In this chapter:

1. (1b) “Advanced practice nurse prescriber” has the meaning given in s. 50.01 (1b), Stats.
2. (1d) “Age or developmentally appropriate activities” means activities that are generally accepted as suitable for children of a given 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 a given age or age group or, in the case of a specific foster child, activities that are suitable for the foster child based on the cognitive, emotional, physical, and behavioral capacities of that foster child.
3. (1g) “Algorithm” means a composite score based on items demonstrated to be relevant to decision making on a particular topic such as level of need or service provision.
4. (1r) “Applicant” means a person who applies for a license to operate a foster home, for renewal of a license to operate a foster home or for modification of a license to operate a foster home.
5. (2) “Basement” means the portion of a foster home below the first floor.
6. (3) “Basic maintenance payment” means a payment to reimburse a foster parent for the cost of a foster child’s food, clothing, housing, basic transportation, and personal items, as established by s. 48.62 (4), Stats.
7. (3m) “Biopsychosocial assessment” means an assessment of a foster child’s disability, measurement of the behavioral and cognitive correlates of the disability, assessment of how psychosocial and environmental factors influence how the foster child copes with the disability, a review of biological factors that affect the disability, and an identification of possible treatments for the disability.
8. (6s) “Child welfare professional” means an individual who is responsible for ensuring the health, safety, and well-being of foster children and is employed by a county agency, tribal child welfare agency, licensed child-placing agency, or, in a county with a population of 750,000 or more, the department.
9. (7) “County agency” means a county department of social services under s. 46.215 or 46.22, Stats., or a county department of human services under s. 46.23, Stats.
10. (8m) “Court order” means an order of a state court or tribal court.
11. (9) “Department” means the Wisconsin department of children and families.
12. (10) “Department exceptions panel” or “exceptions panel” means the group authorized to grant exceptions under s. DCF 56.24 (2).
13. (10g) “Division of hearings and appeals” means the division of hearings and appeals in the department of administration.
14. (10n) “Entity” has the meaning given in s. 48.685 (1) (b), Stats.
15. (11) “Exit” means a continuous and unobstructed means of egress from inside the foster home to the exterior of the foster home, including intervening halls, balconies, ramps, fire escapes, stairways, and windows.
16. (11r) “Family interaction plan” means a plan developed by a placing agency to promote a foster child’s interaction with the foster child’s parent, siblings, and other identified persons and includes interaction by in-person or virtual face-to-face contact; telephone calls; texts; instant messages; letters; emails; and attendance at routine activities, such as, family gatherings, medical or treatment-related appointments, school events, and faith-related activities.

17. (11s) “Final substantiated finding” means all of the following:

    1. (a) A final determination made after January 1, 2015, that a person has abused or neglected a child under s. 48.981 (3) (c) 5m., Stats., and s. DCF 40.04 if the final determination has not been reversed or modified on appeal.
    2. (b) A determination made before January 1, 2015, that a person has abused or neglected a child under s. 48.981 (3) (c) 4., Stats., if the determination has not been reversed or modified on appeal.
18. (12) “Foster care” means care and maintenance provided to a foster child in a foster home pursuant to a court order, voluntary placement agreement, or voluntary transition-to-independent-living agreement.
19. (13) “Foster child” means a person under 21 years of age who is placed for care and maintenance in a foster home by the department, a county agency, a tribal child welfare agency, or a licensed private child-placing agency by court order, voluntary placement agreement, or voluntary transition-to-independent-living agreement.
20. (14) “Foster home” means any facility operated by a person licensed under s. 48.62 (1), Stats.
21. (15) “Foster parent” means a person with primary responsibility for the care and supervision of one or more foster children placed in the foster home and in whose name the foster home is licensed under this chapter.
22. (15m) “Group home” has the meaning given in s. 48.02 (7), Stats.
23. (16) “Guardian” means a person or agency appointed as provided under s. 48.023, Stats., or a substantially similar tribal law.

24. (19) “Home-based private educational program” means a program of educational instruction provided to a child by the child’s parent or guardian or by a person designated by the parent or guardian. An instruction program provided to more than one family unit does not constitute a home-based private educational program.

    Note: A “home-based private educational program” is commonly known as home-schooling.

25. (20) “Household member” means any person living in a foster home, whether or not related to the foster parent.
26. (20d) “Indian child” has the meaning given in s. 48.02 (8g), Stats.
27. (20h) “Indian custodian” has the meaning given in s. 48.02 (8p), Stats.
28. (20p) “Indian tribe” means any Indian tribe, band, nation, or other organized group or community of Indians that is recognized as eligible for the services provided to Indians by the U.S. secretary of the interior because of their status as Indians.
29. (20t) “Kinship care provider” means a person who is receiving kinship care payments under s. 48.57 (3m) or (3n), Stats.
30. (21) “Legal custodian” means the person or agency to whom a court has transferred a child’s legal custody and who thereby has the right and duty to protect, train and discipline the child and to provide for the child’s care and needs. “Legal custody” has the meaning prescribed in s. 48.02 (12), Stats.
31. (21g) “Level of care” means the intensity of services that is best able to meet the needs of a foster child who has been assessed with a corresponding level of need.
32. (21r) “Level of need” means a rating of a foster child that is used to inform decision making on placement and service provision. The level of need is derived from an algorithm that is based on an assessment of a foster child’s functioning.
33. (22) “Licensed private child-placing agency” means an agency licensed by the department under s. 48.60, Stats., and ch. DCF 54 to license a person to operate a foster home and to place children in foster homes and other out-of-home care facilities.
34. (24) “Licensing agency” means the department, a county agency, tribal child welfare agency, or a licensed private child-placing agency that may issue a license to operate a foster home under this chapter.
35. (24m) “Like-kin” means an individual who has a significant emotional relationship with a child or the child’s family that is similar to a familial relationship and who is not and has not previously been the child’s foster parent. For an Indian child, “like-kin” includes individuals identified by the child’s tribe according to tribal tradition, custom or resolution, code, or law.

36. (26m) “Medical provider” means a physician, physician assistant, or an advanced practice nurse prescriber.

    Note: “Physician” and “physician assistant” are defined in s. 990.01, Stats.

37. (27) “Motor vehicle” means a private automobile, motorcycle, van, bus or truck.
38. (27m) “Nonclient resident” has the same meaning as in s. DCF 12.02 (18).
39. (27r) “Normalcy” means a foster child’s ability to easily engage in healthy and age or developmentally appropriate activities that promote well-being, such as participation in social, scholastic, and enrichment activities.
40. (29) “Out-of-home care” means when a child is under the placement and care responsibility of an agency in a foster home, group home, residential care center for children and youth, or shelter care facility, in the home of a relative other than a parent, in the home of like-kin, in the home of a person not a relative or like-kin, or in a court-ordered supervised independent living arrangement.
41. (30) “Permanency plan” means a plan required under s. 48.38 (2) or 938.38 (2), Stats., that is designed to ensure that a child placed in out-of-home care is safely reunified with their parent, guardian, or Indian custodian whenever appropriate, or that the child quickly attains a safe placement or home providing long-term stability.
42. (33m) “Placing agency” means a licensed private child-placing agency, a county agency, a tribal child welfare agency, the department, or a licensed child welfare agency from another state authorized to place children in foster homes.
43. (34) “Premises” means the foster home and the tract of land on which it is situated, including all other buildings and structures on that land.
44. (34h) “Program staff” means staff in a Level 5 foster home who are responsible for daily supervision of a foster child and providing direct care to the foster child to ensure their safety and well-being.
45. (34m) “Reasonable and prudent parent standard” means a standard for use in making decisions concerning a foster child’s participation in age or developmentally appropriate extracurricular, enrichment, cultural, and social activities that is characterized by careful and sensible parental decisions that maintain the health, safety, best interests, and cultural, religious, and tribal values of the foster child while at the same time encouraging the emotional and developmental growth of the foster child.
46. (34n) “Relative” has the meaning given in s. 48.02 (15), Stats., except that it does not include a parent.
47. (34p) “Residential care center for children and youth” has the meaning given in s. 48.02 (15d), Stats.
48. (34t) “Respite care” means care and services provided to a foster child during the absence of the foster parent.
49. (35) “Responsible care provider” means a person the foster parent believes has the ability and maturity to care for a foster child for the time that the foster child will be in that person’s care.
50. (35s) “Shelter care facility” has the meaning given in s. 48.02 (17), Stats.
51. (36) “Supervising agency” means the agency responsible for overseeing the care and maintenance of a child placed in out-of-home care, which may be a county agency, a tribal child welfare agency, the department, or a licensed private child-placing agency.
52. (37) “Team” means the group appointed by the placing and supervising agencies to assess a foster child, develop and implement the permanency plan, and evaluate the foster child’s progress for a foster child with a level of need of 1 to 2 who is placed in a foster home.
53. (37e) “Treatment” means the combination of therapies, services, and care designed to assist a foster child in achieving established measurable and behavioral goals and objectives based upon the information gathered through the assessment process.
54. (37m) “Treatment plan” means the comprehensive services plan developed by the treatment team for a foster child with a level of need of 3 to 5 who is placed in a foster home with a Level 3 to 5 certification.
55. (37s) “Treatment team” means the group appointed by the placing and supervising agencies to assess a foster child, develop and implement the treatment plan, and evaluate the foster child’s progress for a foster child with a level of need of 3 to 5 who is placed in a foster home with a Level 3 to 5 certification.
56. (37u) “Verification” means documentation that allows the licensing agency to determine compliance with a specific requirement and is not retained by the agency unless specifically stated.
57. (38) “Voluntary placement agreement” means a written contract between a county agency, the department, or a licensed child welfare agency, and the child’s parent, guardian, or Indian custodian, and the child, if the child is 12 years of age or older, for the placement of the child in a licensed foster home under s. 48.63 (1), Stats.
58. (39) “Voluntary transition-to-independent-living agreement” means a voluntary agreement under s. 48.366 (3) or 938.366 (3), Stats.

History

History: CR 00-020: cr. Register February 2002 No. 554, eff. 3-1-02; corrections in (9), (10), (24) and (37) made under s. 13.92 (4) (b) 6. and 7., Stats., Register November 2008 No. 635; EmR0937: emerg. r. and recr. (3), eff. 1-1-10; CR 10-021: r. and recr. (3) Register September 2010 No. 657, eff. 10-1-10; EmR1050: emerg. renum. (1) to be (1r), cr. (1), (1g), (6m), (10m), (11m), (15m), (21g), (21r), (33m), (34d), (34h), (34p), (34t), (35m), (37e), (37m), (37s), am. (3) (a), (14), (15), (22), (24), (29), (36), (38), r. and recr. (37), eff. 1-1-11; CR 10-148: renum. (1) to be (1r), cr. (1), (1g), (6m), (10m), (11m), (15m), (21g), (21r), (33m), (34d), (34h), (34p), (34t), (35m), (37e), (37m), (37s), am. (3) (a), (14), (15), (22), (24), (29), (36), (38), r. and recr. (37) Register August 2011 No. 668, eff. 9-1-11; corrections in (2), (11) made under s. 13.92 (4) (b) 7., Stats., Register February 2012 No. 674; EmR1414: emerg. r. and recr. (5), am. (12), (13), (34p), (38), cr. (39), eff. 8-1-14; CR 14-054: r. and recr. (5), am. (12), (13), (34p), (38), cr. (39) Register April 2015 No. 712, eff. 5-1-15; CR 16-014: cr. (11s), (27m) Register June 2016 No. 726, eff. 7-1-16; EmR1633: emerg. cr. (1d), (11r), am. (17), cr. (27r), (34m), eff. 11-18-16; CR 16-051: (1d), (11r), am. (17), cr. (27r), (34m) Register July 2017 No. 739, eff. 8-1-17; CR 21-107: am. (11s) (b), (15), (27r), (30) Register June 2022 No. 798, eff. 7-1-22; CR 25-043: r. (1), cr. (1b), am. (1d), (2), consol. (3) (intro.) and (b) and renum. (3) and am., r. (3) (a), cr. (3m), r. (4) to (6m), cr. (6s), r. (8), cr. (8m), am. (10), cr. (10g), r. (10m), cr. (10n), r. and recr. (11), r. (11m), am. (11r), (12), (13), r. and recr. (15m), (16), r. (17), (18), am. (20), cr. (20d) to (20t), am. (21g), (21r), r. (23), am. (24), cr. (24m), r. (25), (26), cr. (26m), am. (27r), r. (28), r. and recr. (29), am. (30), r. (31) to (33), r. and recr. (33m), r. (34d), am. (34h), (34m), cr. (34n), r. and recr. (34p), (34t), r. (35m), cr. (35s), am. (36) to (37s), cr. (37u), am. (38) Register November 2025 No. 839, eff. 12-1-25; correction in (33m) made under s. 35.17, Stats., Register November 2025 No. 839.