigation may be
required.
(b) Submit the
fingerprints of the applicant under sub. (1) (b) to the Wisconsin department of
justice or other law enforcement agency for submission to the national crime
information database as provided in s.
48.685(2) (c) 1, Stats.
(c) Conduct a reverse search of the Wisconsin
sex offender registry using the applicant's address.
Note: A reverse search by address can be done by
entering applicant's address at
http://doc.wi.gov/community-resources/offender-registry. The Wisconsin Sex
Offender Registry does not contain information on all convicted sex
offenders.
The information is limited by the effective date of the
applicable law and to those offenders who have been arrested and convicted,
adjudicated, or committed for a crime specified under the law and who meet
registration and publication requirements.
For example, certain sex offenses by juveniles or other
persons may not meet registration or publication requirements. Please consider
these limitations when obtaining information from the sex offender
registry.
(d) Obtain a
criminal history records search from any other jurisdiction in which the person
is or was a resident if the agency is informed that a nonclient resident in the
applicant's home resided outside the state of Wisconsin at any time during the
5-year period before the search.
(e) Obtain information on child abuse or
neglect reports or findings during the 5-year period before the search, as
follows:
1. If the agency is informed that the
applicant or a nonclient resident in the applicant's home resided in the state
of Wisconsin at any time during the 5-year period before the search, the agency
shall contact each county in Wisconsin in which the person is a resident or was
a resident during those 5 years for information regarding any child abuse or
neglect reports or findings.
2. If
the agency is informed that the applicant or a nonclient resident in the
applicant's home resided outside the state of Wisconsin at any time during the
5-year period before the search, the agency shall check any child abuse or
neglect registry maintained by any other jurisdiction in which the person is a
resident or was a resident during those 5 years for any child abuse reports or
findings.
(f) If the
agency is informed that the applicant or a nonclient resident in the
applicant's home served in a branch of the U.S. armed forces, including any
reserve component, the agency shall make every reasonable effort to obtain
information on the discharge status of the person. This information may be
obtained from the discharge papers or from the armed forces branch in which the
person served. If the discharge status is other than honorable, the agency
shall obtain information on the nature and circumstances of the discharge.
Note: The information from the armed forces may
include military court findings or other information that is relevant to making
a determination of whether an applicant is fit and
qualified.
(3)
FOLLOW UP. Follow-up investigation may be required and may include any of the
following:
(a) If the results of the criminal
history records search under (2) (a), (b), or (d) indicate a charge of a crime
specified in s.
48.685(1) (c), Stats., or comparable law in any other
jurisdiction, but do not completely and clearly indicate the final disposition
of the charge, the agency shall make every reasonable effort to contact the
appropriate clerk of court to determine the final disposition of the
charge.
(b) If the background
information disclosure indicates a charge or conviction of a crime specified in
s.
48.685(1) (c), Stats., or comparable law in any other
jurisdiction, but the results of the criminal history records search under sub.
(2) (a), (b), or (d) do not include the charge or conviction, the agency shall
make every reasonable effort to contact the appropriate clerk of court to
obtain a copy of the criminal complaint and the final disposition of the
complaint.
(c) If the results of
the criminal history records search under sub. (2) (a), (b), or (d); the
background information disclosure; or any other information indicate that the
person was convicted of a violation of s.
940.19(1),
940.195,
940.20,
941.30,
942.08,
947.01(1),
or
947.013, Stats., or
comparable law in any other jurisdiction, not more than 5 years before the
agency obtained the information, the agency shall make every reasonable effort
to contact the appropriate clerk of court to obtain a copy of the criminal
complaint and judgment of conviction relating to that violation.
Note: A list of Wisconsin county clerks of court
is available at http://www.wicourts.gov/contact/docs/clerks.pdf.
An investigation and determination regarding whether the circumstances of the
convictions for the crimes specified in par. (c) are substantially related to
the care of children under s.
48.685(5m),
Stats., is required. The specified crimes are misdemeanor battery, battery to
an unborn child, battery-special circumstances, reckless endangerment, invasion
of privacy, disorderly conduct, and harassment.
(4) OFFENSES THAT ARE A BAR. Unless the
person has demonstrated that the person has been rehabilitated under s.
48.685(5) or (5c), Stats., and ch. DCF 12, an applicant
or licensee is unqualified to hold a license if the applicant or a nonclient
resident in the foster home meets any of the following conditions:
(a) The person has been convicted of a crime
specified in s.
48.685(1) (c), Stats., or is the subject of a pending
criminal charge alleging that the person committed a crime specified in s.
48.685(1) (c), Stats.
Note: A table that lists applicable crimes is
available on the department website, http://dcf.wisconsin.gov, in the foster
care/related statutes and administrative rules section.
(am) The person has been adjudicated
delinquent for committing a crime specified in s.
48.685(1) (c), Stats., or is the subject of a
delinquency petition alleging that the person committed a crime specified in s.
48.685(1) (c), Stats.
(b) A governmental body has made a finding
that the person has abused or neglected any client or misappropriated the
property of any client.
(c) A final
substantiated finding has been made that the person abused or neglected a
child.
(d) A finding that is
comparable to a final substantiated finding has been made in any other
jurisdiction.
(5) DENIALS
OR REVOCATION. The agency shall provide the department with information about
each person who is denied a license or has a license revoked for a reason
specified in sub. (4).
Agencies with direct access to eWiSACWIS, the child welfare
automation system, enter the information into the system. Agencies that do not
have direct access to eWiSACWIS, provide the information on Form DCF-F-CFS2191,
Negative Action Notice, which is available in the forms section of the
department's website, dcf.wisconsin.gov. Send the completed form to Out-of-Home
Care Section, DCF/DSP, P.O. Box 8916, Madison, WI
53708-8916.
