Wisconsin Legislative Council
AMENDMENT MEMO
One Ea st Ma in Stre e t, Suite 401 • Ma dison, W I 53703 • (608) 266-1304 • le g.council@le gis.wisconsin.gov • http://www.le gis.wisconsin.gov/lc
Memo published: October 16, 2023 Contact: Steve McCarthy, Senior Staff Attorney
2023 Senate Bill 346 Senate Amendment 1
2023 SENATE BILL 346
Senate Bill 346 requires the Department of Children and Families (DCF) to administer a competitive
grant program under which DCF must award a grant to an organization for the purpose of providing
financial assistance to prospective adoptive families to help with adoption expenses.
The bill provides that DCF must solicit and review applications for the grant program under this section
and shall award a grant in an amount of no more than $5,000,000 to one organization in each fiscal
biennium. An organization is eligible for the grant if it operates a financial assistance program for
prospective adoptive families.
The bill further requires that DCF must impose all of the following conditions on use of a grant awarded
under the bill:
No more than 2.5 percent of the grant may be used for administrative expenses.
Financial assistance awarded from the grant may only be awarded to or on behalf of families in this
state who are adopting children from Wisconsin.
Awards of financial assistance from the grant are limited to $10,000 per adoptive family.
The grant recipient must impose conditions on the financial assistance it awards from the grant,
including that only families that have reached a certain stage in the adoption process are eligible
and that the grant recipient may reclaim financial assistance it has awarded if the financial
assistance is used improperly or if it is not used by a certain deadline.
DCF must require the grant recipient, upon expenditure of the grant, to submit a report to DCF
describing how the grant was used, and DCF must submit this report to the appropriate standing
committees of the Legislature.
SENATE AMENDMENT 1
The amendment does all of the following:
Adds a provision to the bill that adoption assistance for certain nonrecurring adoption expenses
paid for by DCF under s. 48.375 (3) (c), Stats., may not be provided for adoption expenses that are
paid for or reimbursed under the grant program created by the bill.
Modifies the second condition above to provide instead that “Financial assistance awarded from the
grant may only be awarded to or on behalf of families in this state who are adopting children from
this state or children who are not from this state but over whom a tribal court in this state has
jurisdiction.” - 2 -
Modifies the third condition above to provide instead that “Awards of financial assistance from the
grant are limited to $10,000 per adoptive family and may not be used for expenses that are paid or
reimbursed under s. 48.975 (3) (c), Stats.”
Modifies the fourth condition above to provide instead that “The grant recipient shall impose
conditions on the financial assistance it awards from the grant, including that only families that
have reached a certain stage in the adoption process are eligible and that the grant recipient may
reclaim financial assistance it has awarded if the financial assistance is used improperly or if it is not
used by a certain deadline. The department shall determine the stage in an adoption process that
families shall have reached to be eligible for financial assistance.”
BILL HISTORY
Senator Quinn offered Senate Amendment 1 on October 2, 2023. On October 9, 2023, the Senate
Committee on Licensing, Constitution and Federalism voted to recommend adoption of the
amendment, and passage of the bill, as amended, on votes of Ayes, 5; Noes, 0.
For a full history of the bill, visit the Legislature’s bill history page.
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