Wisconsin Statutes
Wis. Stat. § 48.52 (2026)
Facilities for care of children and adult expectant mothers in care of department
✓ current as of July 2026
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48.52(1)(1) Facilities maintained or used for children. The department may maintain or use the following facilities for children in its care:
48.52(1)(f)(f) Other facilities deemed by the department to be appropriate for the child, except that no state funds may be used for the maintenance of a child in the home of a parent or relative eligible for aid under s. 49.19 if such funds would reduce federal funds to this state.
48.52(1m)(1m) Facilities maintained or used for adult expectant mothers. The department may maintain or use the following facilities for adult expectant mothers in its care:
48.52(1m)(c)(c) Other facilities determined by the department to be appropriate for the adult expectant mother.
48.52(2)(a)(a) In addition to the facilities and services described in sub. (1), the department may use other facilities and services under its jurisdiction. The department may also contract for and pay for the use of other public facilities or private facilities for the care and treatment of children and the expectant mothers of unborn children in its care. Placements in institutions for the mentally ill or developmentally disabled shall be made in accordance with ss. 48.14 (5), 48.347 (6) and 48.63 and ch. 51.
48.52(2)(b)(b) Public facilities are required to accept and care for persons placed with them by the department in the same manner as they would be required to do had the legal custody of these persons been transferred by a court of competent jurisdiction. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to require any public facility to serve the department inconsistently with its functions or with the laws and regulations governing their activities; or to give the department authority to use any private facility without its consent.
48.52(2)(c)(c) The department shall have the right to inspect all facilities it is using and to examine and consult with persons whom the department has placed in that facility.
48.52(4)(4) Coeducational programs and institutions. The department may institute and maintain coeducational programs and institutions under this chapter.
48.52 HistoryHistory: 1971 c. 213 s. 5; 1971 c. 215; 1973 c. 90; 1975 c. 39, 430; 1977 c. 354; 1979 c. 89; 1987 a. 332 s. 64; 1989 a. 31, 107; 1993 a. 385, 446; 1995 a. 27 ss. 2541 to 2541r, 9126 (19); 1995 a. 77; 1997 a. 292; 2009 a. 28.
48.52 AnnotationA detention home is not an “other facility” under sub. (1). State ex rel. Harris v. Larson, 64 Wis. 2d 521, 219 N.W.2d 335 (1974).
48.52 AnnotationFoster homes owned, operated, or contracted for by the department or a county department are immune from local zoning ordinances. Foster homes owned, operated, or contracted for by licensed child welfare agencies are not immune. All family operated foster homes are subject to local zoning. Municipal foster home licensing ordinances are unenforceable. 63 Atty. Gen. 34.
48.52 AnnotationFoster homes leased by the department pursuant to sub. (2) are immune from local zoning to the extent that the zoning conflicts with the department’s possessory use of property under this chapter, subject to s. 13.48 (13). The lessor remains responsible for property tax. 65 Atty. Gen. 93.
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 3
cases, 1971–1985 · leading case: State Ex Rel. Harris v. Larson, 219 N.W.2d 335 (Wis. 1974).
State Ex Rel. Harris v. Larson, 219 N.W.2d 335 (Wis. 1974). “For authority to place children in the detention home, the department relies on sec. 48.52, Stats., which lists seven types of facilities in which children may be placed.”
State Ex Rel. Edwards v. McCauley, 184 N.W.2d 908 (Wis. 1971). “The statute primarily involved is sec. 48.52, Stats. Since the legislative history is relevant, we set forth the statute and very briefly summarize how it came to be the present law governing the placement of children in the legal custody of the state’s division of corrections.”
In Interest of CDM, 370 N.W.2d 287 (Wis. Ct. App. 1985). “Under sec. 48.52(2), Stats., the Department of Health and Social Services can contract for treatment at private *176 facilities.”
— Wis. Stat. § 48.52(2) — 1 case
In Interest of CDM, 370 N.W.2d 287 (Wis. Ct. App. 1985). “Under sec. 48.52(2), Stats., the Department of Health and Social Services can contract for treatment at private *176 facilities.”
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