Page 85

July 1, 2026

84 • Tribal placements under a substantially similar Wisconsin tribal law

For relatives with court-ordered placement who are not receiving the Kinship Care payment, financial eligibility is based on the caretaker relative’s income and the income of other individuals who are included in the assistance group.

If a parent adopts a child that was previously placed with them in an out-of-home care arrangement, the adoptive family must meet financial eligibility criteria based on their income. A family who has not previously met the 200% FPL application income limit (see 6.1.1) will need to have income below the application limit for continued eligibility. A family whose income was previously under 200% FPL when they applied will need to have income below the ongoing income limit (see 6.1.2) for continued eligibility.

Example 1: Norma and Derek applied for Wisconsin Shares in August. They have one (1) foster child, Sean. They do not have any biological or adopted children. Their income places them at 275% FPL. However, since Sean is a foster child whose biological parents had income under 200% FPL, he is eligible for Wisconsin Shares. In October, Norma and Derek adopt Sean. Because they have not yet passed the initial income limit for Wisconsin Shares, their income is tested against 200% FPL for November. Since their income is over 200% FPL, Sean is no longer eligible for Wisconsin Shares starting in November.

Example 2: Trish applies for Wisconsin Shares in March for her niece, Lexi. Lexi is placed with Trish under a court order and Trish receives the Kinship Care payment. Trish does not have any biological or adopted children. Trish’s income places her at 115% FPL. Lexi’s eligibility is based on the income of her biological parents at the time she was removed from the home. However, Lexi would be financially eligible regardless of her biological parent’s income because Trish’s income is below 200% FPL. In July, Trish adopts Lexi. Her income is used for August. Since Trish’s income passed the 200% FPL initial income limit when she applied in March, her income is tested against the ongoing income limit of 85% State Median Income (SMI) for August. Lexi’s eligibility continues because Trish’s income is below 85% SMI.

The income and Assistance Group (AG) size is usually available from the child welfare professional who is involved in the child's case; a verbal or written statement regarding the income information from the child welfare professional involved in the child's case is sufficient to document the biological or adoptive parent’s income. If the biological or adoptive parent’s income is verified through a collateral contact with the child welfare professional, the agency worker must enter a case comment that includes the name and title of the individual with whom the agency worker had contact, the telephone number or email address, and the date and time of the conversation or email response. If the child welfare professional is unable to provide the biological or adoptive parents’ income and AG size, the child must be considered financially eligible. The agency worker must follow the process below for entering this correctly in CWW.