Wisconsin Department of Children and Families - Division of Early Care and Education
Bureau of Early Care Regulation
Child Care Certification Policy Manual
The following items must be submitted to the certification agency as part of the recertification “complete” application:
Application for Family and In-Home Child Care Certification
Recertification Fees (if applicable)
The following information (if applicable) may be submitted or verified prior to granting recertification:
Well water tests (depending on when well was last tested).
Continuing education documentation (If applicable. See Module 5 – Training for more information)
It is important the operator is made aware that s/he must submit a complete application PRIOR TO his / her expiration date. The recertification may be backdated to the date of the application received date (or the previous expiration date). If the recertification application was received after the expiration date, however, there will be a gap in the certification period. Food program (CACFP) reimbursement and Wisconsin Shares Subsidy authorizations cannot be issued for that time period.
Note: If the operator is participating in YoungStar and does not return their YoungStar renewal application by their YoungStar anniversary date, they are not eligible to receive Wisconsin Shares. YoungStar renewal contracts are mailed 120 days in advance of the anniversary date by the YoungStar office, and are also available at the local YoungStar office. In order to avoid gaps in payments, it is important that certified operators return their YoungStar contracts to the local YoungStar office in a timely manner.
The certification worker must conduct a recertification site visit to assure the operator continues to meet certification standards. The certification worker makes a determination regarding substantial compliance during the recertification visit. A certification worker may, for example, deny or delay issuing the recertification if violations are numerous and/or a serious health/safety concern. The certification worker may choose to grant recertification with violations by issuing a 294 Noncompliance Statement along with the recertification approval. Once the certification worker has determined the operator is eligible for recertification, the worker will grant a new 2-year certificate of approval.
The “continuation” button in WISCCRS will be displayed 90 days prior to the expiration date.
If recertification application materials are not submitted to the certification agency before the expiration date the certification is allowed to lapse and the certification worker changes the status in WISCCRS to “Non-renewal”. When certification workers leave the Category Status as “Approved” but the operator’s certification has expired, these operator records do not appear on the Closed Provider WebI report, even if the expiration date is in the past.
The “initial” button displays immediately after the “end/expiration date” is in the past. If a recertification application is received after the operator’s expiration date / end date, WISCCRS will not display the “continuation” button any longer. Instead the “initial” button will be displayed / used to process the application.
Note: See additional COVID guidance regarding certification visits in Module 7-Monitoring, Section 1 - Overview.
This page last updated 04/2024.