Wisconsin Department
of Children and Families - Division
of Early Care and Education
Bureau of Child Care Subsidy Administration
Wisconsin Shares Handbook
Families may experience situations that are no fault of their own that prevent them from using the originally authorized child care provider. These situations are often unexpected and are considered hardships. If continuing with the original child care provider would cause a hardship for the family, the family may be eligible for an authorization to a new provider during the current month.
To be eligible for an authorization in this situation, the Wisconsin Shares Assistance Group (AG) must meet one (1) of the following situations and the situation must create a legitimate and unforeseen hardship for the child(ren) to continue to attend the current child care provider for the remainder of the current month:
The child is relocated from their current residence so the family can escape domestic abuse and it is not reasonable to travel to the current child care provider.
The child has a temporary or chronic illness and is not able to attend their current child care provider due to that illness, but another child care provider can care for the child at their facility.
There is alleged abuse or neglect of the child by the current child care provider and a complaint has been made to the appropriate regulatory agency.
The child is expelled from the current child care provider for behavior issues.
The needs of a child with a disability are no longer being met by the current child care provider (for example, a teacher who supported the child has suddenly left the child care facility).
The safety of the parent or child is threatened by remaining at the current child care provider.
The family is evicted from their current home, and it is not reasonable to travel to the current child care provider.
A formerly homeless family finds stable housing and it is unreasonable to use the current child care provider.
There are sudden changes in a parent’s approved activity location which makes the use of the current child care provider unreasonable.
There are sudden changes in a parent’s approved activity schedule and the provider’s hours of operation do not accommodate the family’s need for child care.
One (1) parent passes away or unexpectedly leaves a two-parent or multi-generational Wisconsin Shares Assistance Group and the current child care provider either does not have the capacity to handle the family’s additional child care need, or the hours of operation no longer supports the family’s need for child care.
There is damage to the child care facility that creates an unsafe environment for children and makes it impossible for them to continue to attend the same provider.
The child care provider is temporarily closed and is located within an area affected by a state of emergency that has been declared by the Governor.
The child care provider has a voluntary, unforeseen permanent closure and the family needs to attend an alternate provider.
The provider does not allow the child(ren) to attend due to circumstances outside of the parent’s control (for example, the center has reached their regulatory capacity or provider-to-child ratios).
The child care provider’s regulation is suspended or revoked by a regulatory authority.
Upon request, DCF Wisconsin Shares policy staff may approve limited situations of hardship at their discretion. Local agencies that receive a request which does not fall under the criteria above but is demonstrated to be a hardship on the family, should email the Child Care Help Desk at childcare@wisconsin.gov for review and approval or denial.
The request for the new authorization must be made by the parent within 10 calendar days of the start of the unforeseen circumstance. Agency workers may approve a hardship authorization on a case-by-case basis that is requested beyond the 10-calendar day reporting requirement. There may be circumstances that prevent a parent from requesting a timely hardship authorization. These circumstances may include, but are not limited to, a domestic abuse situation, a child care provider losing their license/certification, or a family being evicted from their home. Agency workers must review each case to determine the circumstance for the late request and whether it should be approved or denied.
In situations where a hardship authorization is granted due to circumstances regarding the child (for example, the child is expelled from their current child care provider for behavior issues), all other children on the case may also change providers if those children were attending the same child care provider as the child receiving the hardship authorization.
The local agency will determine the duration of the authorization for the new child care provider, depending on the circumstances and point in time in the current month that the hardship is requested. Hardship authorizations do not need to be for a full month.
Local agencies must document every case reviewed for a possible hardship authorization on the CSAW Hardship page. See the CSAW User Guide – Authorizations for more information about this page. A hardship authorization must also be documented in case comments (see 12.2).
This section last updated 12/1/2022