Wisconsin Department of Children and Families - Division of Early Care and Education
Bureau of Early Care Regulation
Child Care Certification Policy Manual
The operator shall keep a current written record of the daily hours of attendance of each child in care, including the actual arrival and departure times for each child. In accordance with Wisconsin Shares Child Care Subsidy rules, attendance records shall be kept for at least 3 years, meaning 3 years from the attendance date. The attendance record shall include all children in care, including the provider’s own/residential child(ren) under age 7 when they are present. The intent of attendance records is to ensure the safety and whereabouts of children in care and verify compliance with group size rules.
Note: Wisconsin Shares has additional requirements for retaining attendance records. Under s. 49.155(6m) a child care provider shall retain the written daily attendance records for each child for at least 3 years after the child's last day of attendance, regardless of whether the child care provider is still receiving or eligible to receive payments under this section. For program integrity purposes, it is important certified operators, who receive Wisconsin Shares funding on behalf of eligible families, retain attendance records for 3 years from the child’s last day of attendance. It is recommended certification agencies add language to revocation letters, or any letter confirming an operator’s non-renewal or voluntary closure, advising the operator to retain attendance records for 3 years.
The daily attendance record shall be up-to-date and must include each time a child is checked in/out of the program throughout the day. When transportation is provided by the certified operator, a child is considered to be “in care” of the operator when the child is placed in the vehicle at the pick up location and is released from care when the child is dropped off at his/her final location at the end of the child care day.
Accurate up-to-date documentation of attendance helps keep track of children’s whereabouts. This is particularly important in the event of an emergency. It also benefits the operator and the parent / guardian if a question is raised regarding fees / reimbursement owed, specific incidences / accidents, complaints or a child’s injury. If the Child Care and Adult Food Program, subsidy program or the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) audits a certified operator, accurate attendance records are essential to support the operator’s attestation of claims. If the operator fails to document daily attendance, in accordance with DCF 202.08(5)(i), for children receiving child care, this may result in an overpayment from the child care subsidy agency or termination from the Wisconsin Shares program.
Certified operators may use the department provided form Daily Attendance Record to comply with DCF 202.08(5)(i), however, the department provided form is not mandatory, unless stipulated by the certification worker. It is best practice for the certified operator to have parents review the form for accuracy at the end of the week and sign the form as verification that it is correct, however, this is not a requirement under DCF 202.
A provider may use the department’s Daily Attendance Record, may choose to use their own paper form, or may use an electronic form or system to capture the same information included on the department’s Daily Attendance Record form. No exception is necessary. The daily attendance record could be a sign-in/sign-out book completed by either the parents or the provider; however, the provider is responsible for ensuring that this record is accurate. It is the child care program/provider’s responsibility to be able to access the electronic form to respond to the certifiers request to review information.
Note: In addition to tracking children’s attendance, using the department provided daily attendance record enables the operator to document and the certification worker to monitor for the work schedule of other caregivers.
The certification agency has authority to require compliance with certification rules during the hours of operation. If a certified operator cares for a child beyond his/her certified hours of operation, the operator may choose to document on the daily attendance form the actual departure time or the time when the regulated program ends. Keep in mind, the certified operator may not be paid by Wisconsin Shares for care provided outside of the certified hours of operation.
For example, if a grandparent is certified to care for a grandchild but the grandchild occasionally remains in the grandparent’s care after the certified hours of operation (to accommodate the parent’s non-approved activity) the operator (grandparent) may sign the child out at conclusion of the certified hours rather than the child’s actual departure time.
This page last updated 10/2023.