Wisconsin Department of Children and Families - Division of Early Care and Education
Bureau of Early Care Regulation
Child Care Certification Policy Manual
A complaint is an allegation of a violation (also referred to in this module as a noncompliance) of Chapter 48, Wis. Stats., and / or pertinent Administrative Code (DCF 202 or DCF 13) that requires an investigation and, if confirmed as true, appropriate follow-up action. Certification agencies have regulatory authority under DCF 202.07 to investigate those allegations that meet this definition. That is, if an allegation does not involve noncompliance with a matter regulated by certification rules or Chapter 48, it cannot be accepted as a complaint because the agency does not have the authority to investigate it.
Complaints related to the contractual arrangement between the certified child care operator and the parent (i.e., payment disputes) generally are not certification-related issues. Complaints about the personality traits of the operator/provider, or interpersonal relationships between parents and an operator/provider also are generally not complaints that fall within agency’s jurisdiction. Allegations that are not a potential rule violation may be entered into the WISCCRS comments field(s) but it is not required and they are not required to be investigated in accordance with DCF 202. Certification workers should keep in mind comments fields can be viewed by non-certification workers in CSAW and caution is advised when entering comments in WISCCRS.
Note: If the complainant alleges rule violations in their report to the certification agency, but also includes allegations that do not pertain to certification rules, the certification worker may include the non-certification related allegations (such as contract disputes), as part of the intake, but is not required to do so.
This page last updated 01/2020.