The information included in the Child Care
Search is provided as a public service to Wisconsin consumers seeking
licensed child care. The
website provides consumers with information on the type and location of
licensed child care centers as well as the results of monitoring visits
and complaint investigations conducted by the DCF. Wisconsin joins a
growing number of states across the nation offering regulatory information
through the internet to assist consumers in the finding the best possible
child care arrangement for their family.
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Under s. 48.656, Wis. Stats., a parent, guardian or legal custodian of
a prospective recipient of care from a licensed child care center has the
right to information about the child care center that would aid the
parent, guardian or legal custodian in assessing the quality of care and
supervision provided by the center.
The licensing information and regulatory history of licensed child care
centers is public record and must be accessible to the public, parents and
guardians of children. The
names and addresses of child care providers licensed in Wisconsin have
previously been available on the internet.
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A regular child care license is issued to a licensee following a
six-month probationary period if, during the probationary period, the
licensee is able to demonstrate to the DCF that s/he meets the minimum requirements for licensure as specified in
statute and administrative rule. A
regular license is non-expiring but is reviewed every two years.
The regular license is valid until revoked, suspended or
surrendered.
A probationary child care license is issued to an applicant who has not
been previously issued a regular license, has changed location, or has
changed corporate status. A
probationary license is issued when the applicant meets certain minimum
requirements for probationary licensure, as specified in statute and
administrative rule, and the probationary license fee has been paid.
The probationary license is valid for up to six months, but it may
be renewed for one additional six-month period.
Before a probationary license expires, the DCF conducts an inspection of the center to ensure it meets the
minimum requirements for regular licensure.
A regular license is issued if minimum requirements are met.
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This is the date that the first probationary license was issued to the
child care licensee at that location.
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The facility ID number is the unique identification number assigned to
the child care center by the Department of Children and Families (DCF).
It is not a social security number or tax identification number.
It is not the identification number used to claim subsidy payment
under the Wisconsin Shares Child Care Subsidy Program.
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Capacity is the maximum number of children that may be cared for under
the child care license at any one time.
Capacity for a family child care license may not exceed eight
children, but it may be less. Capacity
for a group child care license will be nine children or more.
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A violation, also referred to as a noncompliance, is a formal, written
statement that the licensee is not in compliance with a specific
administrative rule.
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A rule summary is a brief statement identifying the subject area of an
administrative rule requirement. Rule
summaries appear on the Compliance History page.
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A violation subject area is a brief descriptive statement summarizing the
subject area of one or more related administrative rule requirements.
Violation subject areas appear on the Enforcement Actions page and
are defined on the Enforcement Actions
Subject Areas web page.
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Each program licensed by the Department of Children and
Families (DCF) agrees
to comply with administrative rules intended to protect children in care.
Licensing specialists from the DCF make periodic, announced and unannounced, on-site visits to licensed
centers, during which time the licensing specialist observes the operation
of the center and notes any areas in which the center is out of compliance
with selected administrative rules. Observation
of any violation of administrative rule is documented at the visit.
Through this process, the center is alerted to existing violations
and is required to take prompt, appropriate corrective action to safeguard
children in care.
Regulatory history is also established through complaint investigations
conducted by DCF staff.
Because the licensing specialist may be unable to make more than
one or two routine monitoring visits each year, help from parents and
others with observing what is happening at a center is critical.
Anyone can report a complaint to the DCF concerning a licensed or unlicensed center.
When the DCF is alerted to potential
violations of administrative rule, licensing staff conduct a thorough
investigation. If the
complaint is substantiated, the violations are documented and the center
is expected to take prompt corrective action.
See more about complaints under Question 18
below.
Also included in a center's regulatory history are enforcement actions.
Enforcement actions, authorized in licensing statute, are sanctions
or penalties that may be taken by the DCF to address violations of administrative rules.
Through the use of enforcement actions, such as orders and
forfeitures, the DCF can compel licensees
to correct violations and come into compliance with minimum regulatory
requirements. A licensee can
dispute an enforcement action taken by the DCF by appealing the action through the Division of Hearings and
Appeals.
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At the end of a monitoring visit to a center, the licensing specialist
discusses his/her observations with the licensee at an exit interview and
a report of the findings is issued during or immediately following the
visit. This report is either a
Statement of Noncompliance and Correction Plan (CFS-294) that enumerates
the violations found or a Compliance Statement (CFS-785) that shows that
no licensing violations were noted during the visit. These
reports must be posted next to the child care license in an area of the
center that is readily visible to parents and the public.
Licensed centers are expected to develop and implement an acceptable
correction plan to address all violations.
The licensing specialist verifies that the violations are corrected
within a given timeframe, and, if the violations remain uncorrected, the
licensing specialist may take further corrective action with the center,
such as an enforcement action. See
more about enforcement actions under Question 15 below.
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Regulatory history includes the center's record of administrative
rule violations and enforcement actions issued by the Department of
Children and Families (DCF) during the
previous 2 years.
Violations are documented during ongoing routine monitoring visits,
during visits made to a center in response to a complaint allegation, or
based on self-reports of violations by the center.
When violations are serious or remain uncorrected, an enforcement
action may be issued to the center by the DCF.
In the Regulatory History section of the Child Care Search, a listing in
the column titled "Compliance History" includes the dates that one or
more violations were issued by the DCF.
If a visit was made to the center and no violations were observed,
these dates will also be listed. The
dates listed in this column link to more detailed information such as the
administrative rule violation number that was cited and a brief summary
statement indicating the subject matter of the violation. In
addition, for visits after January 1, 2009, that resulted in the issuance
of a Statement of Noncompliance and Correction Plan (CFS-294), a checkmark
in the column titled "Correction Plan Received" indicates that
the center has developed and submitted a correction plan to address the
violations cited on the CFS-294. The checkmark is not an indicator
that the cited violations have been verified as corrected.
If an enforcement action has been initiated with the center during the
previous 2 years, a date in the "Enforcement Actions" column will be
listed and will link to more detailed information on the type of
enforcement action, the date the enforcement action was initiated, the
violation subject area, whether or not the enforcement action was appealed
by the licensee and the results of the appeal.
Information is not posted to this webpage until monitoring and complaint
investigation results have been finalized.
A center is afforded appeal rights for enforcement actions only.
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Not every visit made to a child care center is included in the center's
regulatory history. Visits
that do not result in either a statement that lists rule violations or a
statement that indicates that no rule violations were observed will not be
listed. For example, the
regulatory history does not separately document the date that a licensing
specialist visited a center to provide technical assistance, or the
multiple visit dates that might have been necessary to investigate a
complaint.
For additional information about the center's regulatory history, you
are encouraged to contact the center directly and/or the regional
licensing office.
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Licensed centers are expected to develop and implement an acceptable plan
to correct all violations cited on the Noncompliance Statement and
Correction Plan (CFS-294). This
plan is posted in a visible location near the license at the child care
center. The licensing
specialist verifies that the violations are corrected within a given
timeframe, and, if the violations remain uncorrected, the licensing
specialist may take further corrective action with the center, such as
imposing an enforcement action.
For visits after January 1, 2009, that resulted in the issuance of
a Statement of Noncompliance and Correction Plan (CFS-294), a checkmark in
the column titled "Correction Plan Received" indicates that the
center has developed and submitted a correction plan to address the
violations cited on the CFS-294. The checkmark is not an indicator
that the cited violations have been verified as corrected. Although the Child Care Search website does not publish correction plans
developed by the licensed centers, consumers can easily access the
correction plans by contacting the child care center, visiting the center
where the current Noncompliance Statement and Correction Plan (CFS-294) is
posted or contacting the regional licensing office for additional information.
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The Department of
Children and Families (DCF) is authorized under Wisconsin
statute and administrative rule to initiate enforcement actions to address
serious and repeated violations of licensing requirements.
Through the use of an enforcement action, the DCF can compel licensed centers to correct violations and to
maintain compliance with minimum regulatory requirements.
Enforcement actions are issued when previous efforts to gain
compliance with administrative rule, such as issuing the Noncompliance
Statement and Correction Plan (CFS-294), have failed.
Sometimes a direct forfeiture is assessed
immediately for an identified noncompliance not associated with previously
issued orders and in the most severe circumstances where the health,
safety and welfare of children in care is threatened or when harm to a
child has occurred.
Enforcement actions include orders to correct violation(s), forfeiture and
direct forfeiture, temporary suspension of the license, and in the most
serious circumstances, summary suspension of a license, denial of a
license and license revocation.
Licensees may appeal an enforcement action with the Department of
Administration, Division of Hearings and Appeals.
If the Division of Hearings and Appeals upholds the enforcement
action, the licensee may request a rehearing or appeal that decision to
Circuit Court.
All enforcement actions are defined on the Licensed
Child Care Search Terms and Definitions web page.
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A stipulated agreement is a legal contractual agreement between the
Department of Children and Families (DCF) and a licensee of a child care center that
sets forth specific and unique terms and conditions for granting or
continuing licensure. Such
an agreement may be used to settle an enforcement action following an
appeal, or to establish the conditions under which an applicant/licensee
is permitted to hold a license.
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The licensing staff of the Department of Children and Families (DCF) follows a
systematic process to gain a center's compliance with administrative
rule by moving from citing a violation on the Noncompliance Statement and
Correction Plan (CFS-294) to progressively more serious actions.
Most commonly, the need for more serious licensing action, such as
an enforcement action, can be averted by early identification of
violations and/or addressing ongoing problems that do not immediately rise
to the level of an enforcement action.
However, when violations remain uncorrected, even after the
licensee has received a warning about the situation, licensing staff will
initiate more serious corrective action.
Actions may progress from citing the violation on a Noncompliance
Statement and Correction Plan (CFS-294), to alerting the licensee to the
seriousness of the uncorrected violations through a warning letter, to
imposing an order to correct the violation, to issuing a forfeiture or
temporarily suspending a license. Ultimately,
when these progressive actions fail, or in the most serious circumstances,
the DCF will revoke the license.
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A complaint is an allegation of a violation of administrative rule related
to licensed child care centers. Complaints
alert the Department of Children and Families (DCF) to possible problems at
facilities. Complaints may be
submitted to the DCF by telephone, fax,
letter, electronic mail or personal interview and may come from a variety
of sources, such as parents and other family members, neighbors, center
staff, social service and law enforcement personnel, other community
members and anonymous sources.
When a complaint is received by the DCF that alleges violation of administrative rule at a center, licensing staff
conduct an investigation of the center.
This investigation may include an unannounced visit to the program
to observe conditions, interviews with the licensee and current or former
staff members and a check of center records.
Based on a careful analysis of the information gathered during the
investigation, the licensing specialist determines whether the complaint
is substantiated (a rule violation was issued) or unsubstantiated (a rule
violation was not issued).
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It may be that this is a new center that has not yet had a monitoring
visit following the inspections that were done in connection with issuing
of the license. Another reason
might be that this is a part time program for which fewer visits are made.
It is also possible that the regulatory history for this center is
included under the center's previous license.
This is because a new license is issued when a center changes
location or corporate status, and the regulatory history of each child
care center begins on the date that the new license is issued.
Please contact the regional licensing office for the specific reason that no dates are
listed for the center you are looking into.
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That means that this center has not had any enforcement actions
in the previous two years.
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The presence of violations and enforcement actions in the
center's regulatory history is not the whole story.
It is rare to find a licensed center that has never been cited
for a rule violation. Many
factors can influence a regulatory history, including the size of the
center, the length of time the center has been operating, and the
qualifications of the staff. Consider
some of the following questions when you review the center's regulatory
history:
- What is the nature of the violation?
Was the violation related to safety, record keeping,
staff-to-child ratios? Every
rule is important to the quality of the program, but some rules are
more directly related to the safety of children.
- Is the center being repeatedly cited for the same violation?
What is the center doing to correct the violation?
Is the center making timely efforts to correct the violation?
- Is there an extensive history of multiple violations, or are the
violations infrequent?
- What enforcement actions have been taken and for what reasons?
How has the licensed center responded to these actions?
Choosing Child Care was developed by the Department of
Children and Families (DCF) to help you make the very important decision of locating a child
care arrangement that is right for you.
We encourage you to seek additional information from the centers you are
considering. You may also contact the regional licensing office for more information.
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Contact the licensed center directly to discuss your questions and
concerns. When you visit the
center, review the results of the most recent monitoring visit and ask
questions. You may also call
or visit the regional licensing office to
find out more about a center's regulatory history.
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Child
Care Resource and Referral Agencies can provide you with resources to
select a quality child care placement for your child including the
following:
-
a
customized list of licensed and certified programs including group
child care centers, school-age child care, family child care, and day
camps;
-
guides
and check lists to help you have a productive meeting when you visit a
child care center you are considering;
-
key
questions to consider asking about the child care provider, the child
care facility, and the program;
-
information
on family resources, special events, support groups and parenting
classes.
For a link to community-based child care resource and referral services
near you, please visit Supporting Families Together Association and click
on the county where you live or work. http://www.supportingfamiliestogether.org/families/ccrr.php
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The Department of Children and Families has added a short, voluntary
survey to the Child Care Search to gather feedback from visitors to the
website. Your survey responses
will help us determine what has been helpful and how we can improve the
website in the future. We
appreciate your feedback.
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The Child Care Search provides information on 'licensed' child
care providers only. Child
Care Search does not provide information on certified providers or child
care providers for whom licensure is not required.
More information on the difference between licensed and certified
providers can be found at http://dcf.wisconsin.gov/childcare/licensed/About.htm.
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Effective January 1, 2009, rules for all licensed child care programs
were revised and renumbered. DCF
250, formerly referred to as HFS 45, is the administrative rule governing
family child care. DCF 251,
formerly referred to as HFS 46, is the administrative rule governing group
child care. DCF 252, formerly
referred to as HFS 55, is the administrative rule governing day camps.
The administrative rules were revised to incorporate statutory changes
relating to shaken baby syndrome, child restraint systems, use of an
automated external defibrillator, and tracking procedures when
transporting children. These
revisions also updated existing rules critical to protecting the health,
safety and welfare of children.
Along with the revisions to the child care rules, many of the summary
statements (the brief descriptions of the rule cites) have also been
changed to better reflect the rule requirements.
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The Department of Children and Families updates the Child Care Search
daily to assure that provider names, locations and other licensing and
regulatory information is as current and accurate as possible.
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The role of the Department of Children and Families (DCF) is to protect
the health, safety and welfare of
Wisconsin's children through periodic monitoring of licensed child care centers.
DCF licensing specialists conduct regular inspections of licensed
centers to assure compliance with licensing rule requirements, the minimal
standards established through state statute and administrative rule.
The expectation is that licensees meet these minimum standards at
all times. The Child Care
Search reflects the compliance information collected at these monitoring
visits.
DCF recognizes that many child care centers go well beyond the minimum
standards required to maintain licensure.
We encourage child care centers to publicize their many extra
efforts to provide quality early care in a safe and nurturing environment.
Persons looking for child care are encouraged to visit the centers
under consideration to see firsthand what each center has to offer.
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