Wisconsin Department of Children and Families - Division of Early Care and Education
Bureau of Early Care Regulation
Child Care Licensing Procedure Manual
If a staff person other than the licensing specialist has received the complaint, a preliminary risk assessment should have been done. (See section 2.3.) Whether or not this has occurred, upon receiving the complaint, the licensing specialist must make an immediate assessment of the potential risk to children the alleged violations in the complaint poses. This assessment is based on the complaint information provided by the complainant and on what the licensing specialist may know about the particular center involved in the complaint. This assessment will determine how quickly the licensing specialist must respond to the complaint. (See section 4.) All complaints that suggest imminent danger may exist to the health, safety and welfare of children in care must be responded to no later than the next day after the regional office receives the complaint. If there is any doubt about the risk posed, the licensing specialist should immediately discuss the situation with the licensing manager/licensing supervisor. (See section 4.1.)
In assessing the level of risk, the licensing specialist must consider the following variables:
The reported role of the licensee in the event. If the licensee allegedly committed, condoned or failed to recognize or react responsibly, for example, to an event involving abuse/neglect or serious hazards of any sort, this always signals escalated risk;
The extent of actual harm that has occurred to children in care;
The extent of potential harm the alleged violation poses to children. For example, all children use the playground throughout the day, every day, so a report of hazardous playground conditions signals higher immediacy or probability of risk;
The historical probability that the alleged violations described have not been corrected or will recur. For example, the complainant alleges that an earlier warning was ignored; or, the center has a history of delayed or poor correction of noncompliances;
The risk profile of the children in the center. For example, infants and toddlers are more vulnerable than older children. The same violation may signal more risk in one center than it would in another with different clientele;
The probability that other rules besides those alleged to have been violated in the complaint may also have been violated, i.e., the likelihood that the complaint is not an isolated event but is part of a failure in management and monitoring systems in the center. For example, rules related to child supervision, staff to child ratios, safety practices, and center maintenance may logically be implicated when a child is found alone outside the center.
The licensing specialist must reassess the risk level of the situation and respond as necessary as more information becomes available.
3.1. Assessing the Level of Risk the Complaint Poses to Children in Care
3.1.1. Complaints that Require Immediate Attention
3.1.2. Complaints that Do Not Require Immediate Attention
This page last updated 10/2020.