Wisconsin Department of Children and Families - Division of Early Care and Education
Bureau of Early Care Regulation
Child Care Licensing Procedure Manual
The licensing manager/licensing supervisor may decide, in consultation with the licensing specialist, to refer a provider to the appropriate District Attorney for criminal prosecution under Wis. Stat. § 48.76, for operating a child care center without a license. Wis. Stat. § 48.76 provides that any person who violates the statute may be fined not more than $500 or imprisoned for not more than one year in county jail or both. The referral may be warranted when the illegally operating provider has been observed caring for large numbers of children and/or caring for a licensable number of children in unsafe conditions, has been substantiated more than once, has ignored previous orders to stop operating or any other circumstances that suggest potential harm to children. These circumstances should be described in the referral letter. The BECR referral is made through completion of the standardized format titled Referral to District Attorney, located in the Standardized Formats section on the BECR Intranet site.
This page last updated 10/2021.