DCF 250.07 Note
Note: The Wisconsin Model Early Learning Standards are voluntary standards that were designed to help centers develop programs and curriculum to help ensure that children are exposed to activities and opportunities that will prepare them for success in school and into the future. The Standards are primarily intended as guidance on developmentally appropriate expectations and are not intended to be used as a checklist to gauge a child's progress. The Standards are based on scientific research. Copies of the Wisconsin Model Early Learning Standards are available on the Wisconsin Early Childhood Collaborating Partners website at
http://www.collaboratingpartners.com/ or through the Child Care Information Center at 1-800-362-7353.
Wisconsin has an information and referral service for persons with questions or concerns about a child's development called First Step that is available to the public 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. When a call is placed to First Step at 1-800-642-7837, the caller will learn about early intervention services as well as other related services in the area. When a provider or a parent has concerns about a child's growth or development a referral to a Birth-to-Three agency or the local public school should be considered to determine if the child is eligible for special services. With parental consent and consultation, it is recommended that centers who care for children who have an Individualized Family Service Plan (IFSP) or an Individualized Education Program (IEP) coordinate programming activities with the local school district or Birth to Three agency.
DCF 250.07(1)(b)
(b) A provider shall plan daily activities according to the age and developmental level of each child in care and shall include a flexible balance of all of the following:
DCF 250.07(1)(b)1.
1. Daily indoor and outdoor activities when a child is in care for more than 3 hours except that outdoor activities are not required during inclement weather or when not advisable for health reasons.
DCF 250.07(1)(c)
(c) Television, including videotapes and DVDs, may be used only to supplement the daily plan for children. No child may be required to watch television.
DCF 250.07(2)(a)
(a) Each family child care center shall provide positive guidance and redirection for the children and shall set clearly specified limits for the children. A provider shall help each child develop self-control, self-esteem and respect for the rights of others.
DCF 250.07(2)(b)1.1. In this paragraph, “
time-out period” means a break from the group that a provider offers a child to provide the child an opportunity to calm and regain composure while being supported by the provider.
DCF 250.07(2)(b)2.
2. A center may use a time-out period to handle a child's unacceptable behavior only if all of the following conditions are met:
DCF 250.07(2)(b)2.b.
b. The provider offers the child the time-out period in a non-humiliating manner.
DCF 250.07(2)(b)3.
3. The procedures for time-out periods shall be included in the center's written child guidance policy.
DCF 250.07(2)(c)
(c) Actions that may be psychologically, emotionally or physically painful, discomforting, dangerous or potentially injurious are prohibited. Examples of prohibited actions include all of the following:
DCF 250.07(2)(c)1.
1. Spanking, hitting, pinching, shaking, slapping, twisting, throwing, or inflicting any other form of corporal punishment on the child.
DCF 250.07(2)(c)2.
2. Verbal abuse, threats or derogatory remarks about the child or the child's family.
DCF 250.07(2)(c)3.
3. Physical restraint, binding or tying the child to restrict the child's movement or enclosing the child in a confined space such as a closet, locked room, box or similar cubicle.
DCF 250.07(2)(c)5.
5. Actions that are cruel, aversive, humiliating or frightening to the child.
DCF 250.07 Note
Note: See s.
DCF 250.04 (8) for information on reporting suspected child abuse and s.
DCF 250.04 (3) (i) for rules requiring that prohibited actions to a child be reported to the department within 24 hours after the occurrence.
DCF 250.07(3)(a)
(a) Safe indoor and outdoor play equipment shall be provided and shall be all of the following:
DCF 250.07(3)(a)2.
2. Of sturdy construction with no sharp, rough, loose, or pointed edges, in good operating condition, and anchored when necessary.
DCF 250.07(3)(a)3.
3. Placed so as to avoid danger of accident or collision and to permit freedom of action.
DCF 250.07(3)(a)5.
5. Used in accordance with all manufacturer's instructions and any manufacturer's recommendations that may affect the safety of children in care.
DCF 250.07(3)(b)
(b) Various types of play equipment shall be provided to allow for large and small muscle activity, dramatic play, creative expression and intellectual stimulation.
DCF 250.07(3)(c)
(c) Indoor play equipment shall be provided to allow each child a choice of at least 3 activities involving equipment when all children are involved in using equipment.
DCF 250.07(3)(d)
(d) Outdoor play equipment shall be provided to allow each child at least one activity when all children are using equipment at the same time.
DCF 250.07(3)(e)
(e) Trampolines and inflatable bounce surfaces on the premises shall not be in areas accessible to children and may not be used by the children in care.
DCF 250.07(3)(f)
(f) Furnishings shall be clean, durable, and safe with no sharp, rough, loose, or pointed edges.
DCF 250.07(3)(g)2.
2. Storage space for equipment, bedding, and children's clothing and personal belongings.
DCF 250.07 Note
Note: Lists suggesting kinds and numbers of equipment for centers are available from the Child Care Information Center by calling 1-800-362-7353.
DCF 250.07(4)(a)
(a) Children under 5 years of age in care for more than 4 consecutive hours shall have a nap or rest period.
DCF 250.07(4)(b)
(b) A provider shall permit children who do not sleep after 30 minutes and children who wake up early to get up and shall help them to have a quiet time through the use of equipment or activities which do not disturb other children.
DCF 250.07(4)(c)
(c) Each child one year of age or older who has a nap or rest period shall be provided with a sleeping surface that is clean, safe, washable, and placed at least 2 feet from the next sleeping child. The sleeping surface may be any of the following:
DCF 250.07(4)(cm)
(cm) Each child under one year of age who naps or sleeps shall be provided with a clean, safe, washable crib or playpen that meets the applicable safety standards in
16 CFR Part 1219 or
1220 and shall be placed at least 2 feet from the nearest sleeping child. Cribs or playpens may be placed end-to-end if a solid partition separates the crib or playpen, and an aisle not less than 2 feet in width is maintained between sleeping surfaces.
DCF 250.07(4)(d)
(d) Each child one year of age or older who is not using a sleeping bag shall be provided with an individually identified sheet and blanket that may be used only by that child until it is washed. Sleeping bags and bedding shall be stored in a sanitary manner and washed at least after every 5 uses or as soon as possible if wet or soiled.
DCF 250.07(4)(e)
(e) Infants shall sleep alone in cribs or playpens. Two related children may share a double bed. No more than one child may occupy a single size bed, cot, mat or sleeping bag.
DCF 250.07(6)(a)1.1. No child or other person with a reportable communicable disease specified in ch.
DHS 145 may be admitted to, or be permitted to remain in, a center during the period when the disease is communicable.
DCF 250.07(6)(a)1m.
1m. A licensee, provider, household member, employee, volunteer, visitor, parent, or a child in care may be admitted or readmitted to the family child care center if the person provides a written statement from a physician that the condition is no longer contagious or if the person has been absent for a period of time equal to the longest usual incubation period for the disease under ch.
DHS 145.
DCF 250.07 Note
Note: The Wisconsin Department of Health Services, Division of Public Health, has developed materials that identify those communicable diseases that are required to be reported to the local public health officer. These materials also provide additional guidance on the symptoms of each disease and information on how long an infected child shall be excluded from the center. Copies of the communicable disease chart are available on the Department of Health Services website,
https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/publications/p4/p44397.pdf.
DCF 250.07(6)(a)2.a.a. A licensee, provider, household member, employee, volunteer, visitor or parent whose behavior with respect to any child, adult, animal or property, on or off the center's premises, raises reasonable concern for the safety of the children, may not be in contact with the children in care.
DCF 250.07(6)(a)2.b.
b. The department may require a licensee, provider, household member or other adult in contact with the children whose behavior gives reasonable concern for the safety of children to submit to an examination by a licensed mental health professional as a condition of licensure or employment.
DCF 250.07 Note
Note: See also s.
DCF 250.11 (2) (e) which requires a written statement from a physician or licensed mental health professional when there is reason to believe that the physical and mental health of a person may endanger children in care.
DCF 250.07(6)(a)3.
3. No person with a health history of typhoid, paratyphoid, dysentery or other diarrheal disease may work in a center until it is determined by appropriate medical tests that the person is not a carrier of the disease.
DCF 250.07(6)(a)4.a.a. Upon each child's arrival at the center, a staff person shall observe the child for symptoms of illness or injury.
DCF 250.07(6)(a)4.c.
c. A child one year of age or older who appears to be ill shall be provided with a bed, crib, or cot and a sheet and blanket or sleeping bag.
DCF 250.07(6)(a)4.d.
d. A child under one year of age who appears to be ill shall be placed in a crib or playpen with a tight-fitting mattress and mattress covering.
DCF 250.07(6)(b)1.1. The licensee shall maintain a medical log book that has a stitched binding with pages that are lined and numbered.
DCF 250.07(6)(b)2.
2. Pages may not be removed from the medical log book under subd.
1. and lines may not be skipped. Each entry in the log book shall be in ink, dated, and signed or initialed by the person making the entry.
DCF 250.07(6)(b)3.
3. A provider shall record all of the following in the medical log under subd.
1.:
DCF 250.07(6)(b)3.a.
a. Any evidence of unusual bruises, contusions, lacerations, or burns seen on a child, regardless of whether received in or out of the care of the center.
DCF 250.07(6)(b)3.b.
b. Any injuries received by a child while in the care of the center on the date the injury occurred. The record shall include the child's name, the date and time of the injury, and a brief description of the facts surrounding the injury.
DCF 250.07(6)(b)3.c.
c. Any medication dispensed to a child, on the date the medication is dispensed. The record shall include the name of the child, type of medication given, dosage, time, date, and the initials or signature of the person administering the medication.
DCF 250.07(6)(b)3.d.
d. Any incident or accident that occurs when the child is in the care of the center that results in professional medical evaluation.
DCF 250.07 Note
Note: See s.
DCF 250.04 (8) for requirements related to reporting suspected child abuse or neglect.
DCF 250.07(6)(f)1.1. A provider may give prescription or non-prescription medications such as pain relievers, teething gels or cough syrup to a child only under the following conditions:
DCF 250.07(6)(f)1.a.
a. A completed written authorization on a form provided by the department, dated and signed by the parent is on file. Authorizations that exceed the period of time specified on the label are prohibited.
DCF 250.07 Note
Note: The department's form, Authorization to Administer Medication — Child Care Centers, is used to obtain the parent's authorization to provide medications. Information on how to obtain the form is available on the department's website,
http://dcf.wisconsin.gov, or from any regional licensing office in Appendix A.
DCF 250.07(6)(f)1.b.
b. The medication is in the original container and labeled with the child's name and with dosage and administration directions.
DCF 250.07(6)(f)1.c.
c. A written record, including the name of the child, type of medication given, dosage, time, date and the initials or signature of the person administering the medication shall be made in the medical log on the same day that the medication is administered.
DCF 250.07(6)(f)3.
3. Medications shall be stored so that they are not accessible to children.
DCF 250.07(6)(f)4.
4. Medications requiring refrigeration shall be kept in the refrigerator in a separate, covered container clearly labeled “medications."
DCF 250.07(6)(f)5.
5. No medication intended for use by a child in the care of the center may be kept at the center without a current medication administration authorization from the parent.
DCF 250.07(6)(f)6.
6. Medication for a child in care shall be administered by the center as directed on the label and as authorized by the parent.
