Wisconsin Department of Children and Families - Division of Early Care and Education
Bureau of Early Care Regulation
Child Care Certification Policy Manual
The Wisconsin Open Records Law, also known as the Public Records Law, s. 19.31 to 19.39, Wis. Stats., requires government agencies to respond promptly to requests to inspect or reproduce agency records. Certification agency duties under the Public Records Law, section 19.31 – 19.39, Wis. Stats., include making a determination whether requests for access to records may or must be granted, providing copies of records, assessing fees, and ensuring that record access procedures and fees are prominently posted and readily available to the public.
Certification workers may receive requests from various sources for copies of records. A certification worker may occasionally receive requests, sometimes from members of the news media, for records. Whether these are officially labeled “open records” or not, they are subject to Wisconsin’s strict open records statute. Public Records Law begins with the premise of complete public access.
Certification workers are advised to consult with their agency’s records custodian or legal custodian when responding to an open records request, as this person is typically charged with the responsibility for the preparation and delivery of open records to requestors. Although the public records law does not require response within a specific time, most agencies generally make the record available within ten working days. The agency shall determine its own policies and procedures for photocopying, redacting, time lines and delivery of records requests. See Section 2.4 for more information regarding responding to open records requests.
The certification agency and/or records / legal custodian may find the DOJ Compliance Outline and/or DOJ Division of Legal Services public records webinar helpful in developing its own procedures for open records requests:
Wisconsin Public Records Law - Compliance Outline
or
Office of Open Government - Resources
2.2 WISCCRS Data and WebI Reports
2.2.1 Documentation in the Comments Section in WISCCRS
2.3 Disclosure of Emails, Notes, and Drafts Created by Certification Workers
2.4 Responding to Open Records Request
2.6 Information Requiring Careful Analysis
2.10 Denial or Delaying a Response to a Records Request
2.11 Record Retention of Requests
This page last updated 02/2019.