Wisconsin Department of Children and Families - Division of Early Care and Education
Bureau of Child Care Subsidy Administration

Wisconsin Shares Handbook

 

 

2.3 Confidentiality

All Wisconsin Shares case information is confidential. No person may use or disclose information regarding individuals applying for or receiving Wisconsin Shares for any purpose that is not related to the administration of Wisconsin Shares. Local agency records and data are confidential and should be open to public inspection or disclosure only when required by state or federal law. If local agencies have questions or concerns about disclosure, they should contact their local Corporation Counsel. If Corporation Counsel needs assistance, they may contact the Department of Children and Families (DCF) Office of Legal Counsel for assistance.

Safe at Home

Safe at Home is a statewide address confidentiality program administered by the Department of Justice that provides those who fear for their physical safety with a legal substitute address to be used for both public and private purposes. Safe at Home allows participants to use and receive mail at an assigned address in lieu of their actual address and then forwards the mail to the participants' actual address free of charge. Parents participating in the Safe at Home program will have an Authorization card with the Safe at Home mailing address. For more information about the program, see the Safe at Home page on Wisconsin Department of Justice website and Process Help Chapter 77.

No information regarding a Safe at Home participant’s actual address, including home, work, or school, may be shared under any circumstances, absent a court order. Any questions regarding this prohibition should be directed to DCF BEFORE releasing any information to anyone. This rule is absolute and includes sharing with other government programs and agencies. The parent’s Safe at Home mailing address can be shared with other programs as necessary.

There is no reason that local agencies need the actual home, work, or school address of a Safe at Home participant to determine eligibility or establish an authorization. Any verification received that includes the parent’s actual address must be censored or obscured prior to scanning the verification into the Electronic Case File (ECF). Anything regarding the parent’s actual address, including home, work, or school, must not be entered in CWW.  

Government Agencies and Third Parties

Information that is needed to administer Wisconsin Shares may be exchanged with other government agencies or third parties. This includes:

Health Information

Certain case information is highly confidential and subject to additional safeguarding. See the ECF Handbook for additional information on Restricted Documents.

When assisting the parent with obtaining documentation needed to verify that the parent meets the policy in Section 5.2, the agency worker must obtain a signed Confidential Information Release Authorization form (DCF-F-369-E). The form is not required when the parent provides verification without requiring assistance from the local agency.

Investigations

Local agencies must not disclose the reason for or details about an investigation to any person not within the assistance group without permission from the local agency’s Corporation Counsel. Local agencies can disclose any applicable information to governmental officials conducting an investigation, prosecution, or civil proceeding for Wisconsin Shares. The official must submit a written request to the local agency to obtain the information.  

The request must include:

However, the local agency must disclose information to the District Attorney (DA) and fraud investigators without a written request.

 

This section last updated 12/1/2022