o
Currently, a certified provider may care for children for up to 16 hours in 24-hour period, while a licensed provider may only care for children for up to 12 hours in a 24-hour period. o
There are almost 80 providers that are both licensed and certified. These providers care for children as a licensed provider for 12 hours and as a certified provider for an additional 4 hours. o
This dual regulation creates overlapping roles and responsibilities for certification agencies and the department, as well as complex compliance and enforcement issues and costly automation needs.o
Allowing licensed providers to care for children for up to 16 hours in a 24-hour period will provide continuity under the more stringent health and safety rules of licensure and meet parents’ needs for child care during standard and nonstandard hours. o
The department will be contacting the dually-regulated providers during the summer of 2019 to inform them of this upcoming change. Licensees will be able to expand their licensed hours of operation to 16 hours in a 24-hour period effective September 30, 2019, when the department’s corresponding emergency rule including this provision is expected to be effective.
Consolidate the rules on information required to be in a child’s file.
Incorporate the state statutory requirements for vehicle liability insurance under s. 344.62, Stats., and carbon monoxide detectors under s. 101.149, Stats.DCF 251, Licensing Rules for Group Child Care Centers
The proposed rules revise ch. DCF 251, Group Child Care Centers, to do the following:
Amend the existing preservice or orientation training and continuing education requirements to comply with 45 CFR 98.44 as follows:o
Within 3 months after obtaining a license or beginning to work with children in care, providers must obtain certification in infant and child cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). CPR certification is currently required within 6 months after licensure or beginning work. o
Additional continuing education topics are added to correspond to the list of health and safety standards that providers are required to maintain and update under 45 CFR 98.44 (b) (2) (i) and 45 CFR 98.41 (a) (1).
Allow centers to move infants and toddlers between groups of children to accommodate staffing needs. Infants and toddlers are still required to have a consistent caregiver in a consistent room, but a center may move children to accommodate staffing needs.
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 proposed rules revise 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 proposed rules 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 rules are also reorganized and “streamlined” to clarify requirements for child care providers.
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 pre-service 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.
