Wisconsin Department of Children and Families - Division of Early Care and Education
Bureau of Early Care Regulation
Child Care Certification Policy Manual
The majority of complaints concerning certified programs typically come to the attention of the certification worker through a telephone contact. The certification worker who receives telephone (or in person) complaints must thoroughly question the complainant, record identifying information about the certified operator, and develop a description of the alleged incident / violations. The complainant should be informed that the agency’s role is limited to determining whether violations of certification administrative rules have occurred, and that referral to other agencies will be made, if appropriate. The complainant should also be asked whether they want written or verbal feedback concerning the outcome of the complaint investigation (See section 2.1.2 regarding anonymous complaints).
The amount and quality of the information gathered at the point of intake greatly influences the outcome of the complaint investigation. Intake processing should determine the following:
Whether any certification rules or statutes are involved
The nature and extent of risk to children
The specifics of the reported incident such as date, time, location names, etc.
Whether the complainant observed the violation(s) first hand and, if so, whether s/he is willing to put their observation in writing
Whether the complainant can identify and provide contact information concerning other potential witnesses or has other information related to the situation
Whether the complainant is willing to supply contact information and to testify, if necessary
Whether the complainant has reported the concerns to the certified program or another agency and if so, with what results
Note: If the complainant alleges child abuse or neglect, the complainant shall be directed to report this to the appropriate county Child Protective Services (CPS) agency, if this has not already been done. Certification workers should subsequently confirm that the alleged incident has been reported to the CPS agency. If no report was made, the certification worker should provide all known information to CPS, including the names of the involved parties, either via phone or by faxing / emailing a copy of the intake form to the CPS agency.
This page last updated 07/29/2015.