Wisconsin Department of Children and Families - Division of Early Care and Education
Bureau of Early Care Regulation
Child Care Licensing Procedure Manual
Family child care, group child care and day camp licensees are required to report to the Department [delegated to, and hereafter referred to, as the Bureau of Early Care Regulation (BECR)] the following:
Any incident or accident that occurs while the child is in the care of the center that results in professional medical evaluation, within 24 hours of the licensee becoming aware of the medical evaluation.
Any death of a child in care within 24 hours after the death.
Any injury caused by an animal to a child in care, within 24 hours of the occurrence.
This reporting requirement for licensees is set forth in Wis. Admin. Codes §§ DCF 250.04(3)(a), 250.04(3)(am), 250.04(3)(ar), 251.04(3)(a), 251.04(3)(am), 251.04(3)(ar), 252.41(2)(a), 252.41(2)(am) and 252.41(2)(ar). The injury must have been sustained while in the care of the child care center, including while in a child care vehicle, on a field trip or at the center itself.
Licensees must report the incident or accident resulting in professional medical evaluation, death or injury caused by an animal, to BECR either through verbal or written notification within 24 hours. Fax, e-mail, letter and in person are acceptable ways of notifying BECR within 24 hours. If the report is made by telephone, the licensee must submit a written report to the appropriate BECR regional licensing office within five business days of the incident. When submitting the written notification, the licensee may use either the department’s form, Incident Report - Regulated Child Care (DCF-F-CFS0055), or the licensee’s own form to report the event.
The licensing specialist reviews any self-report made by a center and may conduct a follow-up investigation on a self-report to determine whether licensing violations have occurred or if a situation exists that has the potential to cause harm to a child. The follow-up investigation may involve a site visit, a review of additional documentation submitted by the licensee, a review of police reports or county investigations and interviews with staff members, parents or other witnesses.
The report of an incident, accident, or injury caused by an animal necessitates that the licensing specialist take appropriate follow-up action including:
Deciding on the appropriate investigative response, which may vary from no investigation at all, to a desk review, to an extensive on-site investigation;
Making a determination as to whether one or more rule violations was a factor in the event;
Making a determination on the subsequent regulatory action to take, ranging from none to citing one or more violations to revocation of the license.
A report of an incident, accident, death or injury caused by an animal and the accompanying documentation is uploaded under Documents in the Location Details Section in WISCCRS.
It should be noted that the procedures described in this chapter only concern reports of incidents, accidents, resulting in professional medical evaluation, death and animal injuries only, and do not address other licensee reporting requirements such as:
Incidents that must be reported and recorded in the Complaint/Incident Reporting Module including reporting of a child leaving the center premises, law enforcement involvement, communicable diseases, traffic-related incidents, etc.
Self-reports recorded under Documents in the Location Details section in WISCCRS including changes in program service, meal preparation arrangements, administrator or center director, room usage, etc.
See the Complaint/Incident Investigation and WISCCR Reporting guidelines for more information on licensee reporting requirements.
This page last updated 10/2019.