Senate Bill 656
A committee to study and make recommendations on the caseloads of child welfare workers. (FE)
Stopped in committee
It never got a , so it never came up for a vote. To try again, a lawmaker would have to start a new bill.
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Introduced, passed
Dec 21, 2017
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Committee, stopped here
Stopped here. No public hearing was held.
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Senate vote, not reached
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Assembly vote, not reached
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Governor, not reached
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Law, not reached
Latest entry in the official record, Mar 28, 2018: “Failed to pass pursuant to ”
It never got a hearing in the Senate Committee on Government Operations, Technology and Consumer Protection. See every bill that never got a hearing this session.
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Terms on this page
Committee
A small group of lawmakers that looks at a bill first. Most bills never leave committee.
Public hearing
A meeting where anyone can speak to a committee about a bill, or send written comments.
Senate Joint Resolution 1
The session's calendar. Any bill not passed by its last voting day dies.
Official term: Failed to pass pursuant to SJR 1. More in the glossary
Legislative Reference Bureau
The Legislature's nonpartisan office that drafts bills and writes the summary at the top of each one.
Official term: LRB analysis. More in the glossary
Author
A lawmaker who formally puts a bill forward. The text itself is drafted by the Legislative Reference Bureau.
Official term: Author, coauthor. More in the glossary
Signed on in support
Lawmakers who back a bill without being one of its authors, often from the other chamber.
Official term: Cosponsor. More in the glossary
Cost estimate
A state agency's estimate of what a bill would cost or save.
Official term: Fiscal estimate. More in the glossary
What it would have done
Summary by the , the Legislature's nonpartisan drafting office. It's their wording, not ours.
This bill requires the Department of Children and Families to create a committee, named the “Wisconsin Task Force to Create Effective Child Welfare Caseloads,” to study and report on recommended caseload standards for child welfare workers. Under the bill, the committee must consist of 16 members, including ten representatives of the Wisconsin County Human Service Association, five representatives of DCF, and one representative of a federally recognized Indian tribe in this state appointed by the DCF secretary.
The bill requires the committee to submit a written report to the governor, the Joint Committee on Finance, and the appropriate standing committees of the legislature no later than April 1, 2019. The report must include recommended standards for the maximum average caseload sizes for child welfare workers who perform access, initial assessment, ongoing services, or foster parent support functions, over which it is not reasonable to expect a worker to be effective at conducting certain model practices while at the same time meeting the federal and state mandates that govern his or her work, and the maximum ratio of supervisors to frontline workers over which it is not reasonable to expect a supervisor to provide effective guidance and direction.
Read the full summary Show less
The bill requires the committee to develop its recommendations based on a review of existing caseload standards in other states and local jurisdictions and pertinent research on the subject and with a consideration towards retaining quality staff, mitigating secondary trauma, and ensuring county child welfare systems are able to fulfill their purpose of keeping children safe, achieving timely permanency outcomes, and providing for the well-being of children and families. The bill requires the committee's report to include an outline of how the recommended standards could be implemented, including the funding needed for implementation.
Who's behind it
5 senators are its . 4 are Democrats and 1 is a Republican.
44 more lawmakers .
See all 49 names Hide the names
Authors (5)
- LaTonya Johnson · Democrat, Senate
- Lena Taylor · Democrat, Senate
- Chris Larson · Democrat, Senate
- Patrick Testin · Republican, Senate
- Kathleen Vinehout · Democrat, Senate
Signed on in support (44)
- Jimmy Anderson · Democrat, Assembly
- Joan Ballweg · Republican, Senate
- Terese Berceau · Democrat, Assembly
- Jill Billings · Democrat, Assembly
- Jonathan Brostoff · Democrat, Assembly
- David Crowley · Democrat, Assembly
- Alberta Darling · Republican, Senate
- Steve Doyle · Democrat, Assembly
- Edward Brooks · Republican, Assembly
- Mary Felzkowski · Republican, Senate
- Jason Fields · Democrat, Assembly
- John Jagler · Republican, Senate
- Terry Katsma · Republican, Assembly
- Joel Kitchens · Republican, Assembly
- Scott Krug · Republican, Assembly
- Bob Kulp · Republican, Assembly
- Beth Meyers · Democrat, Assembly
- Adam Neylon · Republican, Assembly
- Todd Novak · Republican, Assembly
- Tod Ohnstad · Democrat, Assembly
- Kevin Petersen · Republican, Assembly
- Warren Petryk · Republican, Assembly
- Treig Pronschinske · Republican, Assembly
- Romaine Quinn · Republican, Senate
- Keith Ripp · Republican, Assembly
- Jessie Rodriguez · Republican, Assembly
- Mike Rohrkaste · Republican, Assembly
- Melissa Sargent · Democrat, Assembly
- Michael Schraa · Republican, Assembly
- Katrina Shankland · Democrat, Assembly
- Christine Sinicki · Democrat, Assembly
- Pat Snyder · Republican, Assembly
- Mark Spreitzer · Democrat, Senate
- Jim Steineke · Republican, Assembly
- Lisa Subeck · Democrat, Assembly
- Rob Swearingen · Republican, Assembly
- Gary Tauchen · Republican, Assembly
- Jeremy Thiesfeldt · Republican, Assembly
- Paul Tittl · Republican, Assembly
- Travis Tranel · Republican, Assembly
- Nancy VanderMeer · Republican, Assembly
- Don Vruwink · Democrat, Assembly
- JoCasta Zamarripa · Democrat, Assembly
- Josh Zepnick · Democrat, Assembly
What it would cost
State agencies filed a . Each opens as a PDF from the Legislature.
What happened
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Mar 28, 2018
The session ended, and the bill died with it.
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Feb 14, 2018
1 more senator signed on in support.
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Jan 10, 2018
A state agency sent in its estimate of the cost.
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Jan 8, 2018
1 more representative signed on in support.
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Dec 21, 2017
Sent to the Senate Committee on Government Operations, Technology and Consumer Protection.
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Dec 21, 2017
Introduced in the Senate.
See the official record, word for word Hide the official record
- Dec 21, 2017 · Senate
Introduced by Senators Testin, Johnson, Larson, L. Taylor and Vinehout; cosponsored by Representatives Meyers, Neylon, Subeck, Katsma, Billings, Kitchens, Crowley, Ballweg, Doyle, Rodriguez, Snyder, Novak, Pronschinske, Anderson, Berceau, E. Brooks, Brostoff, Felzkowski, Fields, Jagler, Krug, Kulp, Ohnstad, Petersen, Petryk, Ripp, Rohrkaste, Sargent, Schraa, Shankland, Sinicki, Spreitzer, Steineke, Swearingen, Tauchen, Thiesfeldt, Tittl, Tranel, VanderMeer, Vruwink, Zamarripa and Zepnick
- Dec 21, 2017 · Senate
Read first time and referred to Committee on Government Operations, Technology and Consumer Protection
- Jan 8, 2018 · Senate
Representative Quinn added as a cosponsor
- Jan 10, 2018 · Senate
Fiscal estimate received
- Feb 14, 2018 · Senate
Senator Darling added as a coauthor
- Mar 28, 2018 · Senate
Failed to pass pursuant to Senate Joint Resolution 1
Terms on this page
Committee
A small group of lawmakers that looks at a bill first. Most bills never leave committee.
Public hearing
A meeting where anyone can speak to a committee about a bill, or send written comments.
Senate Joint Resolution 1
The session's calendar. Any bill not passed by its last voting day dies.
Official term: Failed to pass pursuant to SJR 1. More in the glossary
Legislative Reference Bureau
The Legislature's nonpartisan office that drafts bills and writes the summary at the top of each one.
Official term: LRB analysis. More in the glossary
Author
A lawmaker who formally puts a bill forward. The text itself is drafted by the Legislative Reference Bureau.
Official term: Author, coauthor. More in the glossary
Signed on in support
Lawmakers who back a bill without being one of its authors, often from the other chamber.
Official term: Cosponsor. More in the glossary
Cost estimate
A state agency's estimate of what a bill would cost or save.
Official term: Fiscal estimate. More in the glossary
From the Wisconsin Legislature's official record, checked Sep 15, 2026. See the source
Committee
A small group of lawmakers that looks at a bill first. Most bills never leave committee.
Public hearing
A meeting where anyone can speak to a committee about a bill, or send written comments.
Senate Joint Resolution 1
The session's calendar. Any bill not passed by its last voting day dies.
Official term: Failed to pass pursuant to SJR 1
Legislative Reference Bureau
The Legislature's nonpartisan office that drafts bills and writes the summary at the top of each one.
Official term: LRB analysis
Signed on in support
Lawmakers who back a bill without being one of its authors, often from the other chamber.
Official term: Cosponsor
Cost estimate
A state agency's estimate of what a bill would cost or save.
Official term: Fiscal estimate