Wisconsin Department of Children and Families - Division of Early Care and Education
Bureau of Early Care Regulation
Child Care Certification Policy Manual
In accordance with DCF 202.01(3) a county or tribal agency may grant an exception to standards in s. DCF 202.08 if the certification agency determines that an alternative means meets the intent of the requirement. Specific certification rules also have statutory requirements, however. In these cases, certification workers may not grant exceptions to any requirements codified in a statute. For example, a certification worker cannot grant an exception to:
The
licensing law, s. 48.65(1)
No person may for compensation provide care and supervision for 4
or more children under the age of 7 for less than 24 hours a day unless
that person obtains a license to operate a child care center from
the department.
The certification agency does not have authority to grant exceptions
to the licensing law. This means the certification worker cannot allow
a certified operator to care for more than 3 children under the age
of 7 who are unrelated to the operator, at one time.
Vehicle
Alarms, s. 48.658
No person may knowingly transport a child, and no child care provider
or contractor of a child care provider that is the owner or lessee
of a child care vehicle (with a seating capacity of 6 or more passengers
in addition to the driver) may knowingly permit a child to be transported,
to or from a child care provider in a child care vehicle in which
a child safety alarm has not been installed, is not properly maintained,
or is not in good working order.
A certification worker cannot make an exception for a certified operator
to transport children in care in a vehicle with a seating capacity
of 6 or more passengers in addition to the driver without a vehicle
alarm installed and in working order.
The
Background Check Law, s. 48.686
Although certification workers may impose a stipulation on the certification,
the certification worker does not have authority to disregard the
Background Check Law. Stipulations cannot violate or contradict the
law by, for example, restricting a non-client resident with a barred
offense from being on the premises during child care hours but still
allows him / her residence at the certified home.
The applicant / operator must submit a request for an exception in writing and the request shall include the relevant rule number, a description of the current situation and a description of the alternate scenario that will meet the intent of the rule. Exceptions may be granted to individual certification administrative rules if the applicant / operator can demonstrate that the exception does not jeopardize the health, safety or welfare of any child in care.
Before an agency may grant exception to any of the rules, the agency must first ensure the rule is not codified by statute. The certification worker must make a determination regarding the intent of the rule the operator is asking for an exception. Usually the intent is to assure an acceptable level of safety and minimum level quality is met. If the certification worker grants exception to a rule, the certification worker must record the exception in WISCCRS. Like a stipulation, an exception is also a condition of the certification and may be printed on the certification of approval.
A certification worker should not create an unmitigated policy to either refuse or accept all requests for exceptions. Agencies should develop criteria within their agencies policies for granting requests for an exception to certification rules and evaluate each request on a case by case basis.
This page last updated 01/2020.