Wisconsin Department of Children and Families - Division of Early Care and Education
Bureau of Early Care Regulation
Child Care Certification Policy Manual
“Record” is defined in s.19.32(2), Wis. Stats., as follows: A record means any material on which written, drawn, printed, spoken, visual or electromagnetic information is recorded or preserved, regardless of physical form or characteristics, which have been created or is being kept by an authority. “Record” includes, but is not limited to, handwritten, typed or printed pages, maps, charts, photographs, films, recordings, tapes (including computer tapes), computer printouts and optical disks. “Record” does not include drafts, notes, preliminary computations and like materials prepared for the originator’s personal use or prepared by the originator in the name of a person for whom the originator is working; materials which are purely the personal property of the custodian and have no relation to his or her office. It is advised that certification workers and/or the agency’s records custodian view the DOJ PowerPoint regarding open records, as the presentation outlines, in greater detail, records that were not created by the agency but are in the agency’s possession, personal emails, calls and documents on an agency’s account, social media, contractors’ records, courtesy notices, permissible charges, etc. The webinar also includes a Question / Answer session that addresses questions a certification agency / worker may have.
Because of Wisconsin’s strict open records statute, certification workers must remain mindful that all written comments and statements included in a provider record/file can be made public, including anything contained in the electronic file maintained in the Wisconsin Child Care Regulatory System (WISCCRS). WISCCRS is a web-based system that stores information on all regulated child care programs in Wisconsin and includes detailed information about the applicant / operator and location of care, as well as background checks, site visits, complaints, violations, correction plans, comments, etc.
Note: Safe at Home is a statewide cost-free address confidentiality program for victims of acts or threats of abuse who fear for their safety or the safety of their child or ward. The program, which is administered by the Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ), provides participants with an Assigned Address, which is a forwarding mailing address that they may use for all purposes instead of their Actual Address. The Safe at Home statute provides that “no state or local agency or unit of government may refuse to use a program participant’s Assigned Address for any official business, unless a specific statutory duty requires the agency or unit of government to use the participant’s Actual Address.” Wis. Stat. § 165.68(5)(b). In addition, the statute provides that “No person who has received notification from a program participant 1) may refuse to use the Assigned Address for the program participant, 2) may require a program participant to disclose his or her Actual Address, or 3) may intentionally disclose to another person the Actual Address of a program participant.” The Safe at Home statutes makes it a misdemeanor to intentionally release information in violation of the statute. The Safe at Home Assigned Address is the same for all participants, with a unique identifier at the end: 3902 Milwaukee St., #S__, PO Box 7188, Madison, WI 53707.
This page last updated 01/2020.