Wisconsin Department of Children and Families - Division of Early Care and Education
Bureau of Early Care Regulation
Child Care Certification Policy Manual
Prior to June 1, 2023, the Wisconsin Registry issued completion postcards to individuals who complete either the Introduction to the Child Care Profession or Fundamentals of Family Child Care through a department-approved agency. Starting June 1, 2023, the Wisconsin Registry will no longer mail postcards and instead send the individual a digital postcard. The digital post card is available in the individual’s personal Registry account. This report will be available anytime and does not require a current Registry membership in order to access it. If the individual took these courses through a technical college, a copy of the transcript indicating completion will be used as completion verification. See the list of DCF Approved Agencies offering non-credit courses.
If an agency / trainer combines Module A of the Introduction to the Child Care Profession course with the Fundamentals of Family Child Care in one course, it must be made clear to the Wisconsin Registry so that two training postcards are issued (one for each course).
If the individual says that s/he has taken either the Introduction to the Child Care Profession or the Fundamentals of Family Child Care but no longer has the completion postcard to use as documentation, the individual may apply for a Registry Certificate. The Wisconsin Registry will have a record of the courses that the individual took and will use that record to determine the positions the person is qualified for. As another option to verify completion of a non-credit course without a completion postcard, the certification worker may access the individual learning record at the Wisconsin Registry. (See note at bottom of this section.)
An applicant / operator may apply to the Wisconsin Registry for a Certificate of Achievement that will indicate the position(s) for which indicates the positions the person is preliminarily qualified for. The Wisconsin Registry certificate is one way to document completion of entry-level training and to recognize other coursework that person may have completed. The certification worker should review the certificate carefully to ensure it has been issued to the operator and has not been modified in any way. The certificate will indicate on right hand side if the individual has submitted documentation of department-approved entry level training by a designation of “Regular Certified Family Child Care Provider”, however, effective 4/1/18 Regular certification also requires CPR training. In addition to the designation of Regular Certified Child Care, a certifier should also review the certificate to determine the individual has completed SIDS, AHT/SBS and CPR training (see the sample Registry certificate below). The certification worker may accept the Wisconsin Registry Certificate with the appropriate designations for pre-service training verification. Depending on the date the certificate was issued, the certification worker may need to verify CPR training is "current".
Note: *Keep in mind that the training qualifications have changed over the years. It’s possible an applicant for certification was issued a Wisconsin Registry certificate years prior and based on older training requirements. It is always best to verify training requirements are met using the learning record. If the Wisconsin Registry Certificate was issued prior to 2014 and indicates the individual is qualified for “certified family child care” the certification worker should also review the learning record. It is possible the individual was mistakenly issued a certificate indicating they are qualified for “certified family child care” without completing both required courses (Introduction to the Child Care Profession and Fundamentals of Family Child Care).
If the certification worker has any questions regarding the certificate they should contact the Wisconsin Registry at registry@wiregistry.org or 608-222-1123.
A certified operator / applicant is not required to obtain a Wisconsin Registry certificate. If there is no Wisconsin Registry certificate, the individual must document completion of the required courses either by a transcript (for credit-based courses) or a Registry completion postcard (for non-credit courses taken through a private agency).
Note: An individual may have a learning record at the Wisconsin Registry even if they are not a member. The learning record will show whether or not the person completed Introduction to the Child Care Profession and Fundamentals of Family Child Care and any other tiered training (see section 6.3 regarding tiered training). Certification workers can request access to the individual’s Wisconsin Registry learning record and may do so by contacting the DCF Certification Specialist for a Wisconsin Registry User Name and Password. (The User Name and Password should NOT be modified by the certification worker.)
This page last updated 05/2023.