Wisconsin Department of Children and Families - Division of Early Care and Education
Bureau of Early Care Regulation
Child Care Certification Policy Manual
At the end of a complaint investigation, the certification worker must reach one of the two following possible findings for each alleged violation(s) in the complaint:
The complaint is substantiated: Based on the complaint investigation, a rule violation / Noncompliance Statement will be issued (if action to revoke is not taken).
The complaint is unsubstantiated: Based on the complaint investigation, a rule violation / Noncompliance Statement will not be issued.
Note: Self-reported incidents are not “substantiated” or “unsubstantiated” but rather the investigation result is “N/A – Self Report”.
If other violations not related to the original complaint allegations are observed and cited in the course of the investigation, but no rule violations related to the original complaint allegations will be issued, the complaint is unsubstantiated. In this case, a Noncompliance Statement and Correction Plan (DCF-F-CFS294) is issued along with a letter to the operator indicating the finding. The letter should indicate that the complaint is unsubstantiated but other rule violations, not related to the complaint, were observed and cited.
In rare situations, the certification worker may determine that the complaint, whether valid or not, does not involve a certification DCF 202 or statutory requirement. This conclusion is usually sufficiently obvious at the point of intake so that no investigation is required (see section 1). In those situations when the investigation is conducted, and the allegation does not relate to specific certification rule or is referred to another agency for follow up, this should be noted in WISCCRS as a Complaint Investigation Narrative - Conclusions, Recommendations and Actions. Depending on the circumstances, the complaint may be deleted. Before deleting, however, the certification worker should consider how a record of any site visits, observations or interviews will be retained if the complaint is deleted.
8.1 Injuries and CPS Investigations
This page last updated 01/07/2019.