SB 226

This bill allows county departments of human services or social services (county

departments) or, in Milwaukee County, the Department of Children and Families to

enter into contracts with each other to perform certain child protective services. This

bill also allows a county department to designate a child welfare agency to perform

independent investigations.

Under current law, a county department or, in Milwaukee County, DCF is

charged with certain duties regarding child protective services, including receiving

reports, conducting investigations, providing services, petitioning for services,

taking a child or an expectant mother into custody, determining and providing

alternative responses, determining whether abuse or neglect has occurred,

determining that a specific person has abused or neglected a child, providing notice

of reports of suspected abuse or neglect to a tribe, providing training to agency staff,

conducting independent investigations, and record keeping.

Current law allows a county department to contract with a licensed child

welfare agency to perform some of those functions and allows DCF in Milwaukee

County to contract with a licensed child welfare agency to perform all of those

functions. This bill allows a county department to contract with one or more other

county departments or with DCF to perform those functions on behalf of the county

department. The bill also allows DCF in Milwaukee County to contract with one or

more county departments to perform those functions on behalf of DCF in Milwaukee

County.

Current law requires an independent investigation to be conducted if an agent

or employee of an agency is the subject of a report of suspected child abuse or neglect,

or if the agency determines that, because of the relationship between the agency and

the subject of a report, there is a substantial probability that the agency would not

conduct an unbiased investigation. An agency is required to notify DCF of the

potential conflict or bias, and DCF, outside of Milwaukee County, must conduct an

investigation or may designate a county department or licensed child welfare agency

to conduct the independent investigation. In Milwaukee County, a county

department or child welfare agency designated by DCF must conduct the

independent investigation. This bill also allows a county department to designate,

with the approval of DCF, a licensed child welfare agency to conduct the independent

investigation on its behalf.