Rights and Considerations
If you have safety concerns about a child, please call Child Protective Service (CPS)
CPS and the court will want to know you can take action to protect the child. Even if CPS does not get involved when you call, making the report when you have safety concerns shows you can take action to protect the child when you have safety concerns.
To report safety concerns to CPS in Milwaukee, Wisconsin call 414-220-7233
To report safety concerns to another county in Wisconsin, please find the right number to report here.
To report safety concerns to the National Child Abuse Hotline, call 1-800-422-4453 (1-800-4-A-CHILD)
When reporting safety concerns to CPS, it is helpful to have the following information readily available:
- Name of biological parents/guardian
- Birthdate of biological parents/children
- Address of parent/guardian and children
- The school the child/children attend
- Be able to explain the safety issue/what is causing the child harm
- When the safety issue occurred
- How often the safety issue occurs/occurred
- Name, birth date, location of person causing harm to child if not parents/guardian (if possible)
*The identity of the person reporting safety concerns cannot be disclosed
For more information about how to report safety concerns and what will happen when you do, click here.
Rights and Considerations for Guardianship
| Consideration | If CPS is Not Involved | If Child Protective Services (CPS) is Involved |
|---|---|---|
| Meeting medical needs | If you do not have guardianship you can take any child to the emergency room for urgent needs. You may not be able to make appointments, consent for treatment, or be informed about the child’s medical needs/history. For example, parental consent is needed for in-patient mental/behavioral health. Power of Attorney may be used for a parent to delegate medical decision making. If you do have guardianship, you are responsible for meeting the child’s medical needs and have the authority to make appointment, consent to medical care, and receive information. |
Depending on various circumstances, you may or may not be allowed to receive information and/or consent to medical care. Talk to your case worker about what you can and cannot do, and ask any questions you may have about seeking medical care for a child in your care. |
| Meeting educational needs | If you do not have guardianship, you should be able to enroll a child in school without guardianship. For more information, click here. If you do have guardianship, you have a responsibility to ensure the child(ren)’s educational needs are met and the ability to make decisions about the child’s education (including where they are enrolled). |
A child being placed in your care by CPS does not give you the authority to make educational decisions for the child or change the school they attend. You will likely be expected to work with the case worker, school professionals, and maybe the child’s parents in order to ensure the child’s educational needs are met. |
| Parents right to come pick-up the child | If you do not have guardianship, Parents rights are not affected. Parents can come pick their children up if they chose. If you are concerned about the child’s safety if the parent(s) come to pick them up, please report safety concerns to CPS or call 911 in the event of an emergency. If you have guardianship: While guardianship does not terminate a parent’s rights, guardians has the discretion to determine if the visit is reasonable and/or safe. They can decide if the parent can take the child with them or not. |
The child protection agency will determine what the parent may/may not do. Case workers should provide this information if they place a child in your care, but you should contact the case worker with any questions about what a parent may/may not do. |
| Parents right to visit | If you do not have guardianship, Parents rights are not affected. Parents can come pick their children up is they chose. You can create a visitation arrangement with the parents, but they are not obligated to respect it. If you are concerned about the child’s safety if the parent(s) come to pick them up, please report safety concerns to CPS or call 911 in the event of an emergency. If you have guardianship: Parents have the right to reasonable visitation. As the guardian, you have the legal authority to determine what visitation would be appropriate under the circumstances and the responsibility to make that visitation available to the parent(s). The guardian should at all times protect the safety and wellbeing of the child, even if the parent(s) disagree with the guardian with respect to visitation. |
The child protection agency will determine what is safe and reasonable. Case workers should provide information about visitation, including assistance with supervision if visits must be supervised. If you have any questions about visits for a child placed in your care by CPS, the case worker should be contacted. |
| Financial supports and considerations | Both relatives and non-relative may be eligible for Kinship Care payments. This is a monthly payment for caring for the child. More information can be found here. Caregivers seeking to become a child’s guardian outside of Milwaukee County may need to pay a Guardian ad Litem when petitioning for guardianship. Depending on your income, you may be eligible for a waiver of fees. |
If CPS placed the child in your care, you may be able to become a licensed foster parent, obtain subsidized guardianship, or receive Kinship Care payments. If you become licensed as a foster parent, you receive the Foster Care Rate, which is a monthly payment that is typically higher than the Kinship rate and can be increased for children with higher needs. Subsidized guardianship is a type of legal guardianship that is only available to guardians of children placed by the Child Welfare System (CPS). To be a subsidized guardian, you must become licensed as a foster parent. The subsidy (monthly payment for subsidized guardians) is also typically higher than the Kinship rate and can also be increased for children with higher needs. To learn more about subsidized guardianship, click here. If CPS is involved, you should not need to pay for an attorney or a Guardian ad Litem. |
| Eligibility for other benefits | Certain benefits, like Child Care Subsidy, Social Security Disability, and Survivor Benefits require that the caregiver have guardianship in order to be eligible to receive these payments. If a child in your care receives Social Security Disability payments, you will not be able to receive Kinship Care payments for that child. Guardianship is not required to receive FoodShare for a child in your care, but you may need to prove that the child is residing with you. If you are living in Section 8 housing, additional children in your care may impact your case. Contact your Section 8 case worker to see what documentation may be required to add them to your case. Health insurance can be more complicating, depending on the type of insurance the child received. For questions about health insurance, please contact Covering WI. |
Eligibility for certain benefits may differ depending on CPS’s level of involvement. If children are in your care under a “Family Arranged plan”, this is different from an “Out of Home Placement” and may impact what benefits you will qualify for. Talk to your case worker to find out more about the placement and what benefits you may be eligible to receive. |
| What if something happens to me? | Guardians can identify a Successor Guardian. This is someone the current guardian determines would be the best choice to assume the legal duty and authority of guardian to the child in the event of the current guardian’s death or incapacitation. It is important to think about this when considering becoming a guardian. It is better to identify a successor guardian as you petition to become a child’s guardian. You can identify a successor after you have guardianship; this requires going to court again. | Successor guardians are appointed by the current guardian as someone who would be the best choice to assume the legal duty and authority of guardian to the child in the event of the current guardian’s death or incapacitation. If you have subsidized guardianship, a successor guardian should be identified in your subsidized guardianship agreement. In this situation, if something happens to you, the identified successor guardian would be considered for placement of the child and would receive the subsidy. The successor guardian does not need to be licensed as a foster parent, but must pass background checks, a check of their home, and show they are committed to caring for the child to adulthood. This must be done within statutory timeframes. |
| What if I want to adopt the child? | You can pursue adoption if you have guardianship or not, but parental rights must be terminated in order to adopt a child. Private adoptions can be very expensive and typically involve getting a home study done and working with an adoption agency and/or adoption attorney. Click here for more information about adoption |
If a child is placed in your care by CPS, you may be able to adopt the child through public adoption. This requires becoming a licensed foster parent and being approved for public adoption. CPS will determine if this is a possibility and work with you to adopt the child. With public adoption, you would not need to hire an attorney or work with an adoption agency for help with the home study as CPS will handle this. You likely qualify for adoption assistance and should ask your case worker, licensing worker, or adoption worker about this. |
Click below for the DCF form about permanency options.
It can be a little hard to read, but includes a lot of information about your options. Don’t be afraid to ask questions!