48.647 Second-chance homes.

(1) Definitions. In this section:

(ad) “Cultural competency" means the ability of an individual or private agency to understand and act respectfully toward, in a cultural context, the beliefs, interpersonal styles, attitudes, and behaviors of persons and families of various cultures, including persons and families of various cultures who participate in services from the individual or private agency and persons of various cultures who provide services for the individual or private agency.

(ag) “Eligible person" means a person 14 years of age or over, but under 21 years of age, who is a custodial parent, as defined in s. 49.141 (1) (b), or an expectant mother, has an income, not including the income of the person's parent, guardian, or legal custodian, that is at or below 200 percent of the poverty line, as defined in s. 49.001 (5), and who, at the time of referral for services under a program funded under this section, meets any of the following requirements:

1. Is a child and is homeless, receiving inadequate care, living in an unsafe or unstable living environment, or otherwise in need of a safe and structured living arrangement.

2. Is a child and meets one or more of the criteria specified in s. 48.13, 938.12, or 938.13 or would be at risk of meeting one or more of those criteria if the child were not placed in a 2nd-chance home.

(b) “Private agency" means an organization operated for profit or a nonstock corporation organized under ch. 181 that is a nonprofit corporation, as defined in s. 181.0103 (17).

(c) “Second-chance home" means a group home described in s. 48.625 (1m).

(2) Awarding of grants.

(a) From the appropriation under s. 20.437 (1) (f), the department shall distribute not more than $0 in each fiscal year as grants to private agencies to provide 2nd-chance homes and related services to eligible persons who are placed under s. 48.63 (5) in 2nd-chance homes operated by those private agencies. A private agency that is awarded a grant under this paragraph may use the amount awarded under the grant to provide care and maintenance to eligible persons who are placed under s. 48.63 (5) in a 2nd-chance home operated by the private agency; provide services, including the services specified in sub. (3), to eligible persons who currently are or formerly were placed under s. 48.63 (5) in the 2nd-chance home, to the children and families of those eligible persons, and to the noncustodial parents of the children of those eligible persons; and, in the first year of the grant period, pay for the start-up costs, other than capital costs, of the private agency's program funded under this paragraph.

(b) The department shall award the grants under par. (a) on a competitive basis and according to request-for-proposal procedures that the department shall prescribe in consultation with local health departments, as defined in s. 250.01 (4), and other providers of services to eligible persons. Those request-for-proposal procedures shall include a requirement that a private agency that applies for a grant under par. (a) include in its grant application proof that the private agency has the cultural competency to provide services under the grant to persons and families in the various cultures in the private agency's target population and that cultural competency is incorporated in the private agency's policies, administration, and practices. In awarding the grants under par. (a), the department shall consider the need for those grants to be distributed both on a statewide basis and in the areas of the state with the greatest need for 2nd-chance homes and the need to provide placements for children who are voluntarily placed in a 2nd-chance home as well as for children who are placed in a 2nd-chance home by court order.

(c) A private agency that is awarded a grant under par. (a) shall contribute matching funds equal to 25 percent of the amount awarded under the grant. The match may be in the form of money or in the form of both money and in-kind services, but may not be in the form of in-kind services only.

(d) A private agency that is awarded a grant under par. (a) may use no more than 15 percent of the amount awarded under the grant to pay for administrative costs associated with the program funded under the grant.

(e) A grant under par. (a) shall be awarded for a 3-year period, except that annually the department shall review the performance of a private agency that is awarded a grant based on performance criteria that the department shall prescribe and may discontinue a grant to a private agency whose performance is not satisfactory to the department based on those criteria.

(3) Program requirements. A private agency that receives a grant under sub. (2) (a) shall do all of the following:

(a) Operate a 2nd-chance home for the care and maintenance of eligible persons who are children, as defined in s. 48.619.

(b) Maintain a community-wide network for referring eligible persons to the private agency's program funded under the grant.

(c) Ensure that an eligible person receiving services from the private agency's program funded under the grant is enrolled in a secondary school or its vocational or technical equivalent or in a college or technical college or is working, unless the director of the private agency determines that there is good cause for the eligible person not to be so enrolled or working.

(d) Ensure that an eligible person receiving services from the private agency's program is provided with intake, assessment, case planning, and case management services; skills development training in the areas of economic self-sufficiency, parenting, successful adult living, and life choice decision making; prenatal and other health care services, including, if necessary, mental health and alcohol and other drug abuse services; child care; and transportation.

(4) Evaluation. From the appropriation under s. 20.437 (1) (f), the department shall conduct or shall select an evaluator to conduct an evaluation of the grant program under this section and, by June 1 of the 3rd calendar year beginning after the year in which the first grant under this section is awarded, shall submit a report on that evaluation to the governor and to the appropriate standing committees under s. 13.172 (3). The evaluation shall measure the economic self-sufficiency, parenting skills, successful adult living skills, and life choice decision-making skills of the eligible persons who received services under the program and any other criteria that the department determines to be appropriate for evaluation.

History: 2001 a. 69; 2003 a. 33; 2007 a. 20 ss. 1220 to 1229; Stats. 2007 s. 48.647; 2015 a. 128.