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Child Care Requirements

Regulated Child Care Requirements for the State of Wisconsin

Waukesha County Certified Care

A certified child care provider can care for three children, who are unrelated to them, with a max group size of six children in care. The rules and regulations for certified child care can be found here or on the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families website.

What is Certified Child Care?

Regulated child care (certified or licensed) is optional in Wisconsin as a provider can watch three children unrelated to them. Once a fourth child is added, the provider must become regulated.

Certified child care is provided within the provider’s home. The maximum number of children a provider is allowed to care for at one time is six (6).

Waukesha County Department of Health and Human Services Certification Staff reviews, approves, and monitors providers within Waukesha County. Certified child care providers are regulated under the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families Chapter 202 Child Care Certification.

There are two types of County Certified care: This type of care is done in a child care provider’s home.

  • Provisionally Certified—A provider must obtain training in Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) and Shaken Baby Syndrome (SBS).
  • Regularly Certified—A provider must obtain training in SIDS, SBS, a 20-hour course in child development (Module I or Intro. Part A), a 12-hour course pertaining to the business of child care (Fundamentals of Family Child Care), a 4-hour child/infant CPR course and 5 hours of continuing education annually.

WI State Licensed Care

The rules and regulations for State Licensed child care can be found here. The phone number of the State Department Bureau of Early Care and Regulation is 262- 521-5100.

There are two types of State Licensed Care

  • Licensed Family—This type of care is done in a child care provider’s home. A
    licensed provider can care for up to eight children in care. The provider must obtain training in SIDS, SBS, CPR, a 40-hour course on child development (Introduction to Child Care Profession), a 12-hour course pertaining to the business of child care (Fundamentals of Family Child Care), and 15 hours of continuing education annually.
  • Licensed Group—This type of care is done in a commercial building; an example of this type of care would be a daycare center. This provider is licensed to care for nine or more children. The max group size of the center depends on the square footage of the commercial building. The owner must follow commercial building codes and has to adhere to Chapter 251 DCF codes.

In order to receive W-2 subsidy payments from the Wisconsin Shares Program a child care provider must be regulated. Please visit the Wisconsin Department of Children & Families website for additional information pertaining to regulated child care. We wish you the best of luck with your child care search!

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