Wisconsin Department of Children and Families - Division of Early Care and Education
Bureau of Early Care Regulation
Child Care Certification Policy Manual
The content of the certification module is intended to provide certification agencies with information that may be useful in their administration of the certification program. The information and guidance provided does not constitute legal advice or recommendations from the Department of Children and Families.
This manual should not be used as a substitute for applicable administrative rules or statutes. Legislation and regulations are subject to change and, therefore, it is advisable for readers to refer to current rules, legislation and current Operations Memos. Certification workers/agencies should consult with their corporation council as needed.
Readers must be aware that updates and amendments will be made from time to time to the module. It is the certification worker’s responsibility to determine whether there have been any such updates or amendments.
This module describes policy and procedures related to complaints and incidents (self-reports):
A complaint means an alleged violation (also referred to as a noncompliance) of the certification administrative rules or DCF 13 or the Background Check Law in accordance with s. 48.686. The authority to receive and carry out complaint investigations is provided under DCF 202.07, Wis. Administrative Code
Incidents
are self-reports from a child care operator that may require an investigation/follow
up action by the certification worker.
DCF 202.08(1m)(b) Reporting changes. A certified family child care
operator shall report as soon as possible, but no later than the county
or tribal agency’s next working day, to the agency any changes that
affect the certified family child care operator’s eligibility for
certification under this chapter, including the information noted
in section 29 in Module
7 - Monitoring.
Depending on the nature of the self-report the report may require action/investigation by the certification worker.
Certification workers are required to use the Complaint/Incident Module in WISCCRS to record self-reports (and complaints) that involve the death of a child or an accident/incident that results in an injury to a child in care that requires professional medical evaluation.
For purposes of determining whether an incident or accident must be reported by the child care operator, professional medical evaluation means an evaluation by a medical professional (including a dentist), regardless of the outcome of the evaluation. That is, the operator must report the incident or accident resulting in an injury requiring medical evaluation, even when the medical professional determines that further treatment, medication or follow up is not necessary.
The Difference Between a Self-Reported Incident and a Complaint
A self-reported incident is an acknowledgement by the operator that an incident, accident or death has occurred. There is no debate about whether the event reported has actually happened. The point of a follow-up investigation into the reported event is to determine whether one or more violations may have been a factor in the incident, accident or death and what regulatory action should be taken, if any.
A complaint, on the other hand, is an allegation that one or more violations of pertinent administrative rule has occurred. A complaint is always made by someone other than the certified operator and may sometimes be made anonymously.
The complainant may be a parent or other family member, a neighbor, center staff, another member of the community or a representative of an agency such as, for example, a social service staff person or law enforcement personnel. The point of a complaint investigation is to determine whether the alleged violation is, in fact, true and, if so, what regulatory action should be taken.
A certified child care operator self-reporting a violation under DCF 202.08 does not meet the definition of a complaint, as this is not an allegation of noncompliance but rather an admission of it. The certifier may choose to document the communication from the operator in WISCCRS comments or use the Incident Module if the self-report requires an investigation/follow up. Although follow up activity, such as a site visit and / or issuance of a 294 may be warranted, it would not be documented as a complaint. If an operator self-reports an incident/accident that results in an injury to a child in care, however, the certification worker shall document the incident/injury in the WISCCRS Complaint/Incident Module.
Allegations that are not a potential rule violation (such as contractual disputes) or self-reports that do not need to be investigated do not need to be entered in the Complaint/Incident Module in WISCCRS.
Note: The certification worker may enter allegations that are not related to rule violations into WISCCRS, as case comments, in order to document when an allegation was filed and the reason for being screened out/not investigated. Keep in mind, however, comments the certification worker enters in WISCCRS can also be viewed in CSAW by noncertification workers.
Sometimes a certification worker will learn through a report in the media about an incident that has potential certification implications. Like an operator’s self-report of a violation, a media report may generate follow-up activity, such as a site visit and / or issuance of a 294, but it would not be recorded as a “complaint”. However, if the certification worker is made aware of an injury to a child requiring medical evaluation, but the injury was not self-reported by the operator, nor was it reported by a complainant, the certification worker should require the operator to submit a self-report. Subsequent to the submission of the self-report, the injury shall be recorded using the complaint/incident module and coded as a “self-report”.
Complaints alert certification workers to possible problems at a certified child care program that may not be apparent during routine monitoring visits. Complaints may come from a variety of sources, such as parents and other family members, neighbors, program staff, social service or law enforcement personnel, community members and anonymous sources.
Because complainants may be unfamiliar with the certification administrative rules and statutes, complaint allegations are not always related to certification requirements and may not be within the jurisdiction of the certification agency. Certification workers are responsible for examining the nature of a complaint allegation and determining which allegations relate to certification administrative rules and statutes and which allegations should be referred to other agencies. Once these jurisdictional issues are clear and referrals have been made, certification workers are required to investigate any complaint that involves or potentially involves noncompliance with one or more certification statutory and / or administrative rule requirements.
Before the complainant begins sharing detailed information or concerns, the certification worker should search WISCCRS to determine if:
The provider is currently certified in your County/Tribe: If the provider is not certified by your agency, refer the caller to the appropriate certification agency.
The provider is licensed or unregulated: If the provider is licensed or unregulated, refer the caller to the appropriate Bureau of Early Care Regulation Regional Office.
Complaint intake, screening and investigation are critical functions. All complaints must be treated seriously. Complaints related to possible violations of the certification administrative rules must be investigated promptly (within 10 working days). Effective 9/30/19, in accordance with DCF 202.07(s) no later than the next day after a certification agency receives a complaint or self-report that suggests imminent danger may exist to the health, safety, and welfare of children in care, the certification agency shall respond to a complaint or self-reported incident. Complaints that fall under the jurisdiction of another certification agency, county or social service agency or law enforcement must be immediately referred to the appropriate agency.
Following completion of the complaint investigation, the certification worker finds that the complaint is either substantiated or unsubstantiated; that is, based on a complaint investigation, either a rule violation occurred and a 294 was issued or a rule violation did not occur and a 294 was not issued. When a rule violation has been substantiated through the complaint investigation, a Noncompliance Statement and Correction Plan (DCF-F-CFS0294) must be issued (unless the certification worker will be issuing a revocation), and the certified operator must initiate corrective action as soon as possible. All investigative findings must be documented in WISCCRS.
The certification worker may send a written report of the investigation findings to the certified operator and to the complainant upon request (see section 10.2 for more details).
Note: See WISCCRS User Guide – Complaints and Incident Reporting for step-by-step data entry instructions. The WISCCRS system was modified in March 2015 to include incident/injury reporting required by the new Federal Child Care Block Grant. Incidents that result in a child needing medical evaluation must be reported by the operator to the regulatory agency. Additionally, the Department must report on maltreatment of children in child care settings. The Complaint/Incident module now has a place to record injuries and CPS Investigations and subsequent findings that are related to a complaint and/or incident
Complaint Jurisdiction and Time Frame
Complaints about a certified child care program shall be submitted to the appropriate certification agency with jurisdiction, based on location of the certified program. When a complaint suggests that the health, safety or welfare of children in care requires immediate action, the certification agency shall respond no later than the next day after the complaint is received. When the allegation in the complaint does not pose a risk of immediate danger to children in care, the investigation must begin within ten working days from intake of the complaint. Below is an abbreviated summary of the steps involved in a complaint investigation:
Complaint Intake
The intake should summarize the complaint, is entered into WISCCRS promptly and indicates that a complaint has been received and is the correct status (e.g. assigned, in progress, etc.).
Complaint Investigation
A complaint can only have one investigation record in WISCCRS, but the investigation can have an unlimited number of “Narratives” that describe the:
Alleged statutory rule violations
Methods used to conduct the investigation
Description of the investigative findings
Conclusions, recommendations, actions
Complaint Investigation Summary Letter
This letter, drafted by the certification worker, should indicate whether each alleged violation was substantiated or unsubstantiated. It is sent to the certified operator to share the results of the investigation. It may be shared with the complainant if requested. A Complaint Investigation Summary Letter specifies whether a noncompliance statement (DCF-F-CFS294) was issued at the time of the site visit, is attached to the Summary Letter, is not necessary or is being issued for a violation unrelated to the complaint. Note: A sample Complaint Investigation Summary Letter is posted on the Certification SharePoint Site.
Noncompliance Statement and Correction Plan (DCF-F-CFS294)
The certification worker uses this form to enumerate and document violations. When applicable, this form may be sent to the complainant with the Complaint Investigation Summary Letter.
Sanction Documents
Depending upon the outcome of the investigation, the certification worker may sanction a certified operator with a warning letter, suspension, or revocation.
Note: A certification agency has authority under DCF 202.06 to suspend or revoke certification if it is determined that anything in DCF 202.06(a) through (h) apply. Typically, a determination cannot be made until the investigation has begun or is complete. However, if the certification agency determines there is a danger to the health, safety or welfare of children in care, the agency may, for example, suspend certification pending the outcome of the investigation.
This page last updated 01/2020.