The Department of Health and Family Services proposes to revise ch. HFS 51, and title, relating to adoption of children with special needs to include preadoption training requirements that will apply to private adoptions, foreign adoptions, and adoptions of children with special needs. The Department also proposes to revise ch. HFS 54, relating to child-placing agencies to include requirements relating to adoptions.

Effective April 1, 2007, 2005 Wisconsin Act 293 creates s. 48.84, Stats., to require prospective adoptive parents to receive preadoption preparation (i.e., training) in the following instances:

•   Before a child may be placed under s. 48.833, Stats., (special needs adoption) for adoption;

•   Before a proposed adoptive parent who has not previously adopted a child may petition for placement of a child for adoption under s. 48.837, Stats., (nonrelative adoptions); and

•   Before a proposed adoptive parent who has not previously adopted a child may bring a child into Wisconsin for adoption under s. 48.839, Stats., (foreign adoptions).

Under s. 48.84, Stats., preadoption training must be provided by a licensed child welfare agency, a licensed private adoption agency, the state adoption information exchange under s. 48.55, Stats., the state adoption center under s. 48.55, Stats., a state-funded foster care and adoption resource center, or a state-funded postadoption resource center. Also under s. 48.84, Stats., prospective adoptive parents for private adoptions and foreign adoptions are responsible for the cost of the training. The Department is responsible for the cost of training adoptive parents for special needs adoptions of children in the public child welfare system.

Section 48.84, Stats., further requires the Department to establish, by rule, the number of hours of training necessary, and the training content, including information on issues that may confront adoptive parents, generally, and that may confront adoptive parents of special needs and foreign children.

The Department intends to propose rules for preadoption preparation consistent with s. 48.84, Stats. The adoption preparation requirement under s. 48.84, Stats., will become effective on April 1, 2007 and will apply to all adoptive placements made on or after that date.

The Department knows of no comparable existing or proposed federal regulations relating to preadoptive training.

Entities that may be affected by the proposed rule include proposed adoptive parents and agencies through which adoptive parents adopt children. The state adoption information exchange under s. 48.55, Stats., the state adoption center under s. 48.55, Stats., the state-funded foster care and adoption resource center, or state-funded postadoption resource center, should they choose to provide preadoption training, will also be affected.

Sections 48.84 (2), as created by 2005 Wisconsin Act 293, and 227.11 (2) (a), Stats.

It is anticipated that approximately 40 hours of DCFS staff time will be required to develop this rule. This rule will be developed through the Program Enhancement Plan (PEP) Adoption Committee, which is comprised of state staff, county staff, private adoption agency staff, and foster and adoptive parents.

The Department of Health and Family Services proposes to revise chs. HFS 83, Community-Based Residential Facilities; HFS 88, Adult Family Homes; HFS 89, Residential Care Apartment Complexes; HFS 132, Nursing Homes; and HFS 134, Facilities for the Developmentally Disabled, relating to involuntary administration of psychotropic medication.

Effective November 1, 2006, 2005 Wisconsin Act 264, creates s. 50.02 (2) (ad), Stats., which directs the Department to promulgate rules that require nursing homes, facilities for the developmentally disabled, community-based residential facilities, adult family homes and residential care apartment complexes to provide, to the Department, information necessary to determine the facilities' compliance with s. 55.14, Stats., relating to involuntary administration of psychotropic medications to an individual pursuant to court ordered protective services. Section 229 subsection (4) of Act 264 requires the Department to submit the rules created under s. 50.02 (2) (ad), Stats., to the Legislative Council Rules Clearinghouse by May 1, 2007.

There are no comparable federal regulations.

Entities that may be affected by the proposed rule include nursing homes, facilities for the developmentally disabled, community-based residential facilities, adult family homes, residential care apartment complexes, residents who live in these facilities and receive psychotropic medication pursuant to court ordered protective services, counties, and advocacy groups.

The Department's authority to promulgate rules is under ss. 50.02 (2) (ad), as created by 2005 Wisconsin Act 264, 55.14, and 227.11 (2) (a), Stats.

The Department estimates that it will take 200 hours to draft the rulemaking order. The Department will seek the participation of Disability Rights Wisconsin Inc., the Coalition of Wisconsin Aging Groups, the Wisconsin Assisted Living Association, the Wisconsin Association of Homes and Services for the Aging, the Wisconsin Association of County Homes, the Wisconsin Health Care Association, and the Board on Aging and Long Term Care.

Parental fees for children's long-term support services and early intervention services for children from birth to 3 with developmental needs.

Families with children who have functional needs receive services from a number of programs implemented by county human and social services agencies. These programs include early intervention services for children from birth to 3 with developmental needs; the family support program; the community options program; the children's home and community based services waivers; various locally funded services such as respite care and community inclusion activities for children; and other children's long term support programs. Federal, state, and county funds pay a portion of the costs for these services. Parents of children who receive these services also pay a portion of these costs. Parents of children who receive long-term support services are required to pay a fee based on a schedule established by the Department under 2003 Wisconsin Act 33 and s. HFS 1.03 (13m). Parents of children who receive early intervention services are required to pay a fee assessed by the county providing services under s. under s. 51.44 (5) (a), Stats., and s. HFS 90.06 (2) (i). Counties have determined that implementing the early intervention services and children's long-term support services under two different fee systems is administratively and fiscally burdensome. In addition, the Department has determined that the system for calculating the parental cost share for early intervention services is not equitably distributed in that families are not being assessed a fee in proportion to their incomes and services received.

To decrease the burden on county agencies in implementing early intervention and children's long term support programs, and to ensure that families, in proportion to their incomes, share in the costs of their child's services, the Department will propose to establish in ch. HFS 1, a single fee schedule for use by counties in assessing parental fees for the early intervention program services and children's long-term support services. Except for early intervention core services, such as service coordination and evaluation, the proposed consolidation and revision of fee schedules may result in an increase in costs to families receiving early intervention services due to the change in the process for calculating the parents' share of costs. Currently, the parental cost share for early intervention services is a flat fee based on family annual income and family size relative to federal poverty guidelines. The change in calculation will continue to be based on family annual income and family size relative to federal poverty guidelines, but the fee will be a percentage of actual costs for services based on the family's income and size instead of a flat fee. Under the proposed fee schedule, fees will be assessed beginning at family annual income levels at or above 330% of federal poverty level. The costs will be accessed beginning at 1% of service costs and can progress to 41% of service costs for families at 2000% or greater of federal poverty level.

The Department knows of no existing or proposed federal rules that are similar to the planned proposed rules.

The proposed rule may affect county social and human service agencies; local public health agencies; families with children who receive early intervention services or children's long-term support services; and providers of children's long-term support and early intervention services.

Sections 46.03 (18) and 46.10, 51.44 (5) (a), and 227.11 (2), Stats.

The department anticipates that staff will take approximately 24 hours to develop the proposed rules.

Objective of the rule. The Bureau of Air Management proposes to proceed with the development of rules to amend the definitions of “major source" and “Part 70 source" for purposes of the air operation permit program (NR 407.02), “fugitive emissions" (NR 400.02) and s. NR 407.12 for minor source revisions, to conform to federal rules.

Section NR 406.15 (3) is to be amended, changing the relocation requirement for Nitrogen Oxide (NOx) and Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) emissions, eliminating the numerical values for a major source threshold.

Sections NR 406.04 (2m) and 407.10 (4) allow for permit exemptions for replacement sources that are covered under a general permit. These rules are being amended to clarify which sources are exempt.

Chapter NR 439 outlines the requirements for periodic compliance stack testing. This rule is being amended to allow for alternative stack testing requirements for MACT category sources.

On November 27, 2001, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA) published changes to the definition of “major source" that is applied in air operation permit programs. Under s. 285.11 (16), Stats., DNR must promulgate rules consistent with, but no more restrictive than, the federal clean air act, that specify which sources are classified as major sources.

The U.S. EPA's new definition of “major source", for purposes of the operation permit program, changes which fugitive emissions are counted in determining whether a source is major or not. To ensure that Wisconsin's operation permit program is at least as stringent as the federal requirements, the Bureau of Air Management must, in addition to amending the definition of “major source", amend the definition of “fugitive emissions". The rule amendment will allow an extension to the compliance deadline for sources that become major as a result of the changes.

On December 19, 2005 U.S. EPA excluded several types of small hazardous air pollutant sources from Federal permit requirements. DNR's rules are being amended to reflect this change.