Wisconsin Assembly Bill AB328

Wisconsin 2025-2026 Regular Session

• Introduced: 7/8/25
• Refer: 7/8/25
• Failed: 3/23/26

Caption

An Act to amend 48.78 (2) (a) and 938.78 (2) (a); to create 48.38 (5) (dm), 48.38 (5m) (dm), 938.38 (5) (dm) and 938.38 (5m) (dm) of the statutes; Relating to: providing permanency plan and comments to out-of-home care providers in advance of a permanency plan review or hearing. (FE)

Summary

AB328 would allow child welfare and juvenile justice agencies to share a child’s permanency plan, and any written comments on that plan, with the child’s out-of-home care provider before a permanency review or permanency hearing. Out-of-home care providers include foster parents, relative caregivers, nonrelative caregivers, group home operators, residential care center operators, and shelter care facility operators. The bill applies to both CHIPS and JIPS cases and adds parallel provisions to the child welfare and juvenile justice statutes. The bill also requires agencies to redact information that must remain confidential under state or federal law before providing the plan to the out-of-home care provider. It amends existing confidentiality provisions so that this limited disclosure is expressly permitted, and it applies beginning to permanency reviews or hearings held 30 days after the effective date of the new provision.

Impact

AB328 would modify Wisconsin’s child welfare and juvenile justice confidentiality and permanency planning statutes by creating a new authorized disclosure pathway in ss. 48.38 and 938.38 and by updating the related confidentiality exceptions in ss. 48.78 and 938.78. In practice, agencies could share more case-planning information with foster parents and other placement providers, but only in redacted form to protect protected health, education, abuse/neglect, mental health, and other confidential records. The bill would affect county departments, child welfare agencies, DCF in Milwaukee County cases, and out-of-home care providers involved in permanency planning.

Sentiment

The available context shows no recorded committee testimony or vote breakdown, so there is no detailed public debate to summarize. Based on the bill’s text, the measure appears aimed at improving communication and participation by caregivers in permanency planning, suggesting a generally supportive policy rationale focused on child welfare coordination and placement stability. The bill ultimately failed to pass pursuant to Senate Joint Resolution 1.

Contention

The main potential point of contention is the balance between giving out-of-home care providers more information to support a child’s permanency planning and preserving confidentiality for sensitive records. The bill addresses that concern by requiring redaction of information protected by state and federal law, but questions could still arise about how much information should be shared, who should receive it, and whether expanded disclosure could affect privacy for children, parents, and other parties in CHIPS and JIPS cases. No specific opposing arguments or named opponents appear in the provided record.