Wisconsin Department of Children and Families - Division of Early Care and Education
Bureau of Early Care Regulation
Child Care Certification Policy Manual
There may be a rare circumstance when the agency must refuse to release information from a certification record because disclosure would harm, more than benefit, the public interest.
It is best practice, for example, not to release the status of a complaint investigation until the investigation is completed and the certified operator and the complainant, if applicable, have received the findings. Conducting thorough and complete investigations and informing the operator of any action the certification agency is taking takes precedence over external pressure to prematurely release investigation findings.
Typically, the agency’s corporation counsel makes this decision regarding refusal to release information and drafts the public record request denial. Partial or complete denial of a written request for access to records is made writing, providing the rationale for the denial and notifying the requester that the denial may be appealed to circuit court.
If the record no longer exists because it has been destroyed in accordance with the RDA retention requirements this is not a denial of a record request. The agency is not required to create a record that does not exist.
Response to an open records request may be delayed when there is an ongoing complaint investigation or other circumstances that may lead to sanction, administrative proceeding, arbitration proceeding or court proceeding. In this circumstance, a determination to either produce the requested records or to delay some or all of the requested documents is left to the discretion of the records custodian and/or corporation counsel.
Note: Certification workers do not create a new record to respond request for a record that does not exist in the format requested. In the case of such a request, consult with the records custodian.
This page last updated 08/24/2015.