LRB-1028/1
GMM&EHS:cjs:jm
2015 - 2016 LEGISLATURE
February 17, 2015 - Introduced by
Joint Legislative Council. Referred to
Committee on Children and Families.
AB40,1,4
1An Act to renumber and amend 48.84 (2);
to amend 48.84 (1), 48.84 (3) and
248.93 (1d); and
to create 48.84 (2) (b), 48.84 (2g), 48.84 (2r) and 48.93 (1w) of
3the statutes;
relating to: preadoption preparation requirements and referrals
4to postadoption resource centers.
Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
This bill is explained in the Notes provided by the Joint Legislative Council in
the bill.
The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do
enact as follows:
Joint Legislative Council prefatory note: This bill was prepared for the Joint
Legislative Council's Study Committee on Adoption Disruption and Dissolution.
Under current law, generally all proposed adoptive parents who have not
previously adopted a child must receive training before the adoption is finalized. The
training is not required for a proposed adoptive parent who is a stepparent of the child
or who, in certain circumstances, is a relative of the child. Rules promulgated by the
Department of Children and Families (DCF) govern the specific preadoption training
requirements.
The rules require 18 hours of preadoptive training on what are referred to as "core
competencies." The training may be delivered in person, by audio-visual means, or in
printed materials, and must include training on issues relevant to a child in an adoptive
placement, including loss and grief issues, attachment issues, and the effects of abuse and
neglect, as appropriate to the needs of the child to be adopted. Under the rules, the
training must include a description of the support and services that are available to the
adoptive family from the agency that is providing the training and a description of other
postadoption services that are available to the family.
This bill revises certain aspects of the preadoptive training that is required of a
first-time adoptive parent. Specifically, the bill requires all of the following:
•25 total hours of preadoptive training.
•At least six of the hours to be delivered in person, either individually or in a group.
•Part of the training to be delivered after the child is placed with the adoptive
parents, and additional training to be offered after the adoption order is issued.
•Specific training on the issues of trauma and sexual abuse, in addition to the
training on attachment, abuse, and neglect required under current rules.
•An in-person meeting with a representative of one of the state's Postadoption
Resource Centers (PARCs) to describe the support and services that are available to an
adoptive family after the adoption is granted.
The bill also allows preadoptive training from another state to be accepted for an
adoption that is finalized in Wisconsin if the training was equivalent to Wisconsin's
requirements.
Lastly, the bill requires adoption agencies and county departments of human or
social services to report the names and contact information of adoptive parents, within
90 days of a court granting an adoption, to the PARC that serves the geographic area
within which the family resides.
AB40,1
1Section
1. 48.84 (1) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB40,3,82
48.84
(1) Before a child may be placed under s. 48.833 for adoption by a
3proposed adoptive parent who has not previously adopted a child, before a proposed
4adoptive parent who has not previously adopted a child may petition for placement
5of a child for adoption under s. 48.837, and before a proposed adoptive parent who
6has not previously adopted a child may bring a child into this state for adoption under
7s. 48.839, the proposed adoptive parent shall complete the preadoption preparation
8required under this section. The preparation shall be provided by a licensed child
9welfare agency, a licensed private adoption agency, the state adoption information
10exchange under s. 48.55, the state adoption center under s. 48.55, a state-funded
11foster care and adoption resource center, a state-funded postadoption resource
12center, a technical college district school, or an institution or college campus within
1the University of Wisconsin System. If the proposed adoptive parent does not reside
2in this state, he or she may meet this requirement by obtaining equivalent
3preparation in his or her state of residence.
If the proposed adoptive parent resides
4in this state, but the agency that negotiated or arranged placement of the child is
5governed by the laws of another state, the proposed adoptive parent may meet this
6requirement by obtaining equivalent preparation that is provided by that agency
7and is approved by the department or by a child welfare agency licensed under s.
848.60.
Note: This Section allows preadoptive training from another state to be accepted
for an adoption that is finalized in Wisconsin if the training is equivalent to Wisconsin's
requirements.
AB40,2
9Section
2. 48.84 (2) of the statutes is renumbered 48.84 (2) (intro.) and
10amended to read:
AB40,3,1411
48.84
(2) The department shall promulgate rules establishing the
number of
12hours of topics covered under the preadoption preparation
that is required under
13sub. (1)
and the topics covered under that preparation. The preparation shall include
14training all of the following:
AB40,3,18
15(a) Training on issues that may confront adoptive parents, in general, and that
16may confront adoptive parents of special needs children or foreign children.
In all
17cases, the training shall cover the topics of attachment, trauma, neglect, and abuse,
18including sexual abuse.
Note: This Section separates the provisions governing the topics and number of
hours for the preadoptive training, requires the training in all cases to cover the topic of
trauma, in addition to the training required under current rule on attachment, abuse,
and neglect, and specifically requires the training to cover the topic of sexual abuse.
AB40,3
19Section
3. 48.84 (2) (b) of the statutes is created to read:
AB40,4,420
48.84
(2) (b) An in-person meeting, either individually or in a group, with a
21representative of the state-funded postadoption resource center that serves the area
1in which the proposed adoptive parent resides, at a location specified by the resource
2center, to describe the support and services available to the adoptive family after the
3adoption is granted. This meeting may count towards the in-person training hours
4required under sub. (2g) (a).
Note: This Section requires the preadoptive training to include an in-person
meeting with a representative of the PARC that serves the area in which the proposed
adoptive parent resides, at a location specified by the PARC.
AB40,4
5Section
4. 48.84 (2g) of the statutes is created to read:
AB40,4,76
48.84
(2g) A proposed adoptive parent shall obtain at least 25 hours of the
7preadoption preparation required under sub. (1), including all of the following:
AB40,4,98
(a) At least 6 hours of training that is provided in person, either individually
9or in a group.
AB40,4,1310
(b) At least 6 hours of training that is appropriate to the specific needs of the
11child to be adopted and that is provided after the child has been placed in the home
12of the proposed adoptive parent, but prior to a court issuing an order granting the
13adoption.
Note: This Section specifies that at least 25 total hours of preadoptive training
must be obtained when a proposed adoptive parent is required under current law to
obtain such training. At least six of the hours must be delivered in person, and at least
six hours must be delivered after a child has been placed in the home. This provision does
not apply to an adoption by a stepparent, or by a relative in certain circumstances.
AB40,5
14Section
5. 48.84 (2r) of the statutes is created to read:
AB40,4,1815
48.84
(2r) A person who is providing the preadoption preparation required
16under sub. (1) shall offer to the adoptive parent at least 6 additional hours of training
17appropriate to the postadoption needs of the family to be provided after a court issues
18an order granting the adoption.
Note: This Section requires a person who is providing the preadoptive training
to also offer postadoption training in all cases other than an adoption by a stepparent or
by a relative in certain circumstances.
AB40,6
19Section
6. 48.84 (3) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB40,5,6
148.84
(3) A proposed adoptive parent who petitions to adopt a child under s.
248.837 or 48.839 or with whom a child is placed under s. 48.833 (2) shall pay the costs
3of the preadoption preparation required under sub. (1)
and the postadoption training
4offered under sub. (2r). The department shall pay the costs of the preadoption
5preparation required under sub. (1)
and the postadoption training offered under sub.
6(2r) for a proposed adoptive parent with whom a child is placed under s. 48.833 (1).
Note: This Section specifies that the cost of postadoption training is paid for in
the same manner as under current law for the preadoptive training. Under this
provision, a proposed adoptive parent in a private adoption, whether domestic or
international, is responsible for the training costs, and DCF, in the adoption of a child
from the child welfare system, is responsible for the training costs.
AB40,7
7Section
7. 48.93 (1d) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB40,5,118
48.93
(1d) All records and papers pertaining to an adoption proceeding shall
9be kept in a separate locked file and may not be disclosed except under sub. (1g), (1r),
10or (1v),
or (1w), s. 48.432, 48.433, 48.434, 48.48 (17) (a) 9. or 48.57 (1) (j), or by order
11of the court for good cause shown.
Note: This Section adds a reference to a release of adoptive parents' names and
contact information to a PARC after an adoption has been granted.
AB40,8
12Section
8. 48.93 (1w) of the statutes is created to read:
AB40,5,1913
48.93
(1w) Within 90 days after a court grants an adoption, the agency that
14placed the child for adoption under s. 48.833 or 48.834, that was appointed the
15guardian of the child under s. 48.837 (6) (d), or that negotiated or arranged the
16placement for adoption under s. 48.839 shall provide the names and contact
17information of the adoptive parent, and name and birth date of the adopted child, to
18the state-funded postadoption resource center that serves the area within which the
19parent resides.
Note: This Section requires an agency in a domestic or international adoption to
report the names and contact information of each adoptive parent, and name and date
of birth of the adopted child, to the PARC that serves the area in which the parent resides
within 90 days after the adoption is granted. This provision does not apply to an adoption
granted to a stepparent.
