SB 654

The Wisconsin Works (W-2) program under current law, which is administered

by the Department of Children and Families, provides work experience and benefits

for low-income custodial parents who are at least 18 years old. Also, an individual

who is the parent of a child under the age of 13 or, if the child is disabled, under the

age of 19, may receive a child care subsidy under W-2 if the individual needs child

care services to participate in various specified educational or work activities, such

as working in a W-2 employment position or attending school to obtain a high school

diploma, and satisfies other eligibility criteria, such as an income limitation. The

child care subsidy program under W-2 is known as Wisconsin Shares.

This bill specifically addresses participation of minor parents in Wisconsin

Shares. The bill prohibits a W-2 agency, or other entity determining eligibility, from

conditioning the eligibility of a minor parent on whether an adult relative of the

minor parent is unable or unavailable to provide child care for the minor parent's

child while the minor parent is participating in one of the specified educational or

work activities. The bill provides that the application of a minor parent for Wisconsin

Shares must be signed by the minor parent's parent or, if the minor parent

demonstrates that no parent is willing or available to sign, by an adult relative,

caseworker, or school official or health care professional from the minor parent's

school who can attest to the minor parent's need for child care in order to participate

in one of the specified educational or work activities. Generally, under current law,

to be eligible for Wisconsin Shares an applicant's gross family income may not exceed

185 percent of the poverty line and a participant's gross family income may not

exceed 200 percent of the poverty line. The bill provides that, to the extent permitted

under federal law, if a minor parent is living with his or her parent and the minor

parent's gross family income includes his or her parent's income, to be eligible for

Wisconsin Shares the minor parent's gross family income calculated without his or

her parent's income may not exceed the amount specified in current law and the gross

family income calculated with his or her parent's income may not exceed the lesser

of 225 percent of the poverty line or 85 percent of the state median income for a family

the size of the minor parent's family. The bill also provides that a minor parent is

not eligible for Wisconsin Shares if he or she is attending school and child care is

available there at no cost.

Under current law, the parent of a dependent person under the age of 18 is

required to maintain a child of the dependent person to the extent that the parent

is able and the dependent person is unable to do so. The statute does not define a

"dependent person." The bill provides that a minor parent who is receiving a child

care subsidy under Wisconsin Shares is not a "dependent person" for purposes of that

statute.