Case Planning for Families Involved With Child Welfare Agencies - Wisconsin

Date: April 2018

When Case Plans Are Required

Citation: Ann. Stat. § 48.38

A permanency plan is required for each child living in a foster home, group home, residential care center for children and youth, juvenile detention facility, shelter care facility, or supervised independent living arrangement.

A plan is required if any of the following conditions exists:

  • The child is being held in physical custody under §§ 48.207, 48.208, or 48.209.
  • The child is in the legal custody of the agency.
  • The child is under the supervision of an agency under § 48.64(2), under a consent decree under § 48.32(1)(b), or under a court order under § 48.355.
  • The child was placed under a voluntary agreement between the agency and the child's parent under § 48.63(1)(a) or (5)(b).
  • The child is under the guardianship of the agency.
  • The child's care would be paid for under § 49.19.
  • The child's parent is placed in a foster home, group home, residential care center for children and youth, juvenile detention facility, shelter care facility, or supervised independent living arrangement, and the child is residing with that parent.

The agency shall file the permanency plan with the court within 60 days after the date on which the child was first removed from his or her home, except that if the child is held for less than 60 days in a juvenile detention facility, juvenile portion of a county jail, or a shelter care facility, no permanency plan is required if the child is returned to his or her home within that period.

Who May Participate in the Case Planning Process

Citation: Ann. Stat. § 48.38

The agency that placed the child or arranged the placement or the agency assigned primary responsibility for providing services to the child under § 48.355(2)(b)6g shall prepare a written permanency plan.

The agency responsible for preparing the permanency plan for a child age 14 or older shall prepare the plan and any revisions of the plan in consultation with the child and, at the option of the child, with no more than two persons selected by the child who are members of any child and family team convened for the child, except that the child may not select his or her caregiver or caseworker and the agency may reject a person selected by the child if the agency has good cause to believe that the person would not act in the best interests of the child. The agency may designate one of the persons selected by the child to be the child's adviser and, as necessary, the child's advocate, with respect to application of the reasonable and prudent parent standard to decisions concerning the child's participation in age- or developmentally appropriate activities.

Contents of a Case Plan

Citation: Ann. Stat. § 48.38

The permanency plan shall include the following:

  • The date on which the child was removed from his or her home and was placed in out-of-home care
  • A description of the services offered and provided to prevent the removal of the child from home and to achieve the goal of the permanency plan
  • The basis for the decision to place the child outside of his or her home
  • A statement as to the availability of a safe and appropriate placement with a fit and willing relative of the child or why such placement is not safe or appropriate
  • If the child has one or more siblings who also have been removed from home, a description of the efforts made to place the siblings in a joint placement and, if a decision is made not to place the siblings in a joint placement, a statement as to why a joint placement would be contrary to the safety or well-being of the child or any of those siblings and a description of the efforts made to provide for frequent visits or other ongoing interaction between the child and those siblings
  • The location and type of facility in which the child is currently placed or will be placed
  • If the child is living more than 60 miles from home, documentation that placement within 60 miles of the child's home is either unavailable or inappropriate or that placement more than 60 miles away is in the child's best interests
  • Information about the child's education, including the following:
    • The name and address of the child's current school
    • Any special education programs in which the child is or was previously enrolled
    • The child's grade level and grade-level performance
    • A summary of all available education records
  • If the child must change schools as a result of the placement, documentation that a placement that would maintain the child in that school is either unavailable or inappropriate or that a transfer to another school would be in the child's best interests
  • Medical information relating to the child, including the child's immunization record, medications, and any known allergies
  • A description of the services that will be provided to the child, the child's family, foster parent, or relative caregiver, including services planned to accomplish all of the following:
    • Ensure proper care and treatment of the child and promote safety and stability in the placement
    • Meet the child's physical, emotional, social, educational, and vocational needs
    • Improve the conditions of the parents' home to facilitate the safe return of the child
  • The goal of the permanency plan
  • If the goal of the permanency plan is to place the child for adoption, with a guardian, with a fit and willing relative, or in some other alternative permanent placement, the efforts made to achieve that goal
  • The conditions, if any, upon which the child will be returned safely home, including any changes required in the parents' conduct, the child's conduct, or the nature of the home
  • If the child is age 14 or older, the programs and services that are or will be provided to assist the child in preparing for the transition from out-of-home care to a successful adulthood
  • If the child is an Indian child who is placed outside the home of his or her parent or Indian custodian, all of the following:
    • The name, address, and telephone number of the Indian child's Indian custodian and Tribe
    • A description of the remedial services and rehabilitation programs offered in an effort to prevent the breakup of the Indian child's family
    • A statement as to whether the Indian child's placement is in compliance with the order of placement preference under § 48.028 and, if the placement is not in compliance with that order, a statement as to whether there is good cause for departing from that order

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