PROVIDERS
Certification and Recertification: for information about how to become a Milwaukee County certified child care provider or to become recertified, please see below.
Steps to Becoming a New Certified Child Care Provider in Milwaukee County
STEP 1: Call 414-289-5891 or 414-289-6060 to obtain information on how to pre-register for the Certification Orientation-Part 1.
STEP 2: Attend the Certification Orientation-Part 1.
STEP 3: Attend the Certification Orientation-Part 2 at the Milwaukee County Learning Lab. (You will be notified of the location, date and time during the Certification Orientation-Part 1.)
STEP 4: Attend the Certification Orientation-Part 3 at the Milwaukee County Provider Learning Lab. (You will be notified of the location, date and time during the Certification Orientation-Part 2.)
STEP 5: Complete the application and other required forms. You may either mail the application or bring it along with the required fee in the form of a Money Order or Cashier’s Check made out to Milwaukee County to:
Perez Pena, Ltd
1220 W Vliet St, 2nd Floor
Milwaukee, WI 53205
STEP 6: Sign up for the State-approved Certification class.
STEP 7: Milwaukee County conducts a background check on every individual age 10 years or older living and working in the child care home.
STEP 8: A Milwaukee County Child Care Specialist will contact you to set up an appointment to inspect your home for health and safety compliance. This home visit occurs after the background checks have been completed for every individual age 10 years or older living and working in the child care home.
STEP 9: Milwaukee County makes a final decision to approve or deny a new certification application. You will be notified by Milwaukee County in writing of their decision.
For more information, contact Milwaukee County Department of Health & Human Services at (414) 289-6060.
Steps to Becoming a Recertified Child Care Provider in Milwaukee County
STEP 1: Perez Pena Ltd (PPL), the contract agency for Milwaukee County Department of Health & Human Services (DHHS), contacts the child care provider 90 days prior to the expiration date of their current certification period informing the provider about the recertification process.
STEP 2: The provider must attend the Recertification Orientation-Part A at Milwaukee County’s Learning Lab located at 1220 W Vliet St, Lower Level, Milwaukee, WI. You must bring the Perez Pena Ltd letter and photo identification to the recertification orientation. Part A of the orientation process consists of a computerized program entitled “What It Means to Be a Child Care Provider.” The computer program presents information to the provider with questions to answer after each topic.
STEP 3: Upon completion of Part A, the provider must attend the Recertification Orientation-Part B, which is held every other Tuesday at Milwaukee County DHHS, 1220 W Vliet St, Milwaukee, WI. At this session providers will receive their application packet. The session lasts approximately 2 ½ hours.
STEP 4: The Perez Pena Ltd letter needs to be stamped for Part A and Part B. This letter will be submitted with the application.
STEP 5: Complete the application and other required forms. You may either mail the application or bring it along with the required fee in the form of a Money Order or Cashier’s Check made out to Milwaukee County to:
Perez Pena Ltd
1220 W Vliet St, 2nd Floor
Milwaukee, WI 53205
STEP 6: Milwaukee County conducts a background check on every individual age 10 years or older living and working in the child care home. At the same time, all paperwork is checked and cleared. The “Clock Starts” for Milwaukee County DHHS to comply with state regulations after all background checks and paperwork have been cleared. Upon completion, the file is given to a Child Care Specialist Supervisor. The supervisor assigns the file to a Child Care Specialist.
STEP 7: The Child Care Specialist will contact you to set up an appointment that is mutually agreed upon to inspect your home for DWD 55 health and safety compliances.
STEP 8: The Child Care Specialist makes the final decision to approve or deny your recertification application.
Provider Licensing: for information about how to become a state licensed child care provider, contact the State Licensing Division at 262-521-5100 or use the following web address:
http://dhfs/wisconsin.gov/rl_dcfs/index.htm.
Web Site Information: for information on a business tool that will give you access to information from the child care subsidy program, please use the following web address:
http://www.dwd.state.wi.us/dws/programs/childcare/ccpi/default.htm
Then click on the “New User” link and follow the user-friendly instructions. For more information, you may contact Michelle Balistreri at 414-289-6305.
Quality Ratings: for information on quality standards for Milwaukee County child care, please see below:
The early childhood profession is responsible for establishing and promoting standards of high-quality and professional practices in early childhood programs. These standards must reflect current knowledge and shared beliefs about what constitutes high quality, developmentally appropriate early childhood education in the context within which services are delivered.
Evidence-based quality child care practices are based on knowledge about how children develop and learn. Listed in this explanation of quality child care are some of the empirically based principles of child development and learning that inform and guide decisions regarding quality child care practices.
In a Quality Child Care providers are trained and know that developmental domains are interrelated and use these interrelationships to organize children's learning experiences in ways that help children develop optimally in all areas and make meaningful connections across domains.
Providers know that human development has relatively predictable sequences of growth and change during the first nine (9) years of life. Knowledge of typical development of children with the age span by the provider can guide them in preparing the learning environment to plan realistic curriculum goals and objectives and appropriate experiences.
Providers know that each child is a unique person with individual patterns and timing of growth, as well as individual personality, learning styles and experiential and family background. All children have their own strengths, needs and interest; for some children, special learning and developmental needs or abilities are identified. Early experiences have both cumulative and delayed effects on individual children’s development. Optimal periods exist for certain types of development and learning.
Providers know that learning during early childhood proceeds from behavioral knowledge to symbolic or representational knowledge. Quality child care programs provide opportunities for children to broaden and deepen their behavioral knowledge through hands on experiences and symbolic knowledge.
Providers know that the interrelated socio-cultural context of the family, educational setting, community and broader society within a child’s life is where his/her development is best understood. Culture-customary beliefs and patterns of and for behavior are passed on to future generations by the society in which they live.
Providers understand the cultural context of the children they care for daily. Children are able to learn and function in more than one cultural context simultaneously. Children are active learners, drawing on direct physical and social experience, as well as culturally transmitted knowledge to construct their own understanding of the world around them.
Providers know that young children learn from observing and participating with other children and adults including parents and teachers.
Providers know that development and learning result from interaction of biological maturation and the environment, which includes both the physical and social worlds that children live in.
Providers know that play is an important vehicle for children’s social, emotional and cognitive development as well as a reflection of their development.
Providers know that children develop and learn best in the context of a community where they are safe and valued, their physical needs are met and they feel psychologically secure.
For more information, contact Milwaukee County Department of Health & Human Services at (414) 289-6060
Frequently Asked Questions: for answers to frequently asked questions about child care, please see below:
Q: What is certified family child care?
A: Certified family child care professionals can provide care for up to six (6) children in their own home. A certified provider must complete a 20-hour family child care certification class and five (5) hours of continuing education/training annually.
Q: What is provisionally certified family child care?
A: Provisionally certified family child care providers can provide care for up to six (6) children, depending upon their ages. State law does not require provisionally certified child care providers to complete any specific training.
Q: What is a licensed childcare?
A: Licensed child care is when a center is licensed by the State of Wisconsin to care for nine (9) or more children.
Q: What is licensed family child care?
A: Licensed family child care providers can provide care for up to eight (8) children, dependant upon their ages. He/she has completed a 40-hour child care licensing class and must complete 15 hours of in-service training each year.
Q: What are a Lead Teacher's qualifications?
A: A lead teacher in a licensed child care center must complete 80 hours of child care training for that position. A lead teacher must also complete 25 hours of continuing education annually. A lead teacher who is working with children under two (2) years of age must also complete a minimum of 10 hours of infant and toddler training.
Q: How much education is an Assistant Teacher required to have?
A: An assistant teacher must complete a 40-hour childcare class and 25 hours of continuing education annually. For more information, contact Milwaukee County Department of Health & Human Services at (414) 289-6060.
Technical Assistance: to obtain technical assistance related to child care in Milwaukee County, please call 414-289-6060.