55.06 Protective services and protective placement; eligibility. To be eligible for court-ordered protective placement or protective services, an individual shall have filed a petition to transfer a foreign guardianship, whether present in the state or not, or shall be a resident of the state; and shall have a need for protective placement or protective services. The individual shall have attained the age of 18, but an individual who is alleged to have a developmental disability may receive protective placement or protective services upon attaining the age of 14. Protective placement or protective services may be ordered under this chapter only for an individual who is adjudicated incompetent in this state or for a minor who is alleged to have a developmental disability, and only if there is a finding of a need for protective placement under s. 55.08 (1), and ss. 55.055 (5), 55.13, and 55.135 are inappropriate or do not apply. A procedure for court-ordered protective placement or protective services may be initiated 6 months before a minor attains age 18.

History: 1973 c. 284; 1975 c. 41; 1975 c. 94 s. 3; 1975 c. 189 s. 99 (2); 1975 c. 393, 421, 422; 1975 c. 430 ss. 67 to 71, 80; 1977 c. 26, 299, 428; 1977 c. 449 s. 497; 1979 c. 32 s. 92 (1); 1979 c. 110 s. 60 (1); 1979 c. 221; 1981 c. 314 s. 146; 1981 c. 379; 1983 a. 27; 1983 a. 189 s. 329 (19); 1983 a. 219; 1985 a. 29 ss. 1143, 3202 (23); 1987 a. 366; 1989 a. 31, 359; 1991 a. 269; 1993 a. 187, 451; 1995 a. 27, 92; 1997 a. 237, 283; 2001 a. 109; 2003 a. 33, 326; 2005 a. 253, 264, 387; 2007 a. 45.

Guardianships and Protective Placements. Viney. Wis. Law. Aug. 1991.

Guardianships and Protective Placements in Wisconsin After Agnes T. Fennell. Wis. Law. May 1995.

NOTE: The above annotations relate to protective placements under ch. 55, stats., prior to the revision of that chapter by 2005 Wis. Act 264.

The ch. 55 exclusion in s. 51.20 (1) (a) 2. e. includes an individual who is already subject to an order for protective placement or services, if there is another placement or additional services available under ch. 55 that would be effective in reducing the probability of the requisite harm to less than a substantial probability. This exclusion may apply to an individual who is not yet subject to a ch. 55 order but who is eligible for one. Involuntary administration of medication under this section may be one of the additional services that would satisfy this exclusion, if the guardian consents and depending on the individual's circumstances. Dane County v. Kelly M. 2011 WI App 69, 333 Wis. 2d 719, 798 N.W.2d 697, 10-1486.

Rehabilitation is a necessary element of treatment under ch. 51. Because there are no techniques that can be employed to bring about rehabilitation from Alzheimer's disease, an individual with the disease cannot be rehabilitated. Accordingly, an Alzheimer's patient is not a proper subject for ch. 51 treatment. Fond du Lac County v. Helen E. F. 2012 WI 50, 340 Wis. 2d 500, 814 N.W.2d 179, 10-2061.