How to Apply for Kinship Care in Wisconsin

The Application Form You Need

For voluntary kinship care — where a child lives with you by informal agreement, under a power of attorney, or through a private guardianship — the form is DCF-F-CFS2023-E (Kinship Care Payment Application). This is the version revised in late 2024 under DCF Memo 2025-01i. Older printouts floating around county offices or online may be outdated, so confirm you have the current form before submitting.

If the child was placed with you by a juvenile court under a CHIPS or JIPS order, you'll use Form DCF-F-2483-E instead — the Joint Court-Ordered Kinship Care and Foster Care Application. Court-ordered placements also require a Level 1 foster care license application (Form DCF 56) alongside the kinship application, unless the child was placed by a tribal court.

Where to Submit

Your application goes to the agency that administers child welfare in your area:

• Milwaukee County: Division of Milwaukee Child Protective Services (DMCPS), which operates directly under DCF at the state level.
• All other counties (71): Your county's Department of Human Services or Social Services. Look up your county office through the DCF website or call 211.
• Tribal nations: The tribal child welfare department for your nation handles kinship applications independently.

Do not submit your application to the ACCESS portal or to a W-2 agency office — those handle different programs. The kinship application goes directly to child welfare.

What Happens After You Submit

The county or tribal agency reviews your application over roughly 30 to 45 calendar days. During that window, three things happen:

Background checks. Under Wis. Stat. § 48.57(3p), every adult (18+) living in your household must clear a criminal background check, a child abuse and neglect registry screening, and a fingerprint-based check. Convictions for specified violent felonies, child abuse, sexual assault, or drug offenses within statutory lookback periods result in denial. If you're denied on background check grounds, you can request a Director Review — a discretionary second look by the local agency (this is the Ethan's Law pathway under 2021 Wisconsin Act 72).

Child support referral. Submitting the application automatically assigns to the State of Wisconsin all rights to child support owed by the child's parents. You must cooperate with the county or tribal Child Support Agency to identify parents and enforce support. If cooperation would put you or the child at risk, you can file a Good Cause exception using Form DCF-F-CFS2093.

Best-interest determination. The agency confirms that the child living with you is in the child's best interest, and that the child meets the statutory CHIPS/JIPS threshold or would meet it if returned to the parents' home.

The Payment Cannot Be Backdated

One critical rule: Kinship Care payments cannot be backdated before the date the agency receives your completed, signed application. There is no retroactive payment for the weeks or months you were caring for the child before applying. Submit the completed, signed application as early as possible.

If your county has a waitlist due to funding caps, your name goes on a chronological list. Payments begin once a slot opens and your application clears.

What You'll Receive

The base Kinship Care rate for 2026 and 2027 is $384 per month per child. Some counties have implemented age-tiered rates under 2025 Wisconsin Act 15, which range from $452/month for children under 5 up to $586/month for children 15 and older. Ask your caseworker whether your county has moved to the tiered structure.

Your income as the caregiver — your pension, Social Security, wages, savings — is completely excluded from the eligibility calculation. Only the child's own income (like Social Security survivor benefits or trust payments) counts.

For a walkthrough of the full application sequence, document checklist, and a guide covering every financial program the child may qualify for, see the Wisconsin Kinship Financial Help Guide.

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