Wisconsin Department of Children and Families - Division of Early Care and Education

Bureau of Early Care Regulation

Child Care Licensing Procedure Manual

Overview - Complaint Investigation Procedures - Licensed Facilities

A complaint is legally defined as an allegation of a violation(s) (also referred to as a noncompliance) of Wis. Stat. § 48 and/or the pertinent Administrative Code. The authority to receive complaints and carry out complaint investigations is provided under Wis. Stat. § 48.745 and Wis. Admin. Code §§ DCF 250.12, DCF 251.12 and DCF 252.06(1).

Complaints about a child care center licensed by the Department of Children and Families (DCF) may be submitted to the Department [delegated to, and hereafter referred to, as the Bureau of Early Care Regulation (BECR)] by telephone, letter, electronic mail or personal interview. BECR investigates complaints within its regulatory authority related to licensed and illegally operating facilities. This chapter describes procedures related to complaints about licensed facilities including group child care centers, family child care centers and day camps. The process for investigating complaints involving unlicensed facilities is addressed in this procedure manual in the Section titled Complaint Investigation - Unlicensed Facilities.

Complaints alert licensing specialists to possible problems at facilities that may not be apparent during routine monitoring visits or, in the case of unlicensed child care, may not otherwise come to the attention of licensing staff. Complaints may come from a variety of sources, such as parents and other family members, neighbors, center staff, social service and law enforcement personnel, other community members and anonymous sources. A complaint may originate from a BECR staff person who learns from an outside source, such as a media report, of an incident that has potential licensing implications.

A licensee self-reporting an actual violation does not meet the definition of a complaint, as this is not an allegation of noncompliance but rather an admission of it. Also, sometimes licensing staff will learn, through a report in the media, about an incident that has potential licensing implications. Like a licensee’s self-report of a violation, a media report may generate follow up activity but would not be recorded as a complaint.

Because complainants may be unfamiliar with the licensing administrative rules, complaints are not always related to licensure requirements and may not be within the jurisdiction of BECR. The BECR regional licensing staff is responsible for examining the nature of a complaint and determining which allegations relate to licensing administrative rules, which allegations should be referred to other agencies, and which allegations may not be subject to any governmental intervention. Once these jurisdictional issues are clear and referrals have been made, BECR staff is required to investigate any complaint that involves or potentially involves noncompliance with one or more administrative rule requirements.

When a complaint suggests that immediate attention is needed because potential imminent danger to the health, safety and welfare of children in care may exist, the regional office must respond no later than the next day after the complaint is received. For example, the complaint may involve allegations that there has been child abuse or neglect at the center.

When the allegation in the complaint does not pose a risk of imminent danger to children in care, the investigation must begin within 10 working days from intake of the complaint. Following completion of the complaint investigation, the licensing specialist determines that the complaint is substantiated or unsubstantiated; that is, based on a complaint investigation, either a rule violation was issued or a rule violation was not issued. All investigative findings must be documented and closed out within 20 working days from completion of the investigation.

The licensee is notified of the results of the complaint investigation either at the on-site exit interview or by phone. If requested, the results of the complaint may be shared with the complainant.

Complaint intake, screening and investigation are among the most critical functions performed by licensing specialists. All complaints must be treated seriously. Those complaints related to possible violations of the licensing administrative rules must be investigated promptly. Those complaints that fall under the jurisdiction of another agency, such as the county social/human service agency, must be immediately referred to the appropriate agency. When a rule violation has been substantiated through the complaint investigation, a Statement of Noncompliance and Correction Plan is issued and the licensee must initiate corrective action as soon as possible. Other enforcement actions, up to and including revocation of the license, may be initiated as well.

Below is a summary of the forms used during a complaint investigation:

This page last updated 05/2018.