1. (2) Certification. A licensing agency shall certify each foster home for a level of care under subs. (3) to (6) commensurate with the foster parent’s knowledge, training, skills, experience, and relationship to the child in accordance with the licensing agency’s programming and capacity.

2. (3) Level 1 foster home.

   1. (a) Specific child. A licensing agency may grant a Level 1 certification only to a foster home operated by a foster parent who has a previous or existing relationship with a foster child or the foster child’s family and who is not a relative or like-kin to the foster child.
   2. (b) Training. Each foster parent who operates a Level 1 foster home shall complete a minimum of 6 hours of preplacement training under s. DCF 56.14 (6) before or after the placement of a foster child but no later than 6 months after the date of initial licensure.

3. (4) Level 2 foster home.

   1. (a) Training.

      1. 1. Each foster parent who operates a Level 2 foster home shall complete a minimum of 6 hours of preplacement training under s. DCF 56.14 (6) before or after initial licensure but prior to the placement of any foster child in the home.
      2. 2. Each foster parent who operates a Level 2 foster home shall complete a minimum of 30 hours of initial licensing training under s. DCF 56.14 (7) during the initial licensing period.
      3. 3. Each foster parent who operates a Level 2 foster home shall complete 10 hours of ongoing training under s. DCF 56.14 (8) in each 12-month period of licensure subsequent to the initial licensing period.
   2. (b) References. An applicant for certification to operate a Level 2 foster home shall submit at least 3 favorable reference letters written by persons unrelated to the applicant. A reference letter shall include a statement indicating how long the person giving the reference has known the applicant, under what circumstances the person knows the applicant, and the person’s knowledge of the applicant’s characteristics under s. DCF 56.05 (6) (a).

4. (5) Level 3 foster home.

   1. (a) Experience. An applicant for certification to operate a Level 3 foster home shall have at least 3 of the following:

      1. 1. A minimum of one year of experience as a foster parent or kinship care provider.
      2. 2. A minimum of 5 years of experience working with or parenting children.
      3. 3. A minimum of 500 hours of experience as a respite provider for children under the supervision of a human services agency.
      4. 4. A high school diploma or the equivalent.
      5. 5. A college, vocational, technical, or advanced degree in the area of a foster child’s treatment needs, such as nursing, medicine, social work, or psychology.
      6. 6. Work or personal experience for which the applicant has demonstrated the knowledge, skill, ability, and motivation to meet the needs of a foster child with a level of need of 3.

   2. (b) Training.

      1. 1. Each foster parent who operates a Level 3 foster home shall complete a minimum of 36 hours of preplacement training under s. DCF 56.14 (6d).
      2. 2. Each foster parent who operates a Level 3 foster home shall complete a minimum of 24 hours of initial licensing training under s. DCF 56.14 (7e) during the initial licensing period.
      3. 3. Each foster parent who operates a Level 3 foster home shall complete 18 hours of ongoing training under s. DCF 56.14 (8) in each 12-month period of licensure subsequent to the initial licensing period.

   3. (c) References. An applicant for certification to operate a Level 3 foster home shall submit at least 4 favorable reference letters, as follows:

      1. 1. Three of the letters shall be written by persons unrelated to the applicant. At least one of these reference letters shall be regarding the applicant’s qualifications under par. (a), excluding par. (a) 4.
      2. 2. The fourth favorable reference letter shall be from a relative, preferably from an adult child if applicable.

      3. 3. Each reference letter shall include a statement indicating all of the following:

         1. a. How long the person giving the reference has known the applicant.
         2. b. Under what circumstances the person knows the applicant.
         3. c. The person’s knowledge of the applicant’s characteristics under s. DCF 56.05 (6).

5. (6) Level 4 foster home.

   1. (a) Experience. An applicant for certification to operate a Level 4 foster home shall have at least 4 of the following:

      1. 1. A minimum of one year of experience as a foster parent or kinship care provider caring for a child who has a level of need of 3 or greater.
      2. 2. A minimum of 5 years of experience working with or parenting children.
      3. 3. A minimum of 500 hours of experience as a respite provider for children under the supervision of a human services agency.
      4. 4. A high school diploma or the equivalent.
      5. 5. A college, vocational, technical, or advanced degree in the area of a foster child’s treatment needs, such as nursing, medicine, social work, or psychology.
      6. 6. Work or personal experience for which the applicant has demonstrated the knowledge, skill, ability, and motivation to meet the needs of a foster child with a level of need of 4.

   2. (b) Training.

      1. 1. Each foster parent who operates a Level 4 foster home shall complete a minimum of 40 hours of preplacement training under s. DCF 56.14 (6d).
      2. 2. Each foster parent who operates a Level 4 foster home shall complete a minimum of 30 hours of initial licensing training under s. DCF 56.14 (7e) during the initial licensing period.
      3. 3. Each foster parent who operates a Level 4 foster home shall complete 24 hours of ongoing training under s. DCF 56.14 (8) in each 12-month period of licensure subsequent to the initial licensing period.

   3. (c) References. An applicant for certification to operate a Level 4 foster home shall submit at least 4 favorable reference letters as follows:

      1. 1. Three of the letters shall be written by persons unrelated to the applicant. At least one of these reference letters shall be regarding the applicant’s qualifications under par. (a), excluding par. (a) 4.
      2. 2. The fourth favorable reference letter shall be from a relative, preferably from an adult child if applicable.

      3. 3. Each reference letter shall include a statement indicating all of the following:

         1. a. How long the person giving the reference has known the applicant.
         2. b. Under what circumstances the person knows the applicant.
         3. c. The person’s knowledge of the applicant’s characteristics under s. DCF 56.05 (6).

History

History: EmR0937: emerg. cr. eff. 1-1-10; CR 10-021: cr. Register September 2010 No. 657, eff. 10-1-10; EmR1050: emerg. renum. (1) to be (1) (a), (b) and am., cr. (1) (c), (5) to (8), am. (title), (1) (title), (2), (3), (4) (title), (a) 1., 2., 3., (b), eff. 1-1-11; CR 10-148: renum. (1) to be (1) (a), (b) and am., cr. (1) (c), (5) to (8), am. (title), (1) (title), (2), (3), (4) (title), (a) 1., 2., 3., (b) Register August 2011 No. 668, eff. 9-1-11; correction in (7) (h) 4., 5. made under s. 13.92 (4) (b) 1., Stats., Register August 2011 No. 668; correction in (7) (f) 6. a. and 9. under s. 13.92 (4) (b) 1., Stats., Register June 2016 No. 726; EmR1633: emerg. cr. (7) (e) 1. g., h., am. (7) (f) 3., eff. 11-18-16; CR 16-051: cr. (7) (e) 1. g., h., am. (7) (f) 3. Register July 2017 No. 739, eff. 8-1-17; CR 21-107: am. (4) (b), (5) (a) 1. a., (c) 2. b., c., (6) (a) 1. a., (c) 2. b., (7) (f) 6. a., d., 9., (8) (b) Register June 2022 No. 798, eff. 7-1-22; CR 25-043: am. (title), r. (1), am. (2), r. and recr. (3), am. (4) (title), renum. (4) (a) 1. a. to (4) (a) 1. and am., r. (4) (a) 1. b., am. (4) (b), r. and recr. (5) (title), (a), am. (5) (b) 1., r. and recr. (5) (c), (6) (title), (a), am. (6) (b) 1., r. and recr. (6) (c), r. (7), (8) Register November 2025 No. 839, eff. 12-1-25.