Report Child Care Fraud

If you suspect Child Care Fraud, be a part of the solution. You may remain anonymous. Please fill out the Child Care Fraud Form, or email dcfmbchildcarefraud @wisconsin.gov.

Find Your Local YoungStar Office

find your local youngstar office

Report a Child Care Concern or Complaint

If you have a concern about something going on in a child care facility or you suspect child abuse, neglect or exploitation at a child care facility, please use the drop-down menu on the Tell Us How We Are Doing page to fill out the appropriate complaint form.

YoungStar Rating Criteria

children at table with provider

YoungStar is designed to help providers improve the quality of their business and program practices. To assist providers with their improvement efforts, YoungStar developed specific criteria that helps programs recognize their strengths and identify areas for improvement. The YoungStar evaluation criteria outlines the items that will be evaluated and can be used by Directors and Lead Teachers/Group Leaders to prepare for a YoungStar rating.

Rating Criteria Update Beginning 2024

The Department of Children and Families conducts a periodic examination of the YoungStar Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS) and the standards used to rate Wisconsin’s child care programs. Due to the pandemic, this process was delayed, but as of late 2023, is now underway.   

The goal of the update is to increase access to high-quality child care through:

  • Communicating information to parents so they can make informed child care decisions
  • Identifying quality standards that meet the unique needs of children and families
  • Assisting child care providers to achieve improvement goals and provide high-quality care through necessary trainings and supports

To achieve this goal, DCF is committed to engaging with a diverse group of early childhood educators, families, and other stakeholders for their input and feedback. This update will be a multi-year process and we will provide more information as this work progresses.   

Please check back to this webpage for updated information regarding this project and how you can be involved.

YoungStar Rating Documents

YoungStar Block System

You may have heard the term "block system" before, but what does it really mean? Well, in the case of YoungStar, it means a simplified rating structure that does away with points. The 2021/22 Evaluation/Rating Criteria will simply include the required items for each star level, plus additional high quality practices for 4 and 5 Star programs. This change allows programs to focus on the areas that are most linked to child outcomes.

Changes to YoungStar for 2021/2022

  • For a Technical Rating, programs will only be evaluated on the current 3 Star rating requirements.
  • For a Formal Rating, programs will only be evaluated on the current 4 and 5 Star rating requirements, plus a selection of seven (7) YoungStar quality practices that were previously optional.

Take a look at the YoungStar Block Diagrams to learn more:

YoungStar Evaluation/Rating Criteria for 2021/2022
YoungStar Rating Details
YoungStar Rating Verification Documents

YoungStar DAE Training 

Revised 2021/22 Developmentally Appropriate Environments Training

This online training focuses on the updated Developmentally Appropriate Environment (DAE) indicator in the 2021-22 YoungStar Evaluation Criteria. The DAE indicator is required for programs wanting to earn a 3, 4, or 5 Star rating. The updated evaluation criteria requirements will be effective for each program when they are rated in 2021-22. Participants will have the opportunity to go through each item within the DAE indicator to better understand the requirement. Videos, work samples, and other examples of implementation will be used to help the participant understand how to apply the practices within their own learning environment.

Esta capacitación en línea se enfoca en el indicador Developmentally Appropriate Environment (Entornos apropiados para el desarrollo) (DAE) actualizado en los Criterios de evaluación de YoungStar 2021-22. El indicador DAE es obligatorio para los programas que desean obtener una calificación de 3, 4 o 5 estrellas. Los requisitos actualizados de los criterios de evaluación serán efectivos para cada programa al momento de la calificación 2021-22. Los participantes tendrán la oportunidad de revisar cada ítem del indicador DAE para entender mejor el requisito. Se utilizarán videos, muestras de trabajo y otros ejemplos de implementación para ayudar al participante a entender cómo aplicar las prácticas dentro de su propio entorno de aprendizaje.

For further registration assistance, contact the Wisconsin Registry at 608-222-1123 or email support@wiregistry.org.

Resources to Support Developmentally Appropriate Environments (DAE)

Supporting Varied Levels of Difficulty

Children learn new skills in their own way and at their own pace, which is why it's so important that you have an understanding of how best to support a variety of needs in a variety of ways. The following presentation provides information on the different ways a child may learn, as well as gives tips on how to provide each child with supportive learning opportunities that are challenging, yet achievable.

Making Adaptations for Children with Disabilities

One of the most important things you can do as a caregiver is to understand and learn how to adapt an activity or learning opportunity so that every child in your care can be successful. Under most circumstances, the adaptations that you make should be simple and cost little to nothing to implement. The following resources will help you better understand what it means to make an adaptation and provides tips on the various adaptations you can make.

For more information and resources on creating accessible learning environments, see the Early Childhood Inclusion webpage.

Fostering Positive Interactions with Children

Building a positive relationship with the children in your care is a foundational component of good teaching. A positive adult-child relationship built on trust, understanding and caring will foster a child's cooperation and motivation and increase their positive outcomes while in your program. The following resources provide information and tips for building and supporting strong relationships.

Learning Center Ideas and Templates for Documenting Learning Standards
Observation Checklists

The following checklists are meant to help you assess the classroom environments within your program to determine if they meet the DAE criteria for B.1.3.

Environment Kit Idea Guides 

The following idea guides are meant to help programs see some of the ways that the different toys or materials found within the various environment kits can be used. A list of the toys and materials that were a part of each environment kit is also included if you are interested in purchasing similar items for your program.