AB385: Bill Text

AB385,1,6 An Act relating to: amending various rules promulgated by the Department of Children and Families governing the certification of child care operators, governing the licensing of child welfare agencies, and establishing standards for the operation of child care centers; and eliminating rules promulgated by the Department of Children and Families related to retaining public assistance case records.

Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau

Introduction

This bill amends various rules promulgated by the Department of Children and Families (DCF) governing the certification of child care operators, governing the licensing of child welfare agencies, and establishing standards for the operation of child care centers and eliminates rules promulgated by DCF related to retaining public assistance case records.

Child care certification

Under current law, DCF regulates the certification of child care operators for the purpose of reimbursement under the Wisconsin Shares child care subsidy program. Under DCF's current rules, agencies that may certify child care operators are called "county and tribal agencies" and include county departments of social services, county departments of human services, and tribal agencies. This bill amends DCF rules to refer to agencies that certify child care operators as "certification agencies." The bill expands the definition to include DCF in a county with a population of 750,000 or more and any agency that certifies child care operators through a contract with DCF, a county department of social services, a county department of human services, or a tribal agency.

DCF's current rules allow any county or tribal agency's action to deny, suspend, revoke, or refuse to renew a child care operator's certification to be appealed under administrative procedures that apply to local units of government. The bill amends DCF rules to specify that an action by DCF to deny, suspend, revoke, or refuse to renew a child care operator's certification in a county with a population of 750,000 or more may be appealed under administrative procedures that apply to state agencies.

DCF's current rules also require a family child care operator or in-home child care operator to demonstrate to a county or tribal agency that he or she is free from tuberculosis prior to certification and recertification, and allows the agency to accept tuberculosis test results only if administered up to 12 months before the certification application date. This bill amends DCF rules to require a child care provider to demonstrate that he or she is free from tuberculosis prior to the date the provider began working with children and to allow a certification agency to accept the results of a tuberculosis test administered up to 12 months prior to the date the provider began working with children.

Child care center operations

Under current law, no person may for compensation provide care and supervision for four or more children under the age of seven for less than 24 hours a day unless that person obtains from DCF a license to operate a child care center. Current law requires DCF to promulgate rules establishing standards for the operation of child care centers.

Those rules include a rule requiring a child care center providing care and supervision for not more than eight children (family child care center) to provide written information to parents on whether the family child care center has insurance coverage on vehicles, if transportation is provided by the family child care center. This bill eliminates that requirement.

Those rules also include a rule requiring a family child care center to maintain for each child enrolled in the family child care center a written record of enrollment information and health history on a form provided by DCF. This bill requires enrollment information and health history to be maintained on separate forms provided by DCF.

In addition, those rules include: 1) a rule requiring a child receiving care from a family child care center or a child care center providing care and supervision for more than eight children (group child care center) to have an initial health examination no later than three months after being admitted to the child care center and to have followup health examinations at certain intervals after that; and 2) a rule requiring a report on such a health examination to be made on a form provided by DCF that is signed and dated by a licensed physician, physician assistant, or HealthCheck provider, which is a provider of health assessment and evaluation services certified by the Department of Health Services. This bill permits a health examination report to be made on an electronic printout from a licensed physician, physician assistant, or HealthCheck provider.

Current law permits DCF to award staff retention grants and quality improvement grants to child care providers that meet certain quality of care standards established under rules promulgated by DCF. Current law, however, does not allocate any moneys for those grants. This bill eliminates those rules.

Finally, the bill corrects, in the DCF rules relating to child care, certain cross-references to the rules governing the responsibilities and qualifications of group child care center program directors, teachers, and assistant teachers.

Child welfare agency licensing

Under current law, no person may provide care and maintenance for four or more children for 75 days in a 12-month period unless the person obtains from DCF a license to operate a child welfare agency. A child welfare agency license is valid until revoked or suspended, but must be reviewed every two years. To continue a child welfare agency license for an additional two years, a child welfare agency must submit an application for continuance of the license to DCF at least 30 days prior to the continuation date of the license. If DCF approves the application, DCF must continue the license for an additional two years.

Current rules promulgated by DCF governing the licensing of child welfare agencies, however, require a subsequent application by a child welfare agency to be submitted to DCF at least three weeks prior to the expiration of the current license. This bill conforms those rules to the statutes by modifying those rules to require a subsequent application by a child welfare agency to be submitted to DCF at least 30 days prior to the continuation date of the current license.

Public assistance records

Under current DCF rules, a county, tribal, or W-2 agency that contracts with DCF to administer one or more public assistance programs (income maintenance agency) is required to retain certain items used to verify information related to a public assistance case for certain amounts of time. For example, under current DCF rules, an income maintenance agency must retain items to verify an applicant's social security number, birth information, alien status, and medicare enrollment, if required to determine eligibility for public assistance, while the public assistance case is open. Current DCF rules also provide the conditions under which original case records that are copied in microfilm reproduction, optical disk, or electronic format may be destroyed. Finally, current DCF rules require that destruction of public assistance records must be done in a manner that make the records unreadable. This bill eliminates DCF's rules related to retaining public assistance case records.

The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do enact as follows:

AB385,1 Section 1. DCF 54.02 (3) (d) 1. of the administrative code is amended to read:

AB385,4,2 DCF 54.02 (3) (d) 1. At least 3 weeks 30 days prior to the expiration continuation date of the current licensing license.

AB385,2 Section 2. Ch. DCF 121 of the administrative code is repealed.

AB385,3 Section 3. DCF 201.02 (2m) of the administrative code is amended to read:

AB385,4,10 DCF 201.02 (2m) "Certification agency" means the department in a county having a population of 500,000 750,000 or more; a county department of social services established under s. 46.22, Stats.; a county department of human services established under s. 46.23, Stats.; a tribal agency; or any agency that has a contract contracts with the department any of those entities to certify child care providers under s. 48.651, Stats., and ch. DCF 202 in a particular county or tribal area.

AB385,4 Section 4. DCF 201.06 (3) (b) of the administrative code is repealed.

AB385,5 Section 5. DCF 202.01 (2) of the administrative code is amended to read:

AB385,4,17 DCF 202.01 (2) Applicability. This chapter applies to county and tribal certification agencies and to all providers of child care who receive reimbursement with state or federal child care funds and who are not required to be licensed under s. 48.65, Stats., including providers of child care for 1 to 3 children, providers of child care for a child in the child's home, and providers of child care for school-age children.

AB385,6 Section 6. DCF 202.02 (1) of the administrative code is repealed.

AB385,7 Section 7. DCF 202.02 (1s) of the administrative code is created to read:

AB385,4,24 DCF 202.02 (1s) "Certification agency" means the department in a county having a population of 750,000 or more; a county department of social services established under s. 46.22, Stats.; a county department of human services established under s. 46.23, Stats.; a tribal agency; or any agency that contracts with any of those entities to certify child care operators under s. 48.651, Stats.

AB385,8 Section 8. DCF 202.02 (2) of the administrative code is amended to read:

AB385,5,4 DCF 202.02 (2) "Certified child care home" or "home" means the residence in which the certified child care operator provides care of children and which meets the standards under s. DCF 202.08 for reimbursement of care by county or tribal certification agencies.

AB385,9 Section 9. DCF 202.02 (3h) of the administrative code is amended to read:

AB385,5,9 DCF 202.02 (3h) "Child care certification worker" means a person employed by a county, a governing body of a federally-recognized American Indian tribe, or an agency under contract with a county or tribe whose duties include determination of eligibility for child care certification.

AB385,10 Section 10. DCF 202.02 (4) of the administrative code is repealed.

AB385,11 Section 11. DCF 202.02 (14) of the administrative code is amended to read:

AB385,5,13 DCF 202.02 (14) "Physician's Physician assistant" means a health care professional certified under s. 448.04 (1) (f), Stats., and ch. Med 8.

AB385,12 Section 12. DCF 202.04 (3) (a) of the administrative code is amended to read:

AB385,5,18 DCF 202.04 (3) (a) Form. Application for certification shall be made on a form available from the county or tribal certification agency in the county or tribal territory where the child care is provided. The applicant shall submit the completed form to that county or tribal certification agency.

AB385,13 Section 13. DCF 202.04 (3) (d) of the administrative code is amended to read:

AB385,5,21 DCF 202.04 (3) (d) Compliance with standards and certification. The county or tribal certification agency shall process all certification applications as follows:

AB385,5,24 1. If the application is for certification under sub. (2) (a), the county or tribal certification agency shall review the application for compliance with standards under s. DCF 202.08 prior to issuing a certificate.

AB385,6,6 2. If the application is for certification under sub. (2) (b), the county or tribal certification agency shall refer the application to a licensing representative in the department regional office. The licensing representative shall determine whether the applicant is in compliance with all standards under s. DCF 202.09 and report back to the county or tribal certification agency. The county or tribal certification agency may issue a certificate based on the licensing representative's report.

AB385,14 Section 14. DCF 202.04 (3) (e) (intro.) of the administrative code is amended to read:

AB385,6,15 DCF 202.04 (3) (e) Approval. (intro.) Within 60 days after receiving a completed application for certification or recertification and satisfactory investigation and determination that the applicant is fit, the county or tribal certification agency shall either approve the application and issue a certificate or deny the application. Fit "Fit" means the applicant displays the capacity to successfully nurture and care for children and includes consideration of any of the following:

AB385,15 Section 15. DCF 202.04 (3) (f) of the administrative code is amended to read:

AB385,6,19 DCF 202.04 (3) (f) The county or tribal certification agency may backdate a certificate of approval to the date that the county or tribal certification agency received the applicant's completed application for certification.

AB385,16 Section 16. DCF 202.04 (4) (a) of the administrative code is amended to read:

AB385,6,25 DCF 202.04 (4) (a) A county or tribal certification agency may charge a fee for family child care certification not to exceed 150 percent of the licensing fee for a family child care center that provides care and supervision for 4 to 8 children, under s. 48.65 (3) (a), Stats., plus the costs of criminal record checks required under s. 48.685, Stats.

AB385,17 Section 17. DCF 202.04 (4) (b) of the administrative code is amended to read:

AB385,7,5 DCF 202.04 (4) (b) The county or tribal certification agency may charge a fee for school-age child care certification not to exceed the licensing fee for a group child care center that provides care and supervision for 9 or more children under s. 48.65 (3) (a), Stats., plus the costs of criminal record checks required under s. 48.685, Stats.

AB385,18 Section 18. DCF 202.04 (5) (intro.) of the administrative code is amended to read:

AB385,7,10 DCF 202.04 (5) Categories of family certification. (intro.) Certification of a provider an operator by a county or tribal certification agency shall be Level I (regular) or Level II (provisional) as follows:

AB385,19 Section 19. DCF 202.04 (6) (a) of the administrative code is amended to read:

AB385,7,14 DCF 202.04 (6) (a) The county or tribal certification agency responsible for certification of a provider an operator shall be determined by the geographic area in which the child care is provided.

AB385,20 Section 20. DCF 202.04 (6) (b) of the administrative code is amended to read:

AB385,7,18 DCF 202.04 (6) (b) Certification issued to a provider an operator by a county or tribal certification agency shall be accepted as valid by all other agencies authorized to certify providers.

AB385,21 Section 21. DCF 202.04 (6) (c) of the administrative code is amended to read:

AB385,7,22 DCF 202.04 (6) (c) The county or tribal certification agency shall ensure that each new day care certification worker completes the department-approved certification training during the first 6 months of employment.

AB385,22 Section 22. DCF 202.04 (7) (a) of the administrative code is amended to read:

AB385,8,3 DCF 202.04 (7) (a) Qualifications of certified child care operators. County and tribal Certification agencies shall maintain records demonstrating child care operator compliance with s. DCF 202.08 (1).

AB385,23 Section 23. DCF 202.04 (7) (b) 1. of the administrative code is amended to read:

AB385,8,7 DCF 202.04 (7) (b) 1. `General.' County and tribal Certification agencies shall help assure operator compliance with s. DCF 202.08 (2) to (12) in accordance with this section.

AB385,24 Section 24. DCF 202.04 (7) (b) 2. (intro.) of the administrative code is amended to read:

AB385,8,11 DCF 202.04 (7) (b) 2. `Required procedures.' (intro.) A county or tribal certification agency shall:

AB385,25 Section 25. DCF 202.04 (7) (b) 3. (intro.) of the administrative code is amended to read:

AB385,8,15 DCF 202.04 (7) (b) 3. `Optional procedures.' (intro.) A county or tribal certification agency may:

AB385,26 Section 26. DCF 202.04 (7) (b) 3. e. of the administrative code is amended to read:

AB385,8,24 DCF 202.04 (7) (b) 3. e. Require an evaluation and written statement by a physician or licensed mental health professional of any person associated with the care of children or any household resident if the county or tribal certification agency has reason to believe that the person's physical or mental health may endanger children in care. The county or tribal certification agency shall document what reason it has to believe that the person's physical or mental health may endanger children in care.

AB385,27 Section 27. DCF 202.04 (8) of the administrative code is amended to read:

AB385,9,5 DCF 202.04 (8) Exceptions to particular certification requirements. A county or tribal certification agency may grant an exception to any standard in s. DCF 202.08 or 202.09 if the county or tribal certification agency determines that an alternative means meets the intent of the requirement, except for rules related to criminal background investigation required under s. 48.685, Stats.

AB385,28 Section 28. DCF 202.04 (9) of the administrative code is amended to read:

AB385,9,12 DCF 202.04 (9) Certification decision after background review. The county or tribal certification agency shall conduct background reviews in accordance with s. 48.685, Stats. For guidance in resolving issues that arise in particular cases, the county or tribal certification agency shall follow ch. DHS 12, and the crimes table incorporated into ch. DHS 12, and shall apply the standards that apply to licensed child care facilities.

AB385,29 Section 29. DCF 202.05 (1) of the administrative code is amended to read:

AB385,9,24 DCF 202.05 (1) The county or tribal certification agency shall follow the requirements for criminal history and child abuse record search that are contained in s. 48.685, Stats., and ch. DHS 12, and the crimes table incorporated into ch. DHS 12, and shall apply the standards that apply to licensed child care facilities, except the county or tribal certification agency shall require any prospective or current employee, contractor under the control of the certified child care operator, volunteer, or non-client resident to submit the completed background information form to the county or tribal certification agency prior to initial certification and recertification. In applying the provisions relating to rehabilitation decisions, all decisions and review procedures shall be made and conducted by the county or tribal certification agency.

AB385,30 Section 30. DCF 202.05 (2) of the administrative code is amended to read:

AB385,10,8 DCF 202.05 (2) Each county or tribal certification agency shall maintain its records concerning each person whose certificate is denied, revoked, or not renewed for a reason specified in s. 48.685 (4m) (a) 1. to 5., Stats. The county or tribal certification agency shall report this information to the department's bureau of early childhood education. The county or tribal certification agency shall immediately report the receipt of an application for rehabilitation review and the results of each rehabilitation review to the office of legal counsel of the department of health services.

AB385,31 Section 31. DCF 202.06 (1) (intro.) of the administrative code is amended to read:

AB385,10,12 DCF 202.06 (1) (intro.) The county or tribal certification agency may deny, suspend, revoke, or refuse to renew certification if any of the following apply:

AB385,32 Section 32. DCF 202.06 (1) (c) of the administrative code is amended to read:

AB385,10,15 DCF 202.06 (1) (c) The county or tribal certification agency determines there is danger to the health, safety, or welfare of the children in care.

AB385,33 Section 33. DCF 202.06 (1) (e) of the administrative code is amended to read:

AB385,10,18 DCF 202.06 (1) (e) The child care operator fails to cooperate with the certifying certification agency.

AB385,34 Section 34. DCF 202.06 (1) (j) of the administrative code is amended to read:

AB385,10,22 202.06 (1) (j) The evaluation under s. DCF 202.04 (7) (b) 3. e. gives the county or tribal certification agency reasonable concern that the person's physical or mental health may endanger children in care.