Grandparents Raising Grandchildren in Wisconsin

Grandparents Raising Grandchildren in Wisconsin | InmateAid

Wisconsin's Kinship Care program pays **$384 per child per month** as of January 2026 -- a 2.5% increase that came with the state's 2025-27 budget, signed by Governor Tony Evers in July 2025.

Two things changed significantly for Wisconsin kinship caregivers starting January 1, 2025:

**The "like-kin" definition took effect.** Wisconsin's 2023 Act 119 added "like-kin" to the Kinship Care program: 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. This means a close family friend, a neighbor who has known the child their whole life, a church member, or any trusted adult with that kind of bond may now qualify for Kinship Care payments. Before January 2025, they would not have.

**For Indian children specifically**: the like-kin definition includes individuals identified by the child's tribe according to tribal tradition, custom, or law -- meaning Wisconsin's tribal nations define extended kinship on their own terms.

As of June 2024, there were **7,404 children in court-ordered kinship care** in Wisconsin. DCF projected approximately 600 additional children would enter through the like-kin expansion. Someone is raising all of them.

Wisconsin's Medicaid program is called **BadgerCare Plus**. Wisconsin's SNAP program is called **FoodShare Wisconsin**. Wisconsin's TANF program is called **Wisconsin Works (W-2)**.

The Wisconsin DCF **Kinship Navigator Portal** at dcf.wisconsin.gov/kinship helps caregivers find their county kinship care coordinator and local resources.

You did not plan for this. You raised your children. You got to the other side of it. And then your child was incarcerated and the grandchildren needed somewhere to go. You said yes.

The Decision You Already Made

You already made the hardest decision. The grandchildren are with you. Everything else in this article is about making that workable.

A few things to understand about your position in Wisconsin right now:

**Contact your county's Kinship Care Coordinator.** Find them through the Kinship Navigator Portal at dcf.wisconsin.gov/kinship or by calling the Wisconsin DCF at **608-267-3905**. Or dial **2-1-1** for local resource referrals.

**Apply for Wisconsin Kinship Care** through your county human services agency. The current rate is $384 per child per month. This is separate from BadgerCare Plus, FoodShare, and W-2, which you should also apply for.

**Get a notarized POA from the incarcerated parent** through WIDOC (Wisconsin Department of Corrections) notary services. Contact the facility case manager.

**If you are in Milwaukee County**: contact the Division of Milwaukee Child Protective Services (DMCPS) or Professional Services Group (PSG). Milwaukee has specific county-level kinship infrastructure described below.

Wisconsin's Kinship Care Program: The Core Financial Support

Wisconsin's Kinship Care program provides a monthly payment to eligible relatives and like-kin caregivers. It is administered by counties and tribes through the DCF.

**Current rate**: **$384 per child per month** (effective January 2026; increased from $375 by the 2025-27 budget)

**Three types of Kinship Care:**

1. **Court-Ordered Kinship Care**: The child is placed with a caregiver by court order.

2. **Voluntary Kinship Care**: No court order, but the county agency determines the child needs protection or services if they were to remain with the parent.

3. **Long-Term Kinship Care**: The caregiver is the child's legal guardian.

**Three basic eligibility requirements (DCF Chapter 58):**

- The basic needs of the child can be better met with the caregiver than with the parent

- The placement is in the best interests of the child

- The child currently or might qualify for protection or services if remaining with the parent

Plus: criminal background check on the caregiver and all adult household members. A home visit by a caseworker is conducted to ensure the home is safe and appropriate.

**Who qualifies as a caregiver:**

- Relatives (including the expanded definition -- first cousin once removed added in 2025)

- "Like kin" (effective January 1, 2025): an individual with a significant emotional relationship with the child or the child's family, similar to a familial relationship, who has not previously been the child's licensed foster parent

- For Indian children: like kin includes individuals identified by the child's tribe per tribal tradition, custom, or law

**How to apply**: Contact your county's Kinship Care Coordinator. Find yours at dcf.wisconsin.gov/kinship or call 608-267-3905.

**Note**: If the county has a waiting list for kinship care funding, the agency is required to report this to DCF. Funding is TANF-sourced at the state level.

The "Like-Kin" Expansion: What Changed in 2025

Wisconsin's 2023 Act 119, effective January 1, 2025, added "like-kin" to the Kinship Care program. This is the most significant expansion of kinship care eligibility in Wisconsin in years.

Before January 2025: kinship care payments required a legal relative relationship.

After January 2025: a person with a significant emotional bond with the child -- the family's longtime neighbor, a close family friend, a godparent, someone who has been present in the child's life -- can qualify for Kinship Care payments if the other eligibility requirements are met.

The law also expanded the definition of "relative" to add first cousin once removed.

For Wisconsin grandparents: this matters if you know another family member or trusted adult who could care for the grandchildren when you cannot -- that person may now qualify even if they are not a blood relative.

For tribal families: the like-kin definition defers to the tribe's own definition of kinship, honoring tribal traditions about extended family care.

Money: What Wisconsin Offers Kinship Caregivers

**Kinship Care Payment** -- $384 per child per month (January 2026). For relatives and like-kin caregivers. Through county human services agency. Contact your Kinship Care Coordinator.

**BadgerCare Plus (Wisconsin Medicaid)** -- Wisconsin's Medicaid program for families. Grandparents and other caretakers are now eligible. Children in kinship care generally qualify based on income. Covers doctor visits, dental, prescriptions, mental health services, emergency care, and vision. Apply through your county human services agency or ACCESS.wi.gov.

**FoodShare Wisconsin (SNAP)** -- Wisconsin's food assistance program. Apply through county human services. The grandchildren's presence increases your household food benefit.

**Wisconsin Works (W-2)** -- Wisconsin's TANF program; provides employment preparation services, case management, and cash assistance to eligible families. Separate from and in addition to the Kinship Care payment.

**Child Support** -- Wisconsin's child support system can help you get court orders for financial support from the incarcerated parent's child support obligation. Contact your county child support agency.

**Milwaukee County Guardianship Subsidy** -- Wisconsin has a federal waiver allowing a guardianship subsidy program for relatives who are licensed foster parents caring for children from Milwaukee County under the Milwaukee County Children's Courts. Ask your DMCPS case manager.

**Social Security** -- if the incarcerated parent was working before arrest, the grandchildren may be eligible for Social Security dependent benefits. Call 1-800-772-1213. SSI may be available for grandchildren with disabilities.

Legal Authority: What It Is and How to Get It in Wisconsin

**Power of Attorney**

A notarized parental POA from the incarcerated parent gives you authority for school enrollment and medical care. WIDOC facilities have notary services -- contact the facility case manager.

**Legal Guardianship (Wisconsin Circuit Court)**

Guardianship through Wisconsin circuit court gives you legal decision-making authority for the child without terminating parental rights. Qualifies the arrangement as Long-Term Kinship Care -- continuing the $384/month Kinship Care payment.

Legal Aid Society of Milwaukee (legalaidmke.org) and Wisconsin's statewide legal aid network (Wisconsin Legal Aid -- wisconsinlegalaid.org) provide free civil legal help to income-eligible Wisconsin residents.

Kids Matter Inc. in Milwaukee operates a **Volunteer Attorney Program** at **414-344-1220** -- free attorney assistance for grandparents and relatives in guardianship, kinship support, Medicaid/CHIP, school matters, and SSI questions.

**Wisconsin TANF and Non-Parent Caregiver Grants**

Wisconsin is one of the states that allows non-related adults raising children to receive TANF child-only grants for the children if they have obtained or are seeking legal custody or guardianship (per GKS Network analysis). Ask your county W-2 agency about current eligibility for your situation.

**Adoption**

Adoption permanently terminates the biological parent's parental rights. Contact your county agency or DCF for adoption assistance information.

Milwaukee County Resources

Milwaukee County has specific kinship care infrastructure beyond the statewide program.

**Division of Milwaukee Child Protective Services (DMCPS)** -- Milwaukee County's child welfare agency; administers the kinship care program for Milwaukee County; state policy requires kin be considered first for out-of-home placement.

**Professional Services Group (PSG)** -- Works with families caring for children of relatives in Milwaukee County; PSG representatives conduct home visits to determine eligibility for kinship assistance. DMCPS and PSG jointly administer the Milwaukee County kinship program.

**Milwaukee County Guardianship Subsidy** -- Federal waiver program for licensed foster parent relatives caring for Milwaukee County Children's Court children. Contact your DMCPS case manager.

**Kids Matter Inc.**

kidsmatterinc.org

Volunteer Attorney Program: **414-344-1220**

Free attorney assistance for grandparents and relatives in guardianship, kinship support, access to BadgerCare Plus, school matters, and SSI questions.

**Grandparents Parenting Again** -- Support group at the Women's Center in Waukesha for grandparents who are parenting or playing a significant role in raising grandchildren.

Wisconsin's Tribal Context

Wisconsin has 11 federally recognized tribal nations:

- Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa

- Forest County Potawatomi Community

- Ho-Chunk Nation

- Lac Courte Oreilles Band of Lake Superior Chippewa

- Lac du Flambeau Band of Lake Superior Chippewa

- Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin

- Oneida Nation

- Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa

- Sokaogon Chippewa Community (Mole Lake Band)

- St. Croix Chippewa Indians of Wisconsin

- Stockbridge-Munsee Community (Mohican Nation)

Tribes administer their own Kinship Care programs and track their own caseloads through a tribal tracking system. Funding flows from DCF to counties and tribes.

The like-kin legislation specifically defers to tribal tradition for defining kinship for Indian children -- meaning each tribe's own customs govern who qualifies as like-kin.

ICWA (Indian Child Welfare Act) applies when child welfare proceedings involve children who are enrolled members or eligible for enrollment in a federally recognized tribe. Contact your tribe's social services if the grandchildren are enrolled tribal members.

Wisconsin's northern woods region -- Vilas, Oneida, Iron, Ashland, and Burnett Counties -- overlaps significantly with tribal lands. Tribal kinship care coordinators are the appropriate first contact for families on or near reservations.

The School Question

With a POA, guardianship, or legal custody, school enrollment in Wisconsin is straightforward.

Without legal authority: use the federal McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act. Wisconsin schools must immediately enroll children in unstable housing situations, including children living with relatives due to a parent's incarceration. Ask the school district's McKinney-Vento liaison.

For children with IEPs, you will need legal authority or signed parental authorization from the incarcerated parent to participate in planning meetings. WIDOC facilities have notary services -- contact the facility case manager.

Medical Authorization Before Court Paperwork Is Done

Get a notarized parental POA from the incarcerated parent through WIDOC notary services. Contact the facility case manager.

Apply for BadgerCare Plus (Wisconsin Medicaid) for the grandchildren through your county human services agency or ACCESS.wi.gov. Medicaid enrollment does not require legal custody.

Wisconsin's Geographic Reality

Wisconsin spans from the urban southeastern corridor (Milwaukee, Racine, Kenosha) to the northern woods (Ashland, Iron, Vilas Counties) and the western river counties along the Mississippi. Madison (Dane County) is the capital in the south-central part of the state.

WIDOC facilities are distributed across the state: Waupun Correctional Institution (Waupun, Dodge County, central Wisconsin), Oshkosh Correctional Institution (Oshkosh, Winnebago County), Taycheedah Correctional Institution for women (Fond du Lac County), Green Bay Correctional Institution (Green Bay, Brown County). For a Milwaukee family visiting Waupun: about 1 hour northwest.

Wisconsin's rural northern counties are remote. The Kinship Navigator Portal (dcf.wisconsin.gov/kinship) and the county-based Kinship Care Coordinator system are designed to connect families across all 72 Wisconsin counties.

WIDOC phone calls go through ICS Corrections / GTL. You control which numbers are approved.

What She Is Carrying That He Cannot See

You did not plan for this stage of your life. The grandchildren arrived and with them came school forms, doctor appointments, someone to be home, someone to sit with a child who is afraid.

You are also carrying your feelings about your child who is incarcerated. Those feelings do not have to resolve. You can love your child and be furious. You can hope for the release and fear what comes after.

Wisconsin's opioid crisis, which shaped the kinship care landscape in urban Milwaukee as well as rural northern Wisconsin, put grandparents in this situation faster than the support systems could expand. The like-kin legislation is part of the state's attempt to catch up -- to recognize that the people actually raising these children often did not fit the legal definitions that were supposed to help them.

The county support groups (Outagamie County's kinship group, Grandparents Parenting Again in Waukesha), the Kids Matter Volunteer Attorney Program, the Kinship Care Coordinator in your county -- these are there.

You should not carry this alone.

Talking to the Grandchildren About Where Their Parent Is

The children know something is wrong. Silence does not protect them.

Use honest, age-appropriate language. For a young child: "Your dad made a mistake and he has to stay somewhere else while he learns from it. You are safe and I am here." For an older child: "Your mom is in prison. She did something against the law and a judge decided she needs to be there for a while. She loves you. She is not in danger."

Do not make promises about when the parent will be home that you cannot keep. Let the children have their feelings. Keep the parent present in appropriate ways: photos, letters, phone calls.

WIDOC phone calls go through ICS Corrections / GTL. You control which numbers are approved. The grandchildren's relationship with their incarcerated parent is theirs.

BadgerCare Plus covers mental health services for children. If the grandchildren are struggling, ask the school counselor for a referral or the child's primary care provider.

Your Relationship With Your Incarcerated Child

Your feelings about your child are complicated. You are raising their children because they cannot. Both things are true.

What the grandchildren need: to see that you are not punishing their parent through them.

What you need: a place to hold the complicated feelings that is not in front of the grandchildren. Your county kinship support group, a therapist, a pastor, a trusted person -- any of these is better than holding it alone.

What to Do First: A Practical Checklist

Find your county Kinship Care Coordinator: dcf.wisconsin.gov/kinship or call 608-267-3905. Or dial 2-1-1 for local referrals.

Apply for Kinship Care ($384/month per child) through your county agency. Ask whether you qualify under the new like-kin definition if you are not a blood relative.

Apply for BadgerCare Plus (Medicaid) and FoodShare (SNAP) through your county human services agency or ACCESS.wi.gov.

Apply for Wisconsin Works (W-2) if you need additional cash assistance: through your county W-2 agency.

Get a notarized POA from the incarcerated parent through WIDOC notary services. Contact the facility case manager.

Start the guardianship process through Wisconsin circuit court. Contact Wisconsin Legal Aid (wisconsinlegalaid.org) for free civil legal help. In Milwaukee, call Kids Matter Volunteer Attorney Program at 414-344-1220.

Enroll grandchildren in school. Use the POA. Use McKinney-Vento if needed.

If grandchildren are enrolled tribal members: contact your tribe's social services and confirm ICWA applies.

Connect with your county's kinship support group. Find it through dcf.wisconsin.gov/kinship or dial 2-1-1.

Take care of yourself. The $384/month Kinship Care payment is a start, not a ceiling. The county supports, the Volunteer Attorney Program, and the support groups are there.

FAQ

**What is Wisconsin's Kinship Care program?** A monthly payment program for relatives and like-kin caregivers raising children whose needs cannot be better met with their parents. The current rate is $384 per child per month (January 2026). Administered by county human services agencies and tribal agencies. Contact your county Kinship Care Coordinator through dcf.wisconsin.gov/kinship or 608-267-3905.

**What is "like kin" in Wisconsin?** A person 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. Effective January 1, 2025 (2023 Act 119). For Indian children, like kin includes individuals identified by the child's tribe per tribal tradition, custom, or law. Close family friends, trusted neighbors, godparents, and others with a genuine family-like bond may now qualify.

**What is BadgerCare Plus?** Wisconsin's Medicaid program for families and children. Grandparents and other caretakers are now eligible. Covers medical, dental, prescriptions, mental health, emergency care, and vision. Apply through your county human services agency or ACCESS.wi.gov.

**What is FoodShare Wisconsin?** Wisconsin's SNAP (food assistance) program. Apply through your county human services agency. The grandchildren's presence increases your household benefit.

**What is Wisconsin Works (W-2)?** Wisconsin's TANF program. Provides employment preparation services, case management, and cash assistance. Separate from and in addition to the Kinship Care payment. Apply through your county W-2 agency.

**Is there a Milwaukee-specific guardianship subsidy?** Yes. Wisconsin has a federal waiver allowing a guardianship subsidy for relatives who are licensed foster parents caring for Milwaukee County Children's Court children. This is not statewide -- it is specific to Milwaukee County. Contact your DMCPS case manager.

**How do I talk to the grandchildren about their parent being in prison?** Use honest, age-appropriate language without promises about when the parent will be home. Let the children have feelings. Keep the parent present appropriately -- photos, letters, WIDOC phone calls through ICS Corrections/GTL. BadgerCare Plus covers mental health services; ask the school counselor or primary care provider for a referral.