State of Wisconsin Licensing Website

This will be my very first post and I am excited to share my knowledge with other centers and families looking for quality child care for their children.



The State of Wisconsin has a website where any person can go on and look at the infractions or non-compliances your center's respective licenser has written up for you. Per State Regulations regarding group licensed child care center's must post post these in an easily accesible place for the public to see and review.



Never before has it been accessible online. Well now it is.



http://dcf.wisconsin.gov/childcare/licensed/search.htm



As a parent myself I thought that this was a great thing for parents searching for care. You can anonymously check these out and it should help you with your decision without ever leaving the comfort of home. Then I received my monthly newsletter from the Wisconsin Child Care Administrators Association and what they thought of this new edition to the website and they came up with some pretty good answers.



When a licenser cites a center for a non-compliance there is a section on the form where the Director can write their thoughts and what they would do to fix this issue. The website lists out what the center was cited for and then an inquiring person can be re-directed to the online licensing manual for clarification but personally I think the manual reads a little like another language.



For example our licenser came out on 08/20/2007 and one of the things we were in non-compliance on was EXITS & PASSAGEWAYS - UNOBSTRUCTED, MINIMUM WIDTH Rule 46.06(4)(d). If you click on the rule which takes you to the manual, the rules says: (d) Exits and exit passageways shall have a minimum clear width of 3 feet and be unobstructed by furniture or other objects. What the website did not tell you was that the obstruction was in our one year old room and the items obstructing the door was a Little Tikes Table and two small plastic chairs that the toddlers had slid across the floor in front of the fire exit door. The website also does not state that the table and chairs were moved away from door while the licenser was in attendance. And lets be honest of there was a fire it would take nothing to throw those items aside to get the children out the door. These were not large or permanent pieces of furniture and any parent who has tripped over their children's toys can understand what I am saying. Things have a way of moving into your path although you do your best to keep them in their place.



I'm not saying that licenser's aren't doing their jobs because in this case there was something in front of the door. But I think when parents or anyone views these on the website they just need to keep in mind that the rules can be interpreted differently and there can always be extenuating circumstances. I urge parents looking for care to physically visit the center and look at the paper form posted next to all center's licenses. These have far more information to offer you.



Miss Erica