Wisconsin Department
of Children and Families - Division
of Early Care and Education
Bureau of Child Care Subsidy Administration
Wisconsin Shares Handbook
Provider Red Flag Reports
Red Flag Reports are automatically generated reports available in WebI. The Red Flag Reports identify providers that may be violating a policy or where there is a reasonable suspicion of fraudulent activity. The findings from these reports are then utilized to generate possible referrals.
Provider Red Flag Reports in WebI include (but are not limited to):
Provider Overcapacity Report
Unusual Payment Timing Report
Unusual Revenue Growth Report
Client Red Flag Reports
Red Flag Reports identify potential program integrity issues. Each report identifies a set list of criteria that have been flagged for review. Local agencies should use these reports as a source of referrals for further review and to identify fraud trends. The Client Red Flag Reports are located in Web Intelligence (WebI).
Reports include:
Current Authorized Hours Greater Than 50
Current Schedules for Approved Parent Activity
Cards Replaced Within 12 Months
Expungement
Funds About to Expire
Inactive EBT Cards For More Than 30 Days With a Balance Amount
Multiple Providers Including Child Care Need Schedule
Unusual Parent Schedule (parent schedule does not align with child care need)
The Bureau of Child Care Subsidy Administration (BCCSA) recommends local agencies prioritize reviewing the Expungement report and the Inactive EBT Cards For More Than 30 Days with a Balance Amount report. The Expungement report identifies cases where funds have aged off the EBT cards after not being used within a 90-day period. The Inactive EBT Cards For More Than 30 Days With a Balance Amount report identifies cards that have not been used for 30 calendar days and have a balance. After funds have aged off the card, they cannot be reissued.
Local agencies must perform a detailed case review on cases identified in these reports. This includes interviewing parents and/or providers to determine if the authorized hours are correct. After reviewing the case and verifying that no payment to the provider is necessary, the local agency may end a child’s authorization and retract all subsidy funds in the parent’s account.
Referrals
Provider referrals must be sent to the Child Care Fraud Mailbox at DCFMBCHILDCAREFRAUD@wisconsin.gov. Client investigation referrals must be entered into the Benefit Recovery Investigation Tracking System (BRITS) and screened prior to investigation. For additional client screening guidance, refer to the Client Referral Screening Process located in the Child Care Program Integrity Resource Library.
The department and local agencies are responsible for establishing a tracking method for all provider-based referrals that include the source, the allegation, background information, and the resulting action. A provider referral tracking template is available in the Child Care Program Integrity Resource Library.
When submitting a referral to the Child Care Fraud Mailbox, local agencies must include the referral reason, provider name or number, location number, client name or case number, date of incident, and contact information of complainant. If information is incomplete, please submit all information received from the complainant.
Client Referral Examples
Examples of scenarios that warrant a child care client referral include, but are not limited to:
Frequent provider changes (four (4) or more in a year)
Employment and/or income cannot be confirmed through data exchange
Employer has refused to complete an EVF-E, send an acceptable letter, or confirm the parent’s employment and/or income through collateral contact
Parent shares the same address as their provider
Parent is the provider and fails to report self-employment
Parent is in possession of a MyWIChildCare EBT card that is not their own
Parent has given their EBT card to an unauthorized person, including the provider
Parent requests three (3) or more hardship in a year
Parent has three (3) or more Approved Activity Search Periods (ACTS) or Temporary Break Periods (TBRK) in a year
Parent requests suspiciously high travel times
Parent overstates child care need to avoid paying a copayment or parent share
Child(ren) are not attending the center, but payments are being made
Parent’s approved activity is questionable due to:
Failure to respond to a request for verification following a report of a change in employment
Questionable EVF-E
Parent is not in their approved activity, and any ACTS or TBRK periods would have expired
Suspicion of fraudulent documentation
Report of parent and provider colluding to commit fraud (including kickbacks)
Frequent requests in a short period for registration fee funds to the same provider
Provider Referral Examples
Examples of child care provider fraud referrals that local agencies should submit to the Child Care Fraud Mailbox include, but are not limited to:
Care is being provided at a location where the child does not have an authorization
Care is being provided at an unauthorized and unregulated location
Certified provider is holding outside employment during the facility’s hours of operation
Children who attend the center also reside with the provider
Payments are being made to the provider for children who have not attended for 30 or more calendar days
Payment is being made to a provider for a child who has never attended the provider location
Two (2) or more no access visits by department or local agency staff have occurred
Missing or incomplete attendance records
Children in attendance are not on attendance records or are missing arrival and departure time(s)
Children not appearing on the attendance record for over 30 calendar days
Children signed in on attendance records are not present
Prefilled arrival or departure times for children for future dates or times
Recording arrival and departure times on a schedule (i.e., Monday - Friday 7 a.m. – 4 p.m.)
Rounding of arrival and departure times
Suspicious record completion (i.e., attendance records appear to be completed in one (1) sitting vs. as children arrive and depart)
Provider does not have a Written Payment Agreement with each family receiving Wisconsin Shares subsidies
Provider has no policy regarding payment practices
Provider is not following their established payment practices
Provider is reported as making the payment on behalf of a parent using the parent’s EBT card information
Compromised MyWIChildCare EBT card or information
Report of a possible compromised EBT card or card/parent’s EBT card information observed in provider’s possession
Suspicious expulsions and disenrollment of children
Temporary and permanent closures of a provider location or locations
Frequent closures for provider “vacations”
Frequent unexpected or unannounced closures
Provider receiving payment for closure(s) more frequently than outlined in Section 14.9
Provider calls to determine the amount of funds on a parent’s EBT card
Provider calls to request assistance in resetting an EBT card PIN that is not their own
Reports of cashing out EBT cards or providing kickbacks to parents
Reports of a provider offering a discounted price to children of employees, but the provider denies offering discounts
Reports of provider offering discounts to all employees except for employees receiving subsidy
Charging subsidy families more than private pay families
Report of parent and provider colluding to commit fraud (including kickbacks)
Suspect the YoungStar rating is not accurate
Suspect misuse of Child Care Counts funds
Suspicious “Volunteer” parents:
Parents observed at location but not picking up or dropping off a child
Volunteer parents being listed as present at the facility when they are not
Volunteer parents who have reported wages from the provider
This section last updated 12/1/2023