Persons wishing to become certified day care providers can contact Wood County Human Services Community Resources Division at 715-421-8669.

Certified day care is required in situations where a person provides care and supervision:

• For less than 24 hours per day AND
• For no more than 3 children under age 7 AND
• To a maximum group size of 6, including the provider’s own children under age 7

Certified providers can care for up to six children at one time, three of which may be under the age of 7 and unrelated to the provider. Certified day care providers have different rules than licensed day care providers; please note that certification does not equal licensing.

Certified providers are eligible to receive reimbursements from the Child and Adult Food Program and can also provide care for children who receive Wisconsin Shares subsidies from the State of Wisconsin.

In order to be certified, required background checks are completed for all household members 10 years of age and older. Providers must also show that they are free of tuberculosis and have completed trainings in Sudden Infant Death Syndrome and Shaken Baby Syndrome Prevention and Abusive Head Trauma Training.

There is a $25.00 certification fee, plus additional fees for each set of backgrounds checks.

All certified family child care operators, including in-home operators, shall successfully complete department-approved preservice training within three (3) months of certification:

• Introduction to the Child Care Profession (Module A)
• Fundamentals of Family Child Care
• Infant/Child Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR)
  • CPR training must result in a certificate of completion. If the certificate of completion does not have a date specifying the length of time for which it is valid, the CPR training must be renewed every year.

New applicants meeting preservice training requirements may be granted Regular Certification. New applicants not yet meeting preservice training requirements may be granted Provisional certification, but must complete required training within three (3) months of certification.

A home visit must be completed before an applicant can become certified. At the home visit, the applicant will need the following:

• Proof of Sudden Infant Death and Shaken Baby Syndrome training
• A copy of the provider's TB test results
• A well water test report--if the applicant does not have city water
• Verification of rabies vaccination of all pets in the home
• A working smoke detector and carbon monoxide detector must be located on each floor of the home

A certified day care provider can have up to six children in his/her care at one time but only three can be under the age of 7.

Benefits of Child Care Certification:

• Provider is able to care for children whose parents receive Child Care Assistance
• Provider may participate in the Child and Adult Care Food Program
• Provider may get parent referrals from Child Care Resource and Referral Agency

Childcaring - Central WI Early Education Resources

For more information, including links to all applicable state laws, please see the Department of Children and Families Child Care Certification website.