Wisconsin Statutes & Annotations
Chapter 48 - Children's code.
48.195 - Taking a newborn child into custody.

48.195 Taking a newborn child into custody.
(1) Taking child into custody. In addition to being taken into custody under s. 48.19, a child whom a law enforcement officer, emergency medical services practitioner, as defined in s. 256.01 (5), or hospital staff member reasonably believes to be 72 hours old or younger may be taken into custody under circumstances in which a parent of the child relinquishes custody of the child to the law enforcement officer, emergency medical services practitioner, or hospital staff member and does not express an intent to return for the child. If a parent who wishes to relinquish custody of his or her child under this subsection is unable to travel to a sheriff's office, police station, fire station, hospital, or other place where a law enforcement officer, emergency medical services practitioner, or hospital staff member is located, the parent may dial the telephone number “911" or, in an area in which the telephone number “911" is not available, the number for an emergency medical service provider, and the person receiving the call shall dispatch a law enforcement officer or emergency medical services practitioner to meet the parent and take the child into custody. A law enforcement officer, emergency medical services practitioner, or hospital staff member who takes a child into custody under this subsection shall take any action necessary to protect the health and safety of the child, shall, within 24 hours after taking the child into custody, deliver the child to the intake worker under s. 48.20, and shall, within 5 days after taking the child into custody, file a birth record for the child under s. 69.14 (3).
(2) Anonymity and confidentiality.
(a) Except as provided in this paragraph, a parent who relinquishes custody of a child under sub. (1) and any person who assists the parent in that relinquishment have the right to remain anonymous. The exercise of that right shall not affect the manner in which a law enforcement officer, emergency medical services practitioner, as defined in s. 256.01 (5), or hospital staff member performs his or her duties under this section. No person may induce or coerce or attempt to induce or coerce a parent or person assisting a parent who wishes to remain anonymous into revealing his or her identity, unless the person has reasonable cause to suspect that the child has been the victim of abuse or neglect or that the person assisting the parent is coercing the parent into relinquishing custody of the child.
(b) A parent who relinquishes custody of a child under sub. (1) and any person who assists the parent in that relinquishment may leave the presence of the law enforcement officer, emergency medical services practitioner, as defined in s. 256.01 (5), or hospital staff member who took custody of the child at any time, and no person may follow or pursue the parent or person assisting the parent, unless the person has reasonable cause to suspect that the child has been the victim of abuse or neglect or that the person assisting the parent has coerced the parent into relinquishing custody of the child.
(c) No officer, employee, or agent of this state or of a political subdivision of this state may attempt to locate or ascertain the identity of a parent who relinquishes custody of a child under sub. (1) or any person who assists the parent in that relinquishment, unless the officer, employee, or agent has reasonable cause to suspect that the child has been the victim of abuse or neglect or that the person assisting the parent has coerced the parent into relinquishing custody of the child.
(d) Any person who obtains any information relating to the relinquishment of a child under sub. (1) shall keep that information confidential and may not disclose that information, except to the following persons:
1. The birth parent of the child, if the birth parent has waived his or her right under par. (a) to remain anonymous, or the adoptive parent of the child, if the child is later adopted.
2. Appropriate staff of the department, county department, or licensed child welfare agency that is providing services to the child.
3. A person authorized to provide or providing intake or dispositional services under s. 48.067, 48.069, or 48.10.
4. An attending physician for purposes of diagnosis and treatment of the child.
5. The child's foster parent or other person having physical custody of the child.
6. A court conducting proceedings under s. 48.21, proceedings relating to a petition under s. 48.13 (2m) or 48.42, or dispositional proceedings under subch. VI or VIII relating to the child, the county corporation counsel, district attorney, or agency legal counsel representing the interests of the public in those proceedings, or the guardian ad litem representing the interests of the child in those proceedings.
7. A tribal court, or other adjudicative body authorized by an Indian tribe to perform child welfare functions, that is exercising jurisdiction over proceedings relating to the child, an attorney representing the interests of the Indian tribe in those proceedings, or an attorney representing the interests of the child in those proceedings.
(3) Information for parent.
(a) Subject to par. (b), a law enforcement officer, emergency medical services practitioner, as defined in s. 256.01 (5), or hospital staff member who takes a child into custody under sub. (1) shall make available to the parent who relinquishes custody of the child the maternal and child health toll-free telephone number maintained by the department under 42 USC 705 (a) (5) (E).
(b) The decision whether to accept the information made available under par. (a) is entirely voluntary on the part of the parent. No person may induce or coerce or attempt to induce or coerce any parent into accepting that information.
(4) Immunity from liability.
(a) Any parent who relinquishes custody of his or her child under sub. (1) and any person who assists the parent in that relinquishment are immune from any civil or criminal liability for any good faith act or omission in connection with that relinquishment. The immunity granted under this paragraph includes immunity for exercising the right to remain anonymous under sub. (2) (a), the right to leave at any time under sub. (2) (b), and the right not to accept any information under sub. (3) (b) and immunity from prosecution under s. 948.20 for abandonment of a child or under s. 948.21 for neglecting a child.
(b) Any law enforcement officer, emergency medical services practitioner, as defined in s. 256.01 (5), or hospital staff member who takes a child into custody under sub. (1) is immune from any civil liability to the child's parents, or any criminal liability for any good faith act or omission occurring solely in connection with the act of receiving custody of the child from the child's parents, but is not immune from any civil or criminal liability for any act or omission occurring in subsequently providing care for the child.
(c) In any civil or criminal proceeding, the good faith of a person specified in par. (a) or (b) is presumed. This presumption may be overcome only by clear and convincing evidence.
(5) Medical assistance eligibility. A child who is taken into custody under sub. (1) is presumed to be eligible for medical assistance under s. 49.46 or 49.47.
(6) Rules. The department shall promulgate rules to implement this section. In promulgating those rules, the department shall consider the different circumstances under which a parent might relinquish custody of a child under sub. (1). The rules shall include rules prescribing a means by which a parent who relinquishes custody of his or her child under sub. (1) may, until the granting of an order terminating parental rights, choose to be identified as the child's parent.
History: 2001 a. 2; 2009 a. 28, 94, 185; 2017 a. 12, 334.

Structure Wisconsin Statutes & Annotations

Wisconsin Statutes & Annotations

Chapter 48 - Children's code.

48.01 - Title and legislative purpose.

48.02 - Definitions.

48.022 - Electronic filing.

48.023 - Guardianship.

48.025 - Declaration of paternal interest in matters affecting children.

48.027 - Child custody jurisdiction.

48.028 - Indian child welfare.

48.029 - Pregnancy testing prohibited.

48.03 - Time and place of court; absence or disability of judge; court of record.

48.035 - Court; Menominee and Shawano counties.

48.04 - Employees of court.

48.06 - Services for court.

48.067 - Powers and duties of intake workers.

48.069 - Powers and duties of disposition staff.

48.07 - Additional sources of court services.

48.08 - Duties of person furnishing services to court.

48.09 - Representation of the interests of the public.

48.10 - Power of the judge to act as intake worker.

48.11 - Advisory board.

48.13 - Jurisdiction over children alleged to be in need of protection or services.

48.133 - Jurisdiction over unborn children in need of protection or services and the expectant mothers of those unborn children.

48.135 - Referral of children and expectant mothers of unborn children to proceedings under chapter 51 or 55.

48.14 - Jurisdiction over other matters relating to children.

48.15 - Jurisdiction of other courts to determine legal custody.

48.16 - Jurisdiction over petitions for waiver of parental consent to a minor's abortion.

48.185 - Venue.

48.19 - Taking a child into custody.

48.193 - Taking an adult expectant mother into custody.

48.195 - Taking a newborn child into custody.

48.20 - Release or delivery of child from custody.

48.203 - Release or delivery of adult expectant mother from custody.

48.205 - Criteria for holding a child or expectant mother in physical custody.

48.207 - Places where a child or expectant mother may be held in nonsecure custody.

48.208 - Criteria for holding a child in a juvenile detention facility.

48.209 - Criteria for holding a child in a county jail.

48.21 - Hearing for child in custody.

48.213 - Hearing for adult expectant mother in custody.

48.215 - Mother-young child care program.

48.217 - Change in placement; child or expectant mother held in custody.

48.227 - Runaway homes.

48.23 - Right to counsel.

48.233 - Five-county pilot program.

48.235 - Guardian ad litem.

48.236 - Court-appointed special advocate.

48.24 - Receipt of jurisdictional information; intake inquiry.

48.243 - Basic rights: duty of intake worker.

48.245 - Informal disposition.

48.25 - Petition: authorization to file.

48.255 - Petition; form and content.

48.257 - Petition to initiate a procedure to waive parental consent prior to a minor's abortion.

48.263 - Amendment of petition.

48.27 - Notice; summons.

48.273 - Service of summons or notice; expense.

48.275 - Parents' contribution to cost of court and legal services.

48.28 - Failure to obey summons; capias.

48.29 - Substitution of judge.

48.293 - Discovery.

48.295 - Physical, psychological, mental or developmental examination.

48.297 - Motions before trial.

48.299 - Procedures at hearings.

48.30 - Plea hearing.

48.305 - Hearing upon the involuntary removal of a child or expectant mother.

48.31 - Fact-finding hearing.

48.315 - Delays, continuances and extensions.

48.317 - Jeopardy.

48.32 - Consent decree.

48.33 - Court reports.

48.335 - Dispositional hearings.

48.345 - Disposition of child or unborn child of child expectant mother adjudged in need of protection or services.

48.347 - Disposition of unborn child of adult expectant mother adjudged in need of protection or services.

48.35 - Effect of judgment and disposition.

48.355 - Dispositional orders.

48.356 - Duty of court to warn.

48.357 - Change in placement; child or expectant mother subject to dispositional order.

48.358 - Trial reunification.

48.36 - Payment for services.

48.361 - Payment for alcohol and other drug abuse services.

48.362 - Payment for certain special treatment or care services.

48.363 - Revision of dispositional orders.

48.365 - Extension of orders.

48.366 - Extended out-of-home care.

48.368 - Continuation of dispositional orders.

48.37 - Costs and fees.

48.371 - Access to certain information by substitute care provider.

48.373 - Medical authorization.

48.375 - Parental consent required prior to abortion; judicial waiver procedure.

48.38 - Permanency planning.

48.383 - Reasonable and prudent parent standard.

48.385 - Plan for transition to independent living.

48.396 - Records.

48.40 - Definitions.

48.41 - Voluntary consent to termination of parental rights.

48.415 - Grounds for involuntary termination of parental rights.

48.417 - Petition for termination of parental rights; when required.

48.42 - Procedure.

48.422 - Hearing on the petition.

48.423 - Rights of persons alleging paternity.

48.424 - Fact-finding hearing.

48.425 - Court report by an agency.

48.426 - Standard and factors.

48.427 - Dispositions.

48.43 - Court orders; contents and effect; review.

48.432 - Access to medical information.

48.433 - Access to identifying information about parents.

48.434 - Release of identifying information by an agency when authorization is granted.

48.435 - Custody of children.

48.437 - Change in placement; posttermination of parental rights.

48.44 - Jurisdiction over persons 17 or older.

48.45 - Orders applicable to adults.

48.46 - New evidence; relief from judgment terminating parental rights.

48.465 - Motion for postdisposition relief and appeal.

48.468 - Purpose of department.

48.47 - Duties of department.

48.48 - Authority of department.

48.481 - Grants for children's community programs.

48.485 - Transfer of Indian children to department for adoption.

48.487 - Tribal family services.

48.52 - Facilities for care of children and adult expectant mothers in care of department.

48.526 - Community youth and family aids.

48.527 - Community youth and family aids; bonus for county facilities.

48.528 - Community intervention program.

48.545 - Brighter futures initiative.

48.546 - Family treatment court grant program.

48.547 - Alcohol and other drug abuse program.

48.548 - Multidisciplinary screen and assessment criteria.

48.55 - State adoption information exchange and state adoption center.

48.56 - Child welfare services in counties having populations of less than 750,000.

48.561 - Child welfare services in a county having a population of 750,000 or more.

48.562 - Milwaukee child welfare partnership council.

48.563 - Children and family aids funding.

48.565 - Carry-over of children and family aids funds.

48.568 - Allocation of federal funds for children and family aids and child welfare.

48.569 - Distribution of children and family aids funds to counties.

48.57 - Powers and duties of department and county departments providing child welfare services.

48.576 - Shelter care facilities; general supervision and inspection by department.

48.578 - Shelter care facilities; establishment, approval, inspection.

48.58 - County children's home in populous counties.

48.59 - Examination and records.

48.599 - Definitions.

48.60 - Child welfare agencies licensed.

48.61 - Powers and duties of child welfare agencies.

48.615 - Child welfare agency licensing fees.

48.619 - Definition.

48.62 - Licensing of foster homes; rates.

48.623 - Subsidized guardianships.

48.625 - Licensing of group homes; fees.

48.627 - Foster parent insurance and liability.

48.63 - Restrictions on placements.

48.64 - Placement of children in out-of-home care.

48.645 - Foster care aid.

48.647 - Second-chance homes.

48.65 - Child care centers licensed; fees.

48.651 - Certification of child care providers.

48.653 - Information for child care providers.

48.655 - Parental access.

48.656 - Parent's right to know.

48.657 - Child care center reports.

48.658 - Child safety alarms in child care vehicles.

48.659 - Child care quality rating system.

48.66 - Licensing duties of the department.

48.67 - Rules governing child welfare agencies, child care centers, foster homes, group homes, shelter care facilities, and county departments.

48.675 - Qualified residential treatment programs.

48.68 - Investigation of applicant; issuing of license.

48.685 - Criminal history and child abuse record search.

48.686 - Criminal history and child abuse record search; child care.

48.69 - Probationary licenses.

48.70 - Provisions of licenses.

48.715 - Sanctions and penalties.

48.72 - Appeal procedure.

48.73 - Inspection of licensees and school district child care programs.

48.735 - Immunization requirements; child care centers.

48.737 - Lead screening, inspection and reduction requirements; child care centers.

48.74 - Authority of department to investigate alleged violations.

48.743 - Community living arrangements for children.

48.745 - Formal complaints regarding child welfare agencies and group homes.

48.75 - Foster homes licensed by public licensing agencies and by child welfare agencies.

48.76 - Penalties.

48.77 - Injunction against violations.

48.78 - Confidentiality of records.

48.79 - Powers of the department.

48.80 - Municipalities may sponsor activities.

48.81 - Who may be adopted.

48.82 - Who may adopt.

48.825 - Advertising related to adoption.

48.83 - Jurisdiction and venue.

48.831 - Appointment of guardian for child without a living parent for adoptability finding.

48.832 - Transfer of guardianship upon revocation of guardian's license or contract.

48.833 - Placement of children for adoption by the department, county departments, and child welfare agencies.

48.834 - Placement of children with relatives or siblings for adoption by the department, county departments, and child welfare agencies.

48.835 - Placement of children with relatives for adoption.

48.837 - Placement of children with nonrelatives for adoption.

48.838 - Foreign adoption fees.

48.839 - Adoption of foreign children.

48.84 - Preadoption preparation for proposed adoptive parents.

48.841 - Persons required to file recommendation as to adoption.

48.85 - Recommendation of guardian.

48.871 - Filing of recommendation by guardian.

48.88 - Notice of hearing; investigation.

48.89 - Recommendation of the department.

48.90 - Filing of adoption petition; preadoption residence.

48.91 - Hearing; order.

48.913 - Payments by adoptive or proposed adoptive parents to a birth parent or child or on behalf of a birth parent or child.

48.915 - Adoption appeals given preference.

48.92 - Effect of adoption.

48.925 - Visitation rights of certain persons.

48.93 - Records closed.

48.94 - New birth record.

48.95 - Withdrawal or denial of petition.

48.96 - Subsequent adoption.

48.97 - Adoption and guardianship orders of other jurisdictions.

48.975 - Adoption assistance.

48.977 - Appointment of guardians for certain children in need of protection or services.

48.978 - Appointment or designation of standby guardian of a child.

48.979 - Delegation of power by parent.

48.9795 - Appointment of guardian of the person for a child.

48.98 - Interstate placement of children.

48.981 - Abused or neglected children and abused unborn children.

48.982 - Child abuse and neglect prevention board.

48.983 - Child abuse and neglect prevention program.

48.986 - Child abuse and neglect and unborn child abuse services.

48.987 - Earnings of self-supporting minors.

48.9875 - Minor consent for housing.

48.988 - Interstate compact on the placement of children.

48.989 - Interstate compact on the placement of children: additional procedure.

48.9895 - Withdrawal from Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children.

48.99 - Interstate Compact for the Placement of Children.

48.9985 - Interstate adoption agreements.

48.999 - Expediting interstate placements of children.