Last month the Department of Children and Families (DCF) made an abrupt and significant policy change to the Wisconsin Shares payments to licensed family child care providers. But in doing so, according to the non-partisan Wisconsin Legislative Council, they neglected to follow legal procedure. The new policy was released as an “operations memorandum” even though it directly “contradicts the current rule.” In order to comply with the law, DCF needs to make such changes through promulgating an administrative rule.
Rep. Tamara Grigsby points this out in a press release dated 9/20/11. She argues that the Department should “cease its implementation of an illegal policy change”. The above rule that is affected by DCF’s policy change states that a provider may be paid on an attendance basis “if the agency has documented three separate occasions where the provider significantly overreported the attendance of a child” or “if the schedule of child care to be used is expected to vary widely.” However, the new payment scheme applies to ALL family child care, not just in instances of serious and repeated fraud or a widely varying child care schedule.
WCCF and the Early Learning Coalition agree that the new policy, implemented without hearing or consultation with the child care community, is unfair and damaging to licensed family child care providers and to the families they serve. We encourage the Department to reconsider this legally questionable and unnecessary policy change. We fear that in the Department’s zeal to address fraud they are punishing honest, conscientious child care programs serving the low-income families in Wisconsin Shares.
Daithi Wolfe
