Wisconsin Department of Children and Families - Division of Early Care and Education
Bureau of Early Care Regulation
Child Care Licensing Procedure Manual
Pursuant to Wis. Stat. § 48.73, in pertinent part, the Department may visit and inspect each child care center licensed by it and, for such purpose, shall be given unrestricted access to the premises described in the license. If the licensing specialist is unable to carry out the required monitoring of a center because s/he has not been able to gain entry to the center, a warning letter for no access visits must be issued to the licensee. This warning letter is issued when the licensing specialist has made two consecutive visits to a center in which s/he could not gain entrance to inspect the premises.
A standardized format, Warning Letter – Entrance, is available on the BECR Intranet and notifies the facility that the licensing specialist has attempted two visits to inspect the facility and has not gained entrance to the facility in each of the two attempts. This warning letter indicates that failure to provide for inspection of the premises may jeopardize the license (probationary or regular) and continued receipt of Wisconsin Shares payments. The warning letter gives the facility three days to respond by phoning the licensing specialist to discuss the status of the center and further states that the failure to respond could result in enforcement action, including license revocation. A Noncompliance Statement and Correction Plan (CFS -294) citing the inability to gain access to the premises is sent with the warning letter. This warning letter, signed by the licensing manager or licensing supervisor, may be sent via certified mail and regular mail.
A copy of the no access warning letter is shared with the DCF Bureau of Child Care Subsidy Administration (BCCSA) to notify BCCSA that the licensee may be receiving Wisconsin Shares payments for days when children are not in care and that the probationary license may be revoked.
If the licensee responds to the warning letter by contacting the licensing specialist to explain why s/he was unable to gain access on two consecutive visits (e.g., due to a temporary short term closure), the licensing specialist makes a monitoring visit to the center as soon as possible after the contact. If the licensing specialist is not contacted by the licensee following the warning letter, s/he should consult with the licensing manager regarding next steps.
7.1. Alternate No Access Visit Procedure – High Volume
7.2. Flow Chart for Alternate No Access Visit Procedure
This page last updated 10/2020.