SB 304

Introduction

This bill amends various rules promulgated by the Department of Children and

Families (DCF) governing the certification of child care operators, governing the

licensing of child welfare agencies, and establishing standards for the operation of

child care centers and eliminates rules promulgated by DCF related to retaining

public assistance case records.

Child care certification

Under current law, DCF regulates the certification of child care operators for

the purpose of reimbursement under the Wisconsin Shares child care subsidy

program. Under DCF's current rules, agencies that may certify child care operators

are called "county and tribal agencies" and include county departments of social

services, county departments of human services, and tribal agencies. This bill

amends DCF rules to refer to agencies that certify child care operators as

"certification agencies." The bill expands the definition to include DCF in a county

with a population of 750,000 or more and any agency that certifies child care

operators through a contract with DCF, a county department of social services, a

county department of human services, or a tribal agency.

DCF's current rules allow any county or tribal agency's action to deny, suspend,

revoke, or refuse to renew a child care operator's certification to be appealed under

administrative procedures that apply to local units of government. The bill amends

DCF rules to specify that an action by DCF to deny, suspend, revoke, or refuse to

renew a child care operator's certification in a county with a population of 750,000

or more may be appealed under administrative procedures that apply to state

agencies.

DCF's current rules also require a family child care operator or in-home child

care operator to demonstrate to a county or tribal agency that he or she is free from

tuberculosis prior to certification and recertification, and allows the agency to accept

tuberculosis test results only if administered up to 12 months before the certification

application date. This bill amends DCF rules to require a child care provider to

demonstrate that he or she is free from tuberculosis prior to the date the provider

began working with children and to allow a certification agency to accept the results

of a tuberculosis test administered up to 12 months prior to the date the provider

began working with children.

Child care center operations

Under current law, no person may for compensation provide care and

supervision for four or more children under the age of seven for less than 24 hours

a day unless that person obtains from DCF a license to operate a child care center.

Current law requires DCF to promulgate rules establishing standards for the

operation of child care centers.

Those rules include a rule requiring a child care center providing care and