Wisconsin Department of Children and Families - Division of Early Care and Education
Bureau of Early Care Regulation
Child Care Licensing Procedure Manual
When the investigation is concluded and the licensing manager/licensing supervisor determines that a facility should be allowed to reopen, s/he must notify the BECR director and the OLC attorney.
The licensing manager/licensing supervisor verbally informs the licensee that the licensee may reopen the center and follows this with a standardized letter. A notation explaining the decision to allow the facility to reopen should be included in the General Comments field in WISCCRS. The notation should also indicate the date, time, and name of the person who verbally informed the licensee of the decision. A copy of the letter sent to the licensee authorizing the reopening should be uploaded into WISCCRS.
The letter that is used to provide written notice to reactivate the license and permit the reopening of the center restates the previous agreement that the licensee voluntarily closed the child care center due to an ongoing investigation (or other purpose) and that the license was not summarily suspended. It further states that the allegations were found to be unsubstantiated (or that an employee who was substantiated has been terminated, or that a household member who was substantiated no longer lives at the child care location) and confirms that the center may reopen. The standardized format for the “Notice to Permit Reopening of the Center” is located on the BECR Intranet.
The licensing specialist or licensing manager/licensing supervisor must ensure that all parties who were informed of the temporary closure are told that BECR has allowed the facility to reopen. This is accomplished by copying the same parties on the notice to permit reopening as were included on the original closure agreement. Once the county/tribal subsidy unit has official notification of the reopening, the “Suspend Authorization” field in CSAW can be deleted and new authorizations can be created.
The licensee is responsible for informing the parents of children that had been in care at the center prior to the closing, of the reopening.
This page last updated 10/2020.