Wisconsin Department of Children and Families - Division of Early Care and Education
Bureau of Early Care Regulation
Child Care Certification Policy Manual
In determining whether certain information may be withheld from release in fulfilling an open records request, the designated agency official conducts a balancing test on a case by case basis, in which they weigh competing public interests, and determine whether protection of personal information may or may not outweigh disclosure. Generally, unless the law provides a clear directive to redact specific information, information can only be withheld if a balancing test can provide such justification. Release of the identity of a child care employee(s) is one example of when a balancing test is appropriate.
Examples of information that can be released:
E-mails sent to parties inside and outside of the certification agency, received from parties inside and outside of agency, and copied to parties inside and outside of the agency is correspondence and therefore subject to disclosure under Open Records Law.
The availability of the same record(s) from other sources is generally not a sufficient reason to deny an open records request. If the agency has access and a copy of the record they are required to respond (unless the record or portion of the records is non-disclosable).
When complaints are in the record and the complainant revealed his/her identity, even if the complainant requested anonymity, the agency may not be able to protect the complainant’s identity. If a complainant wishes to remain anonymous it is best if they do not provide their name as part of the complaint intake.
This page last updated 08/24/2015.