Wisconsin Department of Children and Families - Division of Early Care and Education
Bureau of Early Care Regulation
Child Care Certification Policy Manual
Effective November 19, 2016, certification workers must conduct annual unannounced monitoring visits to inspect the child care program for specific health and safety standards. If the certification worker is unable to carry out the required annual unannounced monitoring visit, or any other monitoring visit, because s/he has not been able to gain entry to the premise, the visit is entered in WISCCRS as an “attempted visit” and a subsequent unannounced visit shall be attempted. Certification agencies should develop their own protocol / procedures for “attempted visits”, such as how / when the next visit will be attempted.
Certification workers may choose to issue a warning letter or suspend certification if they are unable to gain access to the premises in order to monitor for compliance. A standardized format, warning letter is available on the Certification SharePoint site notifying the certified operator that the certification worker has attempted two visits to inspect the child care program, and has not gained entrance in each of the two attempts. The warning letter indicates failure to provide for inspection of the premises may jeopardize the certification and participation in Wisconsin Shares. The letter gives the operator three days to respond by phoning the certification worker to discuss the status of the child care program. This letter may be modified by the certification worker to meet the specific needs and circumstances.
Entering data in WISCCRS when an “attempted visit” has been made is important for program integrity purposes. The department’s Bureau of Child Care Subsidy Administration (BCCSA) and local child care administration agencies utilize “red flag” reports to identify indicators that may be associated with potential Wisconsin Shares program violations. Entering “attempted visits” along with entry regarding time of arrival and departure and comments is helpful to the program integrity staff. See sample entry below.
Note: It is recommended the certification worker contact the child care subsidy agency and/or the department Bureau of Child Care Subsidy Administration (BCCSA) when an agency has issued a warning letter to the operator for 2 or more no access/attempted visits. The Bureau of Child Care Subsidy Administration (BCCSA) will assign a DCF staff person to conduct a preliminary review, which may or may not result in a site visit and/or audit of the operator’s records. The certification worker may also notify the child care subsidy agency when a certified operator is caring for over the allowable number of children or has attendance record violations, as overpayments may occur. Certified operators and certification workers may find the following information helpful:
Wisconsin Shares Program Integrity Provider Policy Manual (See Chapter 2.)
This page last updated 08/2020.