Wisconsin Department of Children and Families - Division of Early Care and Education
Bureau of Early Care Regulation
Child Care Licensing Procedure Manual
Directly below each rule summary statement, the licensing specialist succinctly describes the administrative rule violation. The description should, as much as possible and appropriate, contain information on who, what, when, where and how the rule is being or was violated. The time of day of the monitoring visit is included if it is relevant to the violation. When documenting the violation, the licensing specialist should:
Use the following sentence structure: “On <date of monitoring visit>, <description of the violation that was observed including who, what and where>.” If all violations cited on the CFS-294 occurred on the same date and time of day, it is not necessary to repeat the date and time of day in describing each violation.
Write in concise, plain English. Any reader, including parents and the public who do not have knowledge of child care administrative rule, should be able to understand the description. Jargon and unclear and unnecessary words should be eliminated.
Only use acronyms that are nationally recognized such as CPR/AED. CPS and DCF are examples of acronyms that are not nationally recognized and should be avoided.
Be objective, factual, and descriptive. The description should not include derogatory comments or subjective observations, such as “The licensee showed a lack of good judgment.” Guesses at the licensee’s motivations, or the licensing specialist’s personal biases, opinions and feelings about the violation should not be included. Enough detail should be provided to support the decision to cite each violation, but should not include irrelevant information.
When the CFS-294 is generated by WISCCRS, “Repeat Violation” will be automatically designated.
Because of the public nature of the information contained on the form, the information on the CFS-294 is posted on the Regulated Child Care and YoungStar Public Search website one day after it is entered into WISCCRS, and therefore may be viewed by anyone with Internet access. The licensing specialist must ensure that necessary confidentiality is maintained when documenting the violation.
Be mindful that confidential information may not be included on the CFS-294 including staff names and children’s names, birthdays, Social Security Numbers (SSN’s) and Federal Employer Identification Numbers (FEIN’s). Confidential information also includes mental health, alcohol and other drug abuse, child protective services and juvenile delinquency information. If a violation is about missing information for a specific child or staff person’s file or if the violation is about the actions of one or more persons, the identifying information can be documented using a confidential key.
This page last updated 12/2018.