Wisconsin Department of Children and Families - Division of Early Care and Education
Bureau of Early Care Regulation
Child Care Certification Policy Manual
The certification agency might wish to develop its own procedures and protocols for conducting monitoring / site visits. Considerations may include, but are not limited to:
Foreshadowing the initial site visit for the applicant/operator in advance:
Outlining for the applicant/operator what to expect in terms of length of visit, inspection of home, interviewing, review of forms/paperwork, etc.
Worker safety when traveling and conducting site visits, including:
Worker whereabouts are known by other agency staff.
Workers are provided nonviolent crisis intervention and personal safety training.
Site visits after traditional work hours (e.g., after 6 p.m.).
Preparing to conduct an on-site inspection, including:
Reviewing application materials.
Reviewing the standards and checklist form.
Arriving at the program to conduct an on-site inspection, including:
Introducing yourself and showing your ID.
Informing the person in charge of the purpose of your visit.
Conducting the on-site inspection, including:
Minimizing disrupting the operator / provider.
Being objective, non-judgmental and respectful.
Using interviewing skills including active listening techniques.
Making observations and inspecting the physical environment / premises.
Investigating complaints.
Capturing, enhancing, processing, storing, or printing of digital images.
Concluding the on-site inspection, including:
Summarizing what occurred.
Communicating the results of the inspection and any follow up.
Leaving a business card.
COVID-19 Update
Certification agencies need to protect the continued health, safety, and welfare of children in care and make certain those protections will exist if an on-site visit is not conducted. In exercising this discretion certification agencies should consider, but are not limited to, the following:
Access and ability to use personal protective equipment (PPE), use of safety precautions and agency-developed protocol to increase safety during on-site visits, and/or utilizing certification workers with less vulnerability/health risk factors when conducting on-site monitoring.
The agency’s and certified provider’s access to, ability and effectiveness of virtual (remote) inspections. Do the agency and provider have access to technology needed to conduct virtual monitoring?
Particular need for unannounced on-site monitoring (length of time between monitoring visits, provider compliance history, etc.).
When possible, consider conducting no more than one inspection per day to decrease the risk of cross-contamination between child care homes.
Considerations for alternative methods for inspecting vehicle child safety alarms to ensure they are in good working order. DCF 202.04(3)(b)12.a requires a certification worker to inspect a child vehicle safety alarm, at least annually, to determine whether the child safety alarm is in good working order as required under s. DCF 202.08(9)(p) to (s).
Wisconsin counties Public Health Dashboards’ 7- or 14-day rolling average of COVID-19 cases.
The trend of COVID-19 cases in child care centers within a specific county/tribe.
Any current Executive Orders and local municipal orders intended to limit risk to children, families, caregivers, regulators and the community.
This page last updated 02/2021.