Appeals of denials of kinship care payments based on arrest or conviction record. (FE)

What it does

Summary by the Legislative Reference Bureau, the Legislature's nonpartisan drafting office. It's their wording, not ours.

Under current law, monthly kinship care payments may be made to a relative of a child (kinship care relative) who is providing care and maintenance for the chid if certain conditions are met. One of those conditions is that the county department of human services or social services (county department) or, in Milwaukee County, the Department of Children and Families (DCF) conducts a background investigation of the kinship care relative, any employee and prospective employee of the kinship care relative who has or would have regular contact with the child for whom the payments would be made, and any other adult resident of the kinship care relative's home to determine if the kinship care relative, employee, prospective employee, or adult resident has any arrests or convictions that could adversely affect the child or the kinship care relative's ability to care for the child (arrest or conviction record). Current law permits a person who is denied kinship care payments based on arrest or conviction record to request a review of that decision by the director of the county department (county director) or, in Milwaukee County, by a person designated by the secretary of children and families to conduct those reviews (secretary's designee). Under current law, the decision of the county director or secretary's designee is final and is not subject to further administrative review.

This bill permits a person who is aggrieved by a decision of a county director or secretary's designee denying kinship care payments based on arrest or conviction record to petition DCF for a hearing on that decision. Under the bill, DCF must give the petitioner an opportunity for a fair hearing, and the decision of DCF after the hearing is final, subject to judicial review or to revocation or modification as altered conditions may require.

Who's behind it

3 senators are its authors⁠. 2 are Republicans and 1 is a Democrat.

9 more lawmakers signed on in support⁠.

What it would cost

State agencies filed a cost estimate. Each opens as a PDF from the Legislature.

• Fiscal Estimate From DCF