Wisconsin Legislature: DCF 201.039(1)(a)

(b) Each provider that charges a registration fee shall submit the amount of the fee to the department.

(2) Electronic fund transfer. A provider shall complete the procedures necessary to receive payments by electronic fund transfer.

(3) Parental choice. A parent may choose any child care provider that meets the conditions in sub. (1).

(4) Price and rate. A parent may choose a child care provider with a child care price that is higher than the applicable maximum rate and pay the difference between the provider’s child care price and the applicable maximum rate under s. DCF 201.06 in addition to any required copayment.

(5) Written payment agreement.

(a) A provider shall enter into a written payment agreement with each parent that receives a child care subsidy for child care by the provider.

(b) The written payment agreement between a provider and parent shall include all of the following:

1. The provider’s monthly or weekly child care price.

2. The provider’s days and hours of operation.

3. Any discounts or scholarships that are available to parents, and any discounts or scholarships that the parent is receiving.

4. The parent’s payment schedule.

5. The provider’s anticipated closure dates.

6. Payment expectations for the child’s anticipated and unanticipated absences and the provider’s closure dates.

7. Parent procedures for termination of a child’s enrollment.

8. Provider procedures for termination of a child’s enrollment.

9. Any fees that parents are required to pay.

(c) A provider shall retain a copy of each current written payment agreement at the location where child care is provided.

(d) A provider shall retain a copy of an expired written payment agreement for at least 3 years after the child’s last day of attendance. The agreement shall be kept at a location where it can be made available to the department within 24 hours.

Note: DCF-F-5224, Provider/Parent Child Care Payment Agreement, is a voluntary form that a provider may use to comply with this subsection.

(6) Nondiscrimination. A provider may not charge a parent that receives a child care subsidy a higher child care price than a private pay parent is charged for a similar amount of child care, unless the difference is due to the children being in different age ranges under s. DCF 201.06 (1) (b) or a child’s special needs under s. DCF 201.06 (7).

(7) Confidentiality. A provider may not do any of the following:

(a) Require a parent to disclose the balance in the parent’s child care subsidy account.

(b) Require a parent to provide the parents EBT card, account number, or personal identification number to the provider.

(d) Possess a parent’s subsidy account number or personal identification number.

(8) Inactive assistance group. A child care provider shall notify the local child care administrative agency if the child of a parent who receives a child care subsidy has not attended within the previous 30 days.

History: EmR1709: emerg. cr., eff. 5-4-17; CR 17-033: cr. Register January 2018 No. 745, eff. 2-1-18; EmR1801: emerg. cr. (5) to (8), eff. 3-11-18; CR 17-099: cr. (5) to (8) Register July 2018 No. 751, eff. 8-1-18;correction in (5) (d) made under s. 35.17, Stats., and correction in (6) made under s. 13.92 (4) (b) 7., Stats., Register July 2018 No. 751; CR 18-088: am. (8) (title) Register July 2019 No. 763, eff. 8-1-19; correction in (1) (c) made under s. 13.92 (4) (b) 7., Stats., Register March 2020 No. 771; EmR2314: cr. (1m), (5) (b) 9., eff. 10-1-23; CR 23-016: cr. (1m), (5) (b) 9. Register January 2024 No. 817, eff. 2-1-24.

DCF 201.039 Authorizations.

(1) Assessment of child care needs.

(a) Eligibility determination and redeterminations. Following a parent’s initial eligibility determination and annual redeterminations, the child care administrative agency shall do all of the following:

1. Assess the assistance group’s child care needs and determine the number of hours of child care for which the parent may receive a subsidy.

2. Issue a new authorization based on the assessment.

(b) Duration of authorizations. When a child care administrative agency issues a new authorization or the agency extends an existing authorization, the end date of the authorization shall be the earlier of the following:

1. The date of an expected change that may affect the assistance group’s child care needs during the parent’s 12-month eligibility period.

2. The parent’s next annual eligibility redetermination under s. DCF 201.036 (4).

(c) Required new assessment and authorization during a parent’s 12-month eligibility period. During a parent’s 12-month eligibility period, the child care administrative agency shall assess an assistance group’s child care needs and issue a new authorization based on the assessment at all of the following times:

1. When a 2nd parent or a minor who is the biological parent of the child becomes a member of the assistance group.

2. When the parent requests an authorization and one calendar month or more has passed since the parent’s previous authorization ended.

3. When the assistance group’s child care needs no longer align with the child care provider’s hours of operation.

4. When the parent changes child care providers.

5. When the school year begins for a school-aged child.

6. When a parent has reached the 24th month of the education time limit under s. 49.155 (1m) (a) 4. or 5., Stats.

(2) Parent. A parent shall inform the child care administrative agency of all of the following:

(a) The child care provider that will care for the child.

(b) The specific dates and times of the parent’s schedule of approved activities under s. 49.155 (1m) (a), Stats.

(2g) Continuity of care.

(a) A child care administrative agency shall take into consideration child learning and development and shall promote continuity of care when authorizing hours of child care. The child care administrative agency is not required to limit authorized hours based on a parent’s schedule of approved activities or the number of hours the parent spends in those activities.

(b) During a parent’s 12-month eligibility period, the child care administrative agency shall allow a parent to continue under the parent’s most recent authorization, extend the parent’s most recent authorization, or offer the parent an authorization for up to the same number of hours as the parent’s previous authorization when any of the following changes begin:

1. The parent is continuing to participate in an approved activity, but the number of hours that the assistance group needs child care is decreasing.

2. The parent is beginning a temporary break.

3. The parent is beginning an approved activity search period.

(c) A parent may not consecutively take a temporary break of 3 months and continue eligibility for an approved activity search period of 3 months.

(d) A parent that ceases participation in any approved activity during a temporary break may continue eligibility for the remainder of the 3-month temporary break period.

(2r) Excessive unexplained absences.

(a) If a child care provider notifies the child care administrative agency that a child has not attended child care within the previous 30 calendar days and the child’s parent has not provided an explanation to the child care provider, the child care administrative agency shall make multiple attempts to contact the parent to determine if the assistance group’s need for child care has changed.

(b) The child care administrative agency shall terminate the parent’s authorization if the agency’s efforts at contacting the parent are unsuccessful.

(3) Licensed provider prices. A child care administrative agency may refuse to authorize payment for child care services by a child care provider licensed under s. 48.65, Stats., if the provider refuses to submit documentation of the provider’s child care prices in response to an agency request.

(4) Assistance group with more than one parent.

(a) In an assistance group with more than one parent, each parent shall meet the eligibility criteria in s. 49.155 (1m), Stats., and s. DCF 201.036, unless the child care administrative agency verifies that a parent has a disability or health condition that makes that parent unable to participate in an approved activity and unable to provide the child care necessary for another parent to participate in an approved activity. The agency shall require the parent to provide documentation of the disability or health condition from a doctor, physician assistant, nurse practitioner, psychiatrist, or psychologist.

(b) When assessing an assistance group’s child care needs, the child care administrative agency shall also consider the availability of a minor in the assistance group who is the biological parent of the child, unless the child care administrative agency verifies that the minor is unable to provide the necessary child care under par. (a).

(5) Care provided in a child’s home. A child care administrative agency may authorize payment for child care services in a child’s home only if the child care provider is certified under s. 48.651, Stats., and any of the following apply:

(a) Care is provided to 3 or more children from the same assistance group.

(b) Other licensed or certified care is not available within a reasonable geographic area.

(c) Other licensed or certified care is not available during the hours when child care is needed, such as during second or third shift or weekend hours.

(d) The child has a special need and child care is best provided in the child’s home.

(6) No parents or household members. A child care administrative agency may not authorize payment for child care services by a provider who is a parent of the child or who resides with the child.

(7) Authorization criteria for a child care provider’s child.

(a) The department or a child care administrative agency may authorize payment for the care of a child whose parent is a child care provider only if the care will be provided by another child care provider and any of the following apply:

1. The care will allow the parent to participate in an approved activity under s. 49.155 (1m) (a), Stats., other than an activity related to child care.

2. The department or agency determines that assistance is appropriate because the child has a special need.

3. The parent is the child’s foster parent.

4. The parent is the child’s guardian or interim caretaker and is receiving subsidized guardianship payments under s. 48.623, Stats., for the care and maintenance of the child.

5. The parent is a kinship care relative receiving payments under s. 48.57 (3m) or (3n), Stats., and the child has been placed with the kinship care relative under a court order.

6. Both of the following apply:

a. The child’s biological parent is a dependent minor child under the age of 19 who attends high school or participates in a course of study meeting the standards established by the state superintendent of public instruction for the granting of a declaration of equivalency of high school graduation.

b. The dependent minor parent and the child reside with a person who is considered the child’s parent for the purposes of this chapter and who may be the dependent minor parent’s custodial parent, kinship care relative, foster parent, or guardian or interim caretaker receiving a payment under s. 48.623, Stats., for the care and maintenance of the dependent minor parent.

(b) If a parent who is a child care provider submits documentation of circumstances that meet the conditions of this subsection, the child care administrative agency shall consider the documentation to be an application for a waiver under s. 49.155 (3m) (d) 3., Stats.

(8) Employee of certified provider. A child care administrative agency may not authorize payment for child care services by a provider certified under s. 48.651, Stats., if the child’s parent or a person who resides with the child is employed by the provider at the same location.

(8m) Authorizations for a parent who is self-employed.

(a) New business.

1. For purposes of this subsection, a child care administrative agency shall consider a parent’s self-employment to be a new business for the 24 months following the date that the parent reports beginning the business, except as provided in subd. 4. The child care administrative agency may consider a parent’s self-employment to be a new business until the parent’s eligibility redetermination following the end of this 24-month period.

2. Notwithstanding subd. 1., if a parent switches to a different type of self-employment during the time period specified in subd. 1., the child care administrative agency shall consider the parent’s subsequent type of self-employment to be a new business only until the end of the time period for the initial business.

3. While a parent’s self-employment is a new business for purposes of this subsection, the child care administrative agency may authorize payment for the number of hours of child care that the parent states is needed, up to a maximum of 50 hours per week.

4. After the end of the time period specified in subd. 1. or 2., the child care administrative agency shall determine the maximum number of hours of child care that may be authorized for a parent who begins a new type of self-employment under par. (b).

(b) Ongoing business.

1. If a parent’s self-employment is not considered a new business under par. (a), the child care administrative agency shall determine the maximum number of hours of child care that may be authorized for the parent per week as follows:

a. Calculate the parent’s average monthly gross income from self-employment based on the parent’s annual gross business income as reported to the internal revenue service.

b. Divide the parent’s average monthly gross income from self-employment by the higher of the hourly minimum wage under state or federal law and divide that amount by 4.3 weeks.