Wisconsin Legislature: Ch. DCF 13 TOC

Chapter DCF 13

BACKGROUND CHECKS FOR CHILD CARE PROGRAMS

DCF 13.01 Purpose and scope.

DCF 13.02 Definitions.

DCF 13.03 Background check request.

DCF 13.04 Obtaining armed forces information.

DCF 13.05 Determining whether other offenses are substantially related.

DCF 13.06 Background check eligibility.

DCF 13.07 Reporting requirements.

DCF 13.08 Sanctions.

DCF 13.09 Appeal of background check determinations.

DCF 13.10 Rehabilitation reviews by agency.

DCF 13.11 Eligibility for rehabilitation review.

DCF 13.12 Applying for rehabilitation review.

DCF 13.13 Agency rehabilitation review process.

DCF 13.14 Appealing a rehabilitation review panel’s denial.

DCF 13.15 Compliance with rehabilitation approval; withdrawal.

DCF 13.16 Permissive acceptance of a rehabilitation approval.

DCF 13.17 Fees.

DCF 13.01 Purpose and scope. This chapter is promulgated under the authority of ss. 48.67 (intro.), 48.686, and 227.11 (2) (a), Stats., to specify procedures necessary to implement background checks required under s. 48.686, Stats., for caregivers, noncaregiver employees, and household members at a child care program.

Note: For further information on the scope of the child care background check, see s. DCF 13.02 for definitions of terms used in this section.

History: EmR1918: emerg. cr., eff. 1-30-19; CR 19-089: cr. Register March 2020 No. 771, eff. 4-1-20; CR 20-003: am. Register July 2020 No. 775, eff. 8-1-20.

DCF 13.02 Definitions. In this chapter:

(1) “Agency” means the department, a certification agency, or a school board that establishes or contracts for a child care program under s. 120.13 (14), Stats.

(2) “Background check request form” means a form prescribed by the department on which a person completes required information for purposes of the child care background check.

Note: DCF-F-5296-E, Background Check Request Form, is available electronically through the Child Care Provider Portal and on the department’s website at https://dcf.wisconsin.gov/forms.

(3) “Bar” means any of the following:

(a) A barrier to a person’s eligibility for regulatory approval, employment, or contract as a caregiver.

(b) A barrier to a person’s nonclient residency at a child care program.

(4) “Caregiver” means any of the following:

(a) An employee or contractor of a child care program who is involved in the care or supervision of clients.

(b) A person who has direct contact with clients of a child care program and has unsupervised access to clients of a child care program, including student teachers, household members age 10 and older, and volunteers counted for the purpose of meeting the required staff-to-child ratios.

(5) “Certification agency” means the department in a county having a population of 750,000 or more or a county department, person, or tribe that has a contract with the department to certify child care providers under s. 48.651 (2), Stats., in a particular county or tribal area.

(6) “Child care background check” means the requirements in s. 48.686, Stats., and this chapter.

(7) “Child care program” means any of the following:

(a) A child care center that is licensed under s. 48.65, Stats.

(b) A child care provider that is certified under s. 48.651, Stats.

(d) A temporary employment agency that provides caregivers or noncaregiver employees to another child care program.

(8) “Client” means a person who receives direct care from a child care program, from an entity, as defined in s. DCF 12.02 (14), or from a caregiver specified in s. 48.685 (1) (ag) 1. am., Stats., including all of the following:

(a) An adopted child for whom adoption assistance payments are being made under s. 48.975, Stats.

(b) A child for whom subsidized guardianship payments are being made under s. 48.623, Stats.

(c) A person who is 18 to 21 years old, is receiving independent living services under 42 USC 677 (a) from an agency, is no longer placed in out-of-home care, and is residing in the foster home in which he or she was previously placed.

(9) “Contractor” means, with respect to a child care program, a person who provides services to the child care program under an express or implied contract or subcontract, or that person’s agent.

(10) “County department” means a county department of social services established under s. 46.22, Stats., or a county department of human services established under s. 46.23, Stats.

(11) “Department” means the department of children and families.

(12) “Direct contact” means face-to-face physical proximity to a client that affords the opportunity to commit abuse or neglect of a client or to misappropriate the property of a client.

(13) “Division of hearings and appeals” means the division of hearings and appeals within the department of administration.

(14) “Final substantiated finding” means all of the following:

(a) A final determination made after January 1, 2015, that a person has abused or neglected a child under s. 48.981 (3) (c) 5m., Stats., and s. DCF 40.04 if the final determination has not been reversed or modified on appeal.

(b) A determination made before January 1, 2015, that a person has abused or neglected a child under s. 48.981 (3) (c) 4., Stats., if the determination has not been reversed or modified on appeal.

(15) “Household member” means a person who is age 10 or older, who resides, or is expected to reside, at a child care program, and who is not a client of the child care program or caregiver.

(15m) “Noncaregiver employee” means a person who provides services to a child care program as an employee or a contractor and is not a caregiver, but whose work at the child care program provides the ability to move freely throughout the premises and opportunities for interactions with clients of the child care program.

(16) “Regulatory approval” means any of the following:

(a) Issuance, continuation, or renewal of a license by the department under s. 48.66, Stats.

(b) Issuance or renewal of certification by a certification agency under s. 48.651, Stats.

(c) Approval of the person subject to the child care background check for a child care program to be established or contracted for by a school board under s. 120.13 (14), Stats.

(17) “Rehabilitation review” means an agency process in s. 48.686 (5), Stats., under which an eligible person who has a bar may seek approval for any of the following:

(a) Regulatory approval.