Consolidate all requirements for staff into one section, including staff files, qualifications, and professional development and do the following: o
Add alternative ways to meet the qualifications without creating additional minimum qualifications for a center administrator, director, teacher, or assistant teacher. o
Repeal the requirement that a center director work a specified number of hours per week exclusively carrying out director duties. o
Expand the ways that staff may qualify for work exclusively with school-age children, including the Wisconsin Afterschool and Youth Development Credential.
Create exceptions for centers serving only school-age children to the following:o
The requirement regarding screens on doors and windows used for ventilation.o
The requirement for an energy absorbing surface at least 9 inches deep on playgrounds.
Move provisions related to child care programs established or contracted for by school boards from ch. DCF 252, Subchapter II, to ch. DCF 251. These programs are required to comply with the group child care center licensing rules. The department will conduct an annual inspection of the programs to monitor compliance with the rules.DCF 252, Licensing Rules for Day Camps
The emergency rule revises ch. DCF 252, Day Camps, to do the following:
Consolidate requirements on staff records and qualifications into one section and allow the Wisconsin Afterschool and Youth Development Credential as an educational qualification for camp directors.
Consolidate rules on the condition of the premises, including buildings and other spaces used by children. Summary of Data and Analytical Methodologies
The primary purpose of the emergency rule is to ensure that the department’s rules affecting child care certification and licensing comply with the health and safety requirements in federal regulations based on the Child Care Development Block Grant (CCDBG) Act of 2014. The emergency rule also regroups the department’s child care certification and licensing rules that address the same topics in different places, eliminate duplicative provisions, correct errors, and clarify language where needed to ensure proper implementation and administration of the health and safety requirements.
Summary of Related Federal Law
Each state shall have statutes or rules applicable to child care providers that include requirements designed to protect the health and safety of children on, at a minimum, all of the following topics:
The prevention and control of infectious diseases, including immunizations.
The prevention of sudden infant death syndrome and the use of safe sleeping practices.
Administration of medication, consistent with standards for parental consent.
Prevention and response to emergencies due to food and allergic reactions.
Building and physical premises safety, including the identification of and protection from hazards, bodies of waters, and vehicular traffic.
Prevention of shaken baby syndrome, abusive head trauma, and child maltreatment.
Emergency preparedness and response planning for emergencies resulting from a natural disaster or a human-caused event within the meaning of those terms under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act. The following topics shall be included:o
Procedures for evacuation, relocation, shelter-in-place, and lock down. o
Staff and volunteer emergency preparedness training and practice drills.o
Communication and reunification with families. o
Continuity of operations.o
Accommodation of infants and toddlers, children with disabilities, and children with chronic medical conditions.
Handling and storage of hazardous materials and the appropriate disposal of biocontaminants.
Appropriate precautions in transporting children, if applicable.
Pediatric first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation.
Recognition and reporting of child abuse and neglect.45 CFR 98.42 Enforcement of licensing and health and safety requirements Each state shall have monitoring policies and practices to ensure that child care providers comply with applicable health and safety requirements. Compliance monitoring for licensed child care must include at least one inspection before a license is issued and an unannounced inspection at least annually. Compliance monitoring for license-exempt child care must include an annual inspection.
Each state is required to have in effect requirements, policies, and procedures to require and conduct criminal background checks for employees of child care facilities including prospective staff members and any individual residing in a family child care program who is age 18 and above.
Framework
Each state must establish a framework for training, professional development, and postsecondary education for child care providers, teachers, and directors that is developed in consultation with the state advisory council and addresses professional standards and competencies, career pathways, and workforce information and financing. A state’s framework for training, professional development, and postsecondary education for child care providers, teachers, and directors shall also do all of the following:
Establish qualifications for providers in different child care settings.
Reflect current research and best practices, including culturally and linguistically appropriate practices.
Improve the quality, diversity, stability, and retention of providers, teachers, and directors. Preservice or Orientation Training
Each state shall require child care providers, teachers, and directors to complete a preservice or orientation training within their first 3 months in the position. The training shall include all of the following topics:
Child development, including the major domains (cognitive, social, emotional, and physical and approaches to learning). Ongoing professional development
Each state shall establish the number of hours of ongoing professional development that child care providers, teachers, and directors must complete annually. The required training shall be aligned to a progression of professional development and shall update health and safety standards, incorporate knowledge and application of the state’s early learning and developmental guidelines for children from birth to kindergarten, and incorporate social-emotional behavior intervention models.
Comparison to Adjacent States
All states have been amending statutes and rules to comply with CCDBG requirements.
Minnesota –New requirements will be effective 9/30/19, including additional staff orientation health and safety training, handling and disposal of bodily fluids, emergency preparedness and response training, and unannounced annual inspections.
Michigan –Michigan now requires that child care homes be licensed instead of registered. Annual licensing visits will be made to all child care sites. Emergency plans for centers will include a plan for what to do if there is violence at the center. Training requirements have broadened, including the requirement that all staff must have a current CPR/First Aid card. Temporary operation of a child care center at a different location in case of a disaster will now be allowed under certain circumstances.
Illinois –Illinois rules have been amended to incorporate additional training requirements for licensees and assistants and additional documentation for emergency preparedness plans. Changes to the background check process are pending.
Effect on Small Businesses
The emergency rules will affect small businesses that are child care operators or licensees. The rules will have minimal or no economic impact on these small businesses.
Analysis Used to Determine Effect on Small Businesses
Most of the substantive changes in the rule are required by federal law. Several other changes are less restrictive than the current rule.
Agency Contacts
