Current through August 26, 2024
(1) SIMILAR TO PEERS. A shelter care facility
shall promote normalcy and the healthy development of a child placed in the
shelter care facility by supporting the child's right to participate in
extracurricular, enrichment, cultural, and social activities and have
experiences that are similar to those of the child's peers of the same age,
maturity, or development.
(2) RPPS
DECISION MAKER.
(a) A shelter care facility
shall ensure the presence on-site of at least one RPPS decision maker at all
times to make decisions regarding the participation of a child placed in the
shelter care facility in age or developmentally appropriate extracurricular,
enrichment, cultural, and social activities.
(b) An RPPS decision maker may be the
licensee, authorized representative of the licensee, unit supervisor, or
shelter care worker.
(c) An RPPS
decision maker shall have knowledge of a child and access to the child's
records in s.
DCF 59.07(1)
(a) related to the decision-making factors in
sub. (4).
(d) An RPPS decision
maker shall document in the communication log under s.
DCF 59.057 all
requests and decisions made under this section for activities that do not take
place in the shelter care facility and are not supervised by a shelter care
worker, relief help, volunteer, or unit supervisor.
(e) An RPPS decision maker shall document on
a form prescribed by the department any decision made under this section that
requires written permission from the shelter care facility in lieu of the
child's parent or guardian. The completed form shall be placed in the child's
record under s.
DCF 59.07.
Note: DCF-F-5124-E, Reasonable and
Prudent Parent Decision Record, is available in the forms section of
the department website at http://dcf.wisconsin.gov or by writing the Division
of Safety and Permanence, P.O. Box 8916, Madison, WI
53708-8916.
(3)
REASONABLE AND PRUDENT PARENT STANDARD. When an RPPS decision maker is making a
decision regarding participation in activities by a child placed in the shelter
care facility, the RPPS decision maker shall use a decision-making standard
that is characterized by careful and sensible parental decisions that maintain
the health, safety, best interests, and cultural, religious, and tribal values
of the child while at the same time encouraging the emotional and developmental
growth of the child, if the activities meet the conditions in par. (a) and (b)
as follows:
(a)
Areas covered by the
standard. The child is participating or wants to participate in
extracurricular, enrichment, cultural, or social activities, including all of
the following:
1. Activities related to
transportation, such as obtaining a driver's license, driving, or carpooling
with peers and other adults.
2.
Formal or informal employment and related activities, such as opening an
account in a bank or credit union.
3. Activities related to peer relationships,
such as visiting with friends, staying overnight at a friend's house, or
dating.
4. Activities related to
personal expression, such as haircuts; hair dying; clothing choices; or sources
of entertainment, including games and music.
(b)
Age or developmentally
appropriate activities. The child is participating or wants to
participate in activities that are suitable based on any of the following
criteria:
1. Activities that are generally
accepted as suitable for children of the same chronological age or level of
maturity or that are determined to be developmentally appropriate for a child
based on the cognitive, emotional, physical, and behavioral capacities that are
typical for children of the same age or age group.
2. Activities that are suitable based on this
child's cognitive, emotional, physical, and behavioral capacities.
Note: The reasonable and prudent parent standard
does not apply to a child receiving respite care services.
(4) DECISION-MAKING
FACTORS. When applying the reasonable and prudent parent standard to a decision
regarding the participation by a child placed in the shelter care facility in
an extracurricular, enrichment, cultural, or social activity, an RPPS decision
maker shall consider all of the following:
(a) Child-specific factors, including all of
the following:
1. The child's wishes, as
gathered by engaging the child in an age-appropriate discussion about
participation in the activity.
2.
The age, maturity, and development of the child.
3. Whether participating in the activity is
in the best interest of the child.
4. The child's behavioral history.
5. Court orders and other legal
considerations affecting the child, including the prohibitions in sub.
(5).
6. Cultural, religious, and
tribal values of the child and the child's family. If the child and child's
family have different cultural, religious, or tribal values, then the placing
agency, or the department if the department is the child's guardian, is
ultimately responsible for decisions concerning the child's care.
(b) Activity-specific factors,
including all of the following:
1. Potential
risk factors of the situation, including whether the child has the necessary
training and safety equipment to safely participate in the activity under
consideration.
2. How the activity
will help the child grow.
3.
Whether participating in the activity will provide experiences that are similar
to the experiences of other children of the same age, maturity, or development
in the shelter care facility.
4.
Other information regarding the parent's wishes and values.
(c) Any other concerns regarding
the safety of the child, other children in the shelter care facility, or the
community.
(d) Information on the
forms required under ch. DCF 37.
Note: The forms required under ch. DCF 37 are
DCF-F-872A-E, Information for Out-of-Home Care Providers, Part
A and DCF-F-872B-E, Information for Out-of-Home Care
Providers, Part B. Both forms are available in the forms section of
the department website at http://dcf.wisconsin.gov or by writing the Division
of Safety and Permanence, P.O. Box 8916, Madison, WI
53708-8916.
(5)
PROHIBITIONS. An RPPS decision maker may not do any of the following:
(a) Permit a child to participate in an
activity that would violate a court order or any federal or state statute,
rule, or regulation.
(b) Make a
decision that conflicts with the child's permanency plan or family interaction
plan.
(c) Consent to the child's
marriage.
(d) Authorize the child's
enlistment in the U.S. armed forces.
(e) Authorize medical, psychiatric, or
surgical treatment for the child beyond the terms of the consent for medical
services authorized by the child's parent or guardian.
(f) Represent the child in legal actions or
make other decisions of substantial legal significance.
(g) Determine which school the child attends
or make decisions concerning the child regarding an educational right or
requirement that is provided in federal or state law.
Note: For example, only a parent or guardian can
make decisions about a child's individualized educational program under s.
115.787,
Stats.
(h) Require or
prohibit a child's participation in an age or developmentally appropriate
activity solely for convenience or personal reasons not applicable to the
decision-making factors in sub. (4).
(6) POLICIES AND PROCEDURES. The shelter care
facility shall have policies and procedures on how the facility complies with
the requirements of the reasonable and prudent parent standard, including all
of the following:
(a) How the communication
log under s.
DCF 59.057 will
be used to inform different shifts of shelter care workers and RPPS decision
makers of reasonable and prudent parenting requests and decisions made for a
child under this section for activities that do not take place in the shelter
care facility and are not supervised by a shelter care worker, relief help,
volunteer, or unit supervisor.
(b)
How information on a child on the forms under s.
DCF 59.07(1)
(a) will be used to make reasonable and
prudent parenting decisions for a child under this section.
(c) How the shelter care facility will ensure
the presence on-site of at least one RPPS decision maker at all
times.
(d) A process for annually
reviewing the parameters and requirements of the reasonable and prudent parent
standard, in conjunction with facility's corresponding policies and
procedures.
DCF-F-5123-E, Reasonable and Prudent Parent Standard
Review, is an optional form that a shelter care facility may use to assist with
the annual review. The form is available in the forms section of the department
website at http://dcf.wisconsin.gov or by writing the Division of Safety and
Permanence, P.O. Box 8916, Madison, WI
53708-8916.
