1. (1) General.

   1. (a) A foster home may be a house, apartment, mobile home, or other housing unit used as a residence by a person or family.
   2. (b) A foster parent shall maintain the foster home in a safe and sanitary condition that does not endanger the physical health and safety of the foster child.
   3. (c) The licensing agency may require an inspection of the heating, electrical, plumbing, water, or sewage system for the foster home if expert opinion is necessary to help the agency evaluate the safety of the home.
   4. (d) The licensing agency may require a foster home’s private well water to be tested if the water is used for drinking.
   5. (e) A licensing agency may require that a foster parent take specific actions or have a safety plan to address a safety hazard on the premises or nearby, including a swimming pool, hot tub, body of water, trampoline, manure pit, vehicle traffic, and railroad tracks.
2. (2) Kitchen. A foster home shall have equipment for the safe preparation, storage, serving, and clean-up of food.
3. (3) Bath and toilet facilities. A foster home shall have at least one bathroom that contains a toilet, sink, and a shower or bathtub that is operational.

4. (4) Sleeping Arrangements.

   1. (a) A foster parent shall provide each foster child with clean sleeping supplies, including a bed, mattress, and linens, as appropriate for the foster child’s needs and age.

   2. (b) If a foster child is less than 12 months of age, the following requirements apply to the foster child’s sleeping environment:

      1. 1. The foster child shall sleep alone in a crib, bassinet, bedside sleeper, play yard, or a sleeping device determined by tribal custom. Any sleeping device used by the foster child shall be in safe working condition and may not have been recalled by the manufacturer.
      2. 2. The sleeping space shall be safe for a foster child who is less than 12 months of age with appropriately-sized bedding and free of blankets and other items, such as pillows and stuffed animals.
      3. 3. The foster child may share a bedroom with a foster parent.

   3. (c) A foster child one year of age or older may not regularly share a bedroom with an adult unless any of the following conditions apply:

      1. 1. The foster child and the adult are siblings.
      2. 2. The foster child and the adult were sharing a bedroom prior to one of them turning 18 years of age.
      3. 3. The supervising agency approves based on the foster child’s needs; the foster child has a sleeping space in another bedroom to return to when the needs subside; and if the foster child is 6 years of age or over, the foster child consents.
   4. (d) A foster child may share a bedroom with another child with the approval of the supervising agency and the consent of any foster child who is 6 years of age or over.
   5. (e) A foster parent and a foster child may not share a bed.
   6. (f) Related foster children one year of age or over may share a bed with approval of the supervising agency and the consent of any foster child who is 6 years of age or over. Unrelated foster children may not regularly share a bed.
   7. (g) A foster child may sleep in the middle or top bunk of a bunk bed only if it has a safety rail.
   8. (h) No foster child may regularly sleep in any space or room normally used for communal living.
   9. (i) A foster child’s bedroom shall have a window and adequate space to pass between beds.
   10. (j) A foster child’s bedroom shall have a door for privacy, unless the supervising agency approves of the foster child sleeping in a space without a door and any foster child who is 6 years of age or over consents.
   11. (k) A foster parent or a responsible care provider shall sleep within call of a foster child during the night.

   12. (L) A foster child may regularly sleep in a basement bedroom if all of the following conditions are met:

       1. 1. Exits from the basement comply with s. SPS 321.03 (5).
       2. 2. Access to the basement is appropriate given the foster child’s ambulatory level.
   13. (m) No foster child may regularly sleep in any building, apartment, or other structure on the premises that is separate from the foster home, unless the foster child is of appropriate developmental maturity and consents to this arrangement and the supervising agency approves.
5. (5) Storage space. A foster parent shall provide storage space for a foster child’s clothing and personal belongings.

6. (6) Heating.

   1. (a) A foster home shall have a functioning heating system.
   2. (b) Unvented gas, oil, or kerosene space heaters may not be used in a foster home.

   3. (c)

      1. 1. All wood-burning stoves or other alternative heating sources in a foster home, except a fireplace, shall be inspected by a fire safety expert at least biennially and certified as properly installed and maintained as defined by the manufacturer’s recommendations or specifications or other standards utilized by the fire safety expert.
      2. 2. A licensing agency may require an inspection of a fireplace by a fire safety expert.
7. (7) Access to dangerous materials and objects. A foster parent shall prevent a foster child’s access to medications, poisonous materials, cleaning supplies, alcoholic beverages, and other dangerous materials and objects as appropriate for a foster child’s age and developmental, emotional, and behavioral needs.

8. (8) Hazardous machinery or equipment.

   1. (a) In this subsection, “hazardous machinery or equipment” means any machine or other equipment generally known to be hazardous to untrained or unskilled operators or to operators who for any other reason are physically or mentally unable to operate the equipment safely, including a motor vehicle, power lawn mower, tractor or other farm machinery or equipment, snowblower, chain saw, power-driven shop tool, snowmobile, all-terrain vehicle, utility-terrain vehicle and any other machinery or equipment determined by the licensing or supervising agency.
   2. (b) No foster child may operate any hazardous machinery or equipment in violation of a law that specifies a minimum age requirement or that is beyond the foster child’s knowledge or mental or physical capability.
   3. (c) All hazardous machinery or equipment to be used by a foster child shall be maintained in a safe operating condition.
   4. (d) A foster child shall be under the general and appropriate supervision of a responsible adult when operating hazardous machinery or equipment.
   5. (e) The licensing or supervising agency may require that a foster child complete a safety course prior to operating hazardous machinery or equipment.

9. (9) Phone or other communication device.

   1. (a) A foster home shall have at least one operating phone or other communication device capable of completing a phone call accessible to a foster child when the foster child is in the home.
   2. (b) A foster parent shall maintain a comprehensive list of emergency telephone numbers, including poison control, and post those numbers in a prominent place in the foster home.

10. (10) Pets.

    1. (a) A foster parent shall ensure that a pet is safe to be around a foster child.
    2. (b) Each pet shall be vaccinated in accordance with any state or local law where the foster home is located.

History

History: CR 00-020: cr. Register February 2002 No. 554, eff. 3-1-02; correction in (4) (g) made under s. 13.93 (2m) (b) 7., Stats., Register December 2003 No. 576; EmR0937: emerg. revisions as in CR 10-021, eff. 1-1-10; CR 10-021: am. (4) (a) 1., 2., (5) (a) and (6) (d) 1., cr. (4) (a) 1m. Register September 2010 No. 657, eff. 10-1-10; EmR1050: emerg. cr. (1m), (2) (b), (3) (d), renum. (2) to be (2) (a) and am., r. and recr. (4) (g), am. (4) (d), (i), (10) (a), eff. 1-1-11; CR 10-148: cr. (1m), (2) (b), (3) (d), renum. (2) to be (2) (a) and am., r. and recr. (4) (g), am. (4) (d), (i), (10) (a) Register August 2011 No. 668, eff. 9-1-11; corrections in (1m), (2) (b) intro.), (3) (d), (4) (g) 1. made under s. 13.92 (4) (b) 7., Stats., Register February 2012 No. 674; CR 25-043: r. and recr. Register November 2025 No. 839, eff. 12-1-25.