Wisconsin Department of Children and Families - Division of Early Care and Education
Bureau of Child Care Subsidy Administration
Wisconsin Shares Handbook
Parents with children who are enrolled in school may request authorized hours when they need child care to participate in their approved activity and school is closed due to:
Planned closures, according to the school calendar (i.e., teacher conferences, teacher in-service days, etc.)
Unplanned closures (i.e., inclement weather, emergency maintenance, etc.)
Parents can also request additional hours if an in-person school changes from an in-person day to a virtual school day due to inclement weather or another emergency and they need to participate in their approved activity.
| Example 1: Keith has a part-time after school authorization for 8 hours per week. On March 29, an ice storm hits and the school changes to a virtual school day instead of cancelling school for the day. Keith’s dad Aaron contacts the local agency and requests school closed hours for the day at Keith’s after school provider so that he can participate in his approved activity. Since Keith has a part-time authorization, the agency worker adds school closed hours for March 29. |
Children who have before and/or after school care at one (1) provider may need a second authorization to a different provider for when school is closed. If a child only needs care when school is closed, the agency worker can create a “zero-hour authorization” in CSAW (see 16.1.1.4.1).
Only children with part-time authorizations (20 weekly hours or less) or zero-hour authorizations are eligible to receive additional funds for days when school is closed. A parent with a full-time authorization (more than 20 weekly hours) or an above full-time authorization (50-75 weekly hours) for their school-age child must be advised to use their current authorized hours to meet their school closed need.
| Example 2: Tara previously worked full-time, third shift, but now works first shift for 15 hours per week. She has a 45-hour authorization for her child, Tina. She uses these hours in the evenings and on weekends. In March, Tara calls to request school closed hours for Tina for March 4 and the week of spring break (March 21—March 25). The agency worker informs Tara that the school closed hours cannot be authorized because she already has a full-time authorization. |
School closed hours can be requested in advance by parents who know their school closed need ahead of time. School closed hours can also be requested within 10 calendar days after the school day closure whether the day was a planned school closed day or an unexpected closure. The 10 calendar days begins the day after the last day of the school closure or school closure period. A school closure period means multiple consecutive school closed days. Agency workers must document the reason for the school closure in case comments (see 12.2).
| Example 3: Susie has a zero-hour authorization for her school-age child, Derek. She calls on January 15 to request school closed hours for Derek. His school was closed January 4 and 5 due to a snowstorm but the child care program was open, and Susie needed to work. Because the request was made within 10 calendar days from the last day the school was closed consecutively, the agency worker may add the additional hours for the days Derek attended child care while school was closed. |
| Example 4: Jessica has a zero-hour authorization for her school-age child, Laura. She calls on February 17 to request school closed hours for Laura because school was closed on February 5 and February 10. Because the request was made within 10 calendar days of February 10 but not February 5, the agency worker adds the additional hours only for February 10 for when Laura attended child care while school was closed. The agency worker does not add school closed hours for February 5 because Jessica requested the hours more than 10 calendar days after the school closure. |
The following children are not eligible for school closed hours:
Children who are homeschooled
Children who are truant
Children between the ages of 6 and 18 who are required to be enrolled in school per the Department of Public Instruction and are not enrolled
Children who are suspended from school
Children who are expelled and disenrolled
Parents can self-declare the additional hours needed when school is closed. If the parent does not know the exact number of hours needed, agency workers should enter the daily default amount of 10 hours. The parent’s need for 10 hours does not need to be verified.
Parents in an Approved Activity Search Period (ACTS) or Temporary Break Period (TBRK) are not eligible for additional child care hours, including additional school closed hours (see 17.2.1).
The school closed hours are subject to the same 90-day removal policy as all other funds (see 18.7). If the parent received additional subsidy hours for school closures and has not expended all the funds within 90 calendar days, the funds will age off and no longer be available to the parent.
This section last updated 11/1/2024