Like-Kin Wisconsin: What Act 119 Means for Non-Relative Caregivers

What Like-Kin Means

Under 2023 Wisconsin Act 119 (effective January 1, 2025), Wisconsin expanded who qualifies as a kinship caregiver beyond relatives. A like-kin caregiver is an individual who has a significant emotional relationship with a child or the child's family that is similar to a familial relationship and who has not previously been the child's licensed foster parent. For an Indian child, like-kin also includes individuals identified by the child's tribe according to tribal tradition, custom, resolution, code, or law. Examples may include a godparent, a parent's longtime close friend, a neighbor, or a family mentor.

Act 119 expanded eligibility to apply for the Kinship Care subsidy and added like-kin to court-ordered out-of-home placement options. Caregivers still need to meet program requirements and, in many cases, get formal legal authority.

Who Qualifies as Like-Kin

The standard is an established, family-like relationship. There is no specific number of years or hours required. The county or tribal Kinship Care agency evaluates the relationship based on:

• How long you have known the child and family
• The nature of your relationship (daily involvement, regular caregiving, emotional bond)
• Whether the child views you as a family figure

A teacher who has known the child for one semester probably does not qualify. A family friend who has been in the child's life since birth and regularly helped with caregiving probably does.

The county or tribal Kinship Care agency reviews eligibility as part of the application process. Recognition as like-kin lets you apply for Kinship Care support, subject to the program's other requirements.

What Like-Kin Caregivers Can Access

Like-kin recognition opens up:

Kinship Care payments — $384 per month per child (the same rate relatives receive under Wis. Stat. § 48.57(3m)). You must meet the background-check requirements under Wis. Stat. § 48.57(3p) and Chapter DCF 58, plus the other program eligibility requirements administered by your county or tribe.

Placement option — 2023 Wisconsin Act 119 added like-kin to court-ordered out-of-home placement options in Chapters 48 and 938. This does not guarantee placement.

Power of Attorney — Form GF-223 (Power of Attorney Delegating Parental Power) can be used by a parent with legal custody to delegate authority to a like-kin caregiver. Both parents must sign if they share joint legal custody. A delegation generally lasts up to one year without court filing. Court involvement is required if the child is in a CHIPS, JIPS, or delinquency case, is an Indian child, or the non-relative agent's delegation would last longer than one year under Wis. Stat. § 48.979.

Legal Authority for Like-Kin Caregivers

Being recognized as like-kin for benefit purposes does not automatically give you legal authority over the child. You still need one of these:

Power of Attorney (Form GF-223): An option if a parent with legal custody is willing to sign. Both parents must sign if they share joint legal custody. It can delegate medical, educational, and other care powers for up to one year; court involvement is required in certain juvenile, Indian-child, or longer non-relative delegations. A parent with legal custody can revoke it in writing.

Minor Guardianship (§ 48.9795): If the parents are absent, unwilling, or unable, you can petition for guardianship just like a relative. Any person may file unless a related CHIPS, JIPS, or delinquency matter is pending; then only a party to that matter or a court-approved person may petition, consistent with the permanency plan and existing orders. The court still appoints a GAL, holds a hearing, and evaluates the child's best interests.

CHIPS Guardianship (§ 48.977): If the child was removed from the home through the child welfare system and placed with you, the county may pursue a guardianship under § 48.977 as part of the permanency plan.

Background Checks for Like-Kin

Like-kin caregivers undergo the same background checks as relative caregivers:

• Benefit-related background checks under Wis. Stat. § 48.57(3p) are required for Kinship Care payments. The caregiver and all adults age 18 or older in the home must complete a Background Information Disclosure, a Department of Justice criminal-history check, and a Wisconsin Sex Offender Registry address check. FBI fingerprints are required if an individual has lived outside Wisconsin within the preceding 5 years. Before placement, the agency also checks CCAP and eWiSACWIS records for adults age 17 or older in the home.
• Court-related disclosure through Form JN-1514 (Statement by Proposed Guardian) is required for a full, limited, or temporary guardianship petition. It asks about criminal charges or convictions, whether you have been determined under § 48.981(3)(c) to have abused or neglected a child, and your financial circumstances; file it at least 96 hours before the initial hearing.

Some offenses are barred and cause an initial denial. A kinship applicant may request Director Review; the local agency may approve the application after reviewing the case.

The Practical Difference Act 119 Made

Before Act 119, the new like-kin eligibility category did not exist. The Act added like-kin to eligibility for Kinship Care support and to court-ordered out-of-home placement options. A non-relative could still petition for guardianship, subject to pending-case rules.

Now, like-kin caregivers can apply for Kinship Care support and may be considered for court-ordered out-of-home placements. Like-kin recognition does not itself give legal custody or guardianship authority; those still come through the same guardianship or parental-delegation routes described above. The change is who gets through the door.

Our Wisconsin Guardianship and Custody Court Process Guide covers the guardianship filing process for any caregiver — relative or like-kin — including forms, fees, and the hearing timeline.

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