Section DCF 13.02 - Definitions In this chapter:
(1) "Agency" means the department, a certification agency, or a school board that establishes or contracts for a child care program under s. 120.13(14), Stats.(2) "Background check request form" means a form prescribed by the department on which a person completes required information for purposes of the child care background check. Note: DCF-F-5296-E, Background Check Request Form, is available electronically through the Child Care Provider Portal and on the department's website at https://dcf.wisconsin.gov/forms.
(3) " Bar" means any of the following: (a) A barrier to a person's eligibility for regulatory approval, employment, or contract as a caregiver.(b) A barrier to a person's nonclient residency at a child care program.(c) A barrier to a person's eligibility for employment or contract as a noncaregiver employee.(4) "Caregiver" means any of the following: (a) An employee or contractor of a child care program who is involved in the care or supervision of clients.(b) A person who has direct contact with clients of a child care program or has unsupervised access to clients of a child care program, including student teachers, household members age 10 and older, and volunteers counted for the purpose of meeting the required staff-to-child ratios.(c) A person who has, or is seeking, a license, certification, or contract to operate a child care program.(5) "Certification agency" means the department in a county having a population of 750,000 or more or a county department, person, or tribe that has a contract with the department to certify child care providers under s. 48.651(2), Stats., in a particular county or tribal area.(6) "Child care background check" means the requirements in s. 48.686, Stats., and this chapter.(7) "Child care program" means any of the following: (a) A child care center that is licensed under s. 48.65, Stats.(b) A child care provider that is certified under s. 48.651, Stats.(c) A child care program established or contracted for under s. 120.13(14), Stats.(d) A temporary employment agency that provides caregivers or noncaregiver employees to another child care program.(8) "Client" means a person who receives direct care from a child care program, from an entity, as defined in s. DCF 12.02 (14), or from a caregiver specified in s. 48.685(1) (ag) 1 am., Stats., including all of the following: (a) An adopted child for whom adoption assistance payments are being made under s. 48.975, Stats.(b) A child for whom subsidized guardianship payments are being made under s. 48.623, Stats.(c) A person who is 18 to 21 years old, is receiving independent living services under 42 USC 677(a) from an agency, is no longer placed in out-of-home care, and is residing in the foster home in which he or she was previously placed.(9) "Contractor" means, with respect to a child care program, a person who provides services to the child care program under an express or implied contract or subcontract, or that person's agent.(10) "County department" means a county department of social services established under s. 46.22, Stats., or a county department of human services established under s. 46.23, Stats.(11) "Department" means the department of children and families.(12) "Direct contact" means face-to-face physical proximity to a client that affords the opportunity to commit abuse or neglect of a client or to misappropriate the property of a client.(13) "Division of hearings and appeals" means the division of hearings and appeals within the department of administration.(14) "Final substantiated finding" means all of the following: (a) A final determination made after January 1, 2015, that a person has abused or neglected a child under s. 48.981(3) (c) 5m, Stats., and s. DCF 40.04 if the final determination has not been reversed or modified on appeal.(b) A determination made before January 1, 2015, that a person has abused or neglected a child under s. 48.981(3) (c) 4, Stats., if the determination has not been reversed or modified on appeal.(15) "Household member" means a person who is age 10 or older, who resides, or is expected to reside, at a child care program, and who is not a client of the child care program or caregiver.(15m) "Noncaregiver employee" means a person who provides services to a child care program as an employee or a contractor and is not a caregiver, but whose work at the child care program provides the ability to move freely throughout the premises and opportunities for interactions with clients of the child care program.(16) "Regulatory approval" means any of the following:(a) Issuance, continuation, or renewal of a license by the department under s. 48.66, Stats.(b) Issuance or renewal of certification by a certification agency under s. 48.651, Stats.(c) Approval of the person subject to the child care background check for a child care program to be established or contracted for by a school board under s. 120.13(14), Stats.(17) "Rehabilitation review" means an agency process in s. 48.686(5), Stats., under which an eligible person who has a bar may seek approval for any of the following: (b) Employment or contract with a child care program to be a caregiver or noncaregiver employee.(c) Residency at a child care program.(18) "Reside" means to be present at a child care program for more than an aggregate of 14 calendar days within a 90-day period. "Reside" does not include incidental presence that does not afford unrestricted access to the premises or to children in care.(19) "Role" means a person's job as a caregiver or noncaregiver employee or a person's status as a household member at a child care program.(20) "School board" means the board that has the powers specified in s. 120.13, Stats., for the schools of a school district.(21) "Serious crime" has the meaning given in s. 48.686(1) (c), Stats. Note: A table that lists the child care serious crimes is available at https://dcf.wisconsin.gov/files/publications/pdf/5206.pdf.
(22) "Tribe" means a federally recognized American Indian tribe or band in Wisconsin.(23) "Volunteer" means a person who is not compensated, but agrees to give time, with or without reimbursement for expenses, to transport or to work with children in a child care program.Wis. Admin. Code Department of Children and Families DCF 13.02
Adopted by, EmR1918: emerg. cr., eff. 1-30-19; CR 19-089: cr. Register March 2020 No. 771, eff. 4-1-20; correction in (7) (a), (8) (intro.) made under s. 35.17, Stats., Register March 2020 No. 771, eff. 4/1/2020Amended by, CR 20-003: cr. (3) (c), r. and recr. (4) (a), am. (4) (b), (7) (d), (15), cr. (15m), am. (17) (b), (19) Register July 2020 No. 775, eff. 8/1/2020Amended by, correction in (14) (Note) made under s. 13.92(4) (b) 7, Stats., Register March 2021 No. 783, eff. 4/1/2021Amended by, CR 21-107: am. (14) (b) Register June 2022 No. 798, eff. 7/1/2022