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July 1, 2026

125 Section 16.2.2 Ongoing Self-Employment Authorizations Self-employment is considered ongoing after the renewal that follows the 24th month of new self-employment or when the business has been operating for more than 24 months at application. The 24-month clock begins when the self-employment business begins, not when the parent applies for Wisconsin Shares.

An authorization assessment is required at each renewal. The authorized hours for ongoing self-employment cannot exceed the minimum wage calculation, which is the monthly gross self-employment income divided by Wisconsin’s minimum wage and then divided by 4.3, rounded up to the next whole number. This is the maximum number of hours a child can receive; parents can always request fewer hours than the maximum.

Foster care parents, subsidized guardians, interim caretakers, relatives with court- ordered placement receiving the Kinship Care Payment, and individuals caring for children in tribal placement homes under a substantially similar Wisconsin tribal law are not subject to the minimum wage calculation for those children. The minimum wage calculation applies for any biological or adopted children in the household.

For ongoing businesses, the total authorized hours, including travel time, cannot exceed the calculated number. If the number of hours requested for child care is less than the calculated amount, agency workers must use the requested number of hours including travel, up to the calculated hours. Self-employed parents are eligible for school closed hours for school-age children in addition to the maximum calculation for part-time authorizations (see 16.1.1.4.2).

Example 1 (Ongoing self-employment): Tiffany’s cake business has been in operation for three (3) years and has a monthly gross income of $600. CSAW will calculate a maximum number of hours that can be authorized based on $600/month divided by $7.25 to get 82.75 monthly hours, and then divided by 4.3 which equals 19.24 rounded up to 20 weekly hours. The total is displayed on the CSAW Case Activity Summary page. If Tiffany’s child care need exceeds 20 hours per week, the worker must override the derived hours in CSAW to 20 hours per week to ensure that the total authorized hours, including travel time, do not exceed the maximum amount calculated on the CSAW Case Activity Summary page. If Tiffany’s child care need is 10 hours per week, up to 10 hours of travel time per week can be added to the authorized hours.

Example 2 (Changing self-employment): Jonathon is a mechanic and has been operating his business from his home for the past three (3) years. He is receiving Wisconsin Shares for his child, Joseph. Now, Jonathon wants to close the mechanic shop and start a new business as a handyman. Jonathon has expended his new 24- month self-employment period. His handyman business is new, but he is not eligible for another new 24-month period. Joseph’s weekly authorized hours must be based on