Wisconsin Department of Children and Families - Division of Early Care and Education
Bureau of Early Care Regulation
Child Care Licensing Procedure Manual
The majority of complaints concerning licensed facilities will come to the attention of BECR staff through a telephone contact. Sometimes complaints are received in person in the regional office or, more often, at the center during a site visit. The BECR staff person who receives telephone or in person complaints must thoroughly question the complainant, record identifying information about the licensee, and develop a description of the alleged incident. The complainant should be informed that BECR’s role is limited to determining whether violations of licensing administrative rules have occurred, and that referral to other agencies will be made if other matters are involved. The complainant should also be asked whether they will want written or verbal feedback concerning the outcome of the complaint investigation. (See 2.1.1 regarding anonymous complaints.)
Often, 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 licensing rules 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 testify, if necessary;
Whether the complainant has reported the concerns to the center or another agency and if so, with what results.
If the complainant alleges child abuse or neglect, the complainant must be directed to report this to the appropriate county, if this has not already been done. BECR regional office staff should subsequently confirm that the alleged incident has been reported to the county. If no report was made, the licensing specialist should provide all known information to the county, including the names of the involved parties, either via phone, email or by faxing a copy of the intake form to the county.
The BECR staff intake person should keep in mind the following who, what, when, where, why and how questions in eliciting as much information from the complainant as possible:
WHO: Who are the persons involved, including the complainant, any witnesses, any children that were injured, and any staff at the center? If names aren’t available, what did the person look like? How can persons involved in the incident be contacted? Does complainant know of anyone else who might have knowledge of this or similar incidents? What is the complainant’s relationship to the licensed center? Is the complainant an employee, former employee, parent, volunteer, CPS agency, etc.? How does the complainant know that the incident occurred? What are the names, ages or dates of birth of any children involved?
WHAT: Specifically, what occurred? Is the complainant aware that administrative rules have been violated? What was the complainant’s involvement? What is the severity of the action (or lack of action) and any injuries sustained? What is the condition of other children in care? If the complaint concerns abuse or neglect, has the county been informed? What was their response?
WHEN: When did the incident occur, including, if possible, month, day, time, season, year? If the behavior has been reoccurring, when and how often has it been observed? Does a reoccurrence suggest a pattern of behavior? When is the best time to visit to see the behavior or incident? Was there anything special about the day involved, such as a school holiday, holiday weekend, field trip day, teacher workday, etc.?
WHERE: Where did the incident occur? Inside or outside the center? What was the exact address of the center? In what room did it occur? Was furniture or equipment involved and how?
WHY: Why did the incident happen? Did it appear to be the result of a spontaneous emotional outburst or routine behavior? Was a staff member sick? (These “why” questions may be related to motive but may not be relevant to the facts of the violation itself.)
HOW: How did the incident occur? What was the sequence of events? How often has it occurred? How does the complainant know it occurred? Does the complainant have any documentation?
Give the complainant a final opportunity to add anything else they haven’t already stated.
2.1. Receiving Complaints by Telephone or in Person
2.1.1. Receipt of Anonymous Complaints by Telephone or in Person
This page last updated 01/2017.