Wis. Admin. Code Department of Children and Families DCF 251.03 - Definitions
In this chapter:
(1g) " Abusive head trauma" means a serious
type of head injury, including shaken baby syndrome, that is caused by shaking,
throwing, hitting, slamming, or jerking.
(1r) "Administrator" means the person
responsible to the licensee for management of the group child care
center.
(2) "Assistant child care
teacher" means a child care worker who works under the supervision of a child
care teacher and who meets the qualifications under s.
DCF 251.05 (3)
(g).
(2m) " Background check request form" means a
form prescribed by the department on which a person completes required
information for the child care background check under s.
48.686, Stats., and ch. DCF 13.
Note: Form DCF-F-5296, Background Check Request, is available on the department's website, https://dcf.wisconsin.gov/cclicensing/ccformspubs.
(3) "Care" means providing for the
safety and the developmental needs of a child in a group child care
center.
(4) "Center director" means
the person who is responsible to the licensee for the supervision of the
center's program for children and for the supervision of the center's staff and
who meets the qualifications under s.
DCF 251.05 (3)
(e).
(4g) "Center-provided transportation" means
transportation provided in a vehicle owned, leased or contracted for by the
center or in volunteer or staff-owned vehicles regardless of whether the driver
is reimbursed for the use of the vehicle.
(4m) "Center-provided vehicle" means a
vehicle owned or leased by the center or a vehicle owned by the licensee or an
employee that is used to transport children, but does not include a vehicle
owned and driven by a parent or volunteer.
(4r) " Child care background check" means the
requirements in s. 48.686, Stats., and ch. DCF
13.
(5) "Child care teacher" means
a child care worker who plans, implements, and supervises the daily activities
for a designated group of children and who meets the qualifications under s.
DCF 251.05 (3)
(f).
(6) "Child care worker" means in a group
child care center, a child care teacher or assistant child care teacher, or in
a school-age program, a school-age program leader or school-age group
leader.
(8) "Complaint" means an
allegation that a provision of this chapter or of ch. 48, Stats., has been
violated.
(8g) "Credit" means
recognition for completing a course from an institution of higher
education.
(8r) "Crib" means a bed
for an infant or young child that is enclosed on 4 sides including play pens
and portable cribs.
(9)
"Department" means the Wisconsin department of children and families.
(10) "Division" means the department's
division of early care and education.
(10g) "Early childhood education" means the
teaching of children who are 8 years of age or less.
(10m) "Emergency" means unforeseen
circumstances that require immediate attention.
(10s) "EPSDT provider" means a provider of
health assessment and evaluation services that is eligible to be certified
under s.
DHS 105.37 (1)
(a).
(11) "Field trip" means any experience a
child has away from the premises of the center, while under the care of center
staff, whether a child walks or is transported.
(11g) "Fit and qualified" means displaying
the capacity to successfully nurture and care for children and may include
consideration of any of the following:
(a)
Abuse of alcohol or drugs.
(b) A
history of a civil or criminal conviction or administrative rule violation that
is substantially related to the care of children, as determined under s.
DCF
13.05.
(c)
Exercise of unsound judgment.
(d) A
history of civil or criminal offenses or any other action that demonstrate an
inability to manage financial resources or the activities of a
center.
(11r) "Full day
center" means a center that accepts children for care for 5 or more consecutive
hours in a day.
(12) "Group" means
a specific number of children who have a regularly assigned child care worker
and who are cared for in the same self-contained room or area at the
center.
(13) "Group child care
center" or "center" means a facility where a person for less than 24 hours a
day provides care and supervision for 9 or more children who are not related to
the provider.
(13m) "Hazard" means
a potential source of harm that can jeopardize the health, safety or well-being
of children in care.
(14) "Hours of
operation" means the hours within the terms of the license during which
children are actually in the care of the center.
(14g) "In care" means the center is providing
supervision, either on or off the premises, including during center-provided
transportation, for the safety and the developmental needs of the child or
children.
(14r) "Inclement weather"
means stormy or severe weather such as any of the following:
(a) Heavy rain.
(b) Temperatures above 90 degrees
Fahrenheit.
(c) Wind chills of 0
degrees Fahrenheit or below for children age 2 and above.
(d) Wind chills of 20 degrees Fahrenheit or
below for children under age 2.
(15) "Infant" means a child under one year of
age.
(16) "Institution of higher
education" means an educational institution which meets all of the following
criteria except, in the case of a business school or technical institution,
par. (c):
(a) Admits as regular students only
persons having a certificate of graduation from a school providing secondary
education, or the recognized equivalent of such a certificate;
(b) Is legally authorized to provide a
program of education beyond secondary education;
(c) Provides an education program for which
it awards a bachelor's degree or provides not less than a 2-year program which
is acceptable for full credit toward that degree; and
(d) Is accredited by a nationally recognized
accrediting agency or association or, if not accredited, is an institution
whose credits are accepted, on transfer, by not less than 3 institutions which
are accredited, for credit on the same basis as if transferred from an
institution that is accredited.
(16m) "Licensed hours" means the authorized
hours specified on the license certificate and letter of transmittal within
which the center may provide child care services.
(17) "Licensee" means the corporation,
individual, partnership, limited liability company, or non-incorporated
association or cooperative that has legal and financial responsibility for the
operation of a child care center and for meeting the requirements of this
chapter.
(18) "Licensing
representative" means a department employee responsible for licensing group
child care centers.
(19) "Night
care" means any care that is offered by a licensed group child care center
between 10:00 p.m. and 5:00 a.m.
(20) "Parent" means either "parent" as
defined in s. 48.02(13),
Stats., or "guardian" as defined in s.
48.02(8),
Stats.
(21) "Parent cooperative"
means a center organized by parents for their preschool children in which the
parents have decision-making authority to establish and change policy, program
and personnel practices.
(22)
"Parochial or private school" means an educational program which meets all the
criteria specified under s.
118.165(1),
Stats., or as determined by the superintendent of public instruction under s.
118.167, Stats.
(22g) "Part day center" means a center where
a defined group of children attend for a specified period of time that is less
than 5 consecutive hours in length.
(22r) "Physical Restraint" means the use of
physical force to restrict the free movement of all or part of a child's
body.
(23) "Physician" has the
meaning prescribed in s.
448.01(5),
Stats.
(24) "Physician assistant"
has the meaning prescribed in s.
448.971(2),
Stats.
(25) "Premises" means the
tract of land on which a center is located, including all buildings and
structures on that land.
(25m)
"Program aide" means a person who works under the supervision of a child care
teacher and assists with daily activities and maintenance of the program, such
as preparing and participating in program activities and cleaning the
premises.
(26) "Regularly assigned
child care worker" means a child care worker who is assigned to a specific
group of children in a self-contained room or area.
(26m) "Representative of the department"
means a department employee or a representative from an agency the department
contracts with to provide pre-licensing services.
(26r) "School-age administrator" means a
person who is responsible for the overall organizational management, including
personnel, finance, physical plant, and the implementation of policies and
procedures for a school-age program.
(27) "School-age child" means a child 5 years
of age or older who is enrolled in a public school or a parochial or other
private school.
(27c) "School-age
director" means a person who is responsible for the management and
implementation of the program for the school-age children; supervision of the
staff, including recruitment, hiring, and training; oversight for regulatory
compliance; and development of policies and procedures.
(27g) "School-age group leader" means a
person who works under the supervision of a school-age program leader and helps
plan, implement, and supervise daily activities for a designated group of
school-age children.
(27n)
"School-age program" means a program in a group child care center that serves
only school-age children before and after school, on non-school days, and
during the summer.
(27r)
"School-age program aide" means a person who works under the direct supervision
of a school-age program leader and assists with daily activities and
maintenance of the school-age program, such as preparing and participating in
program activities and cleaning the premises.
(27w) "School-age program leader" means a
person who plans, implements, and supervises the daily activities for a
designated group of school-age children, communicates with families, works with
the community, and coordinates staff in a school-age program.
(28) "Self-contained room or area" means a
room separated by permanent walls or an area separated by permanent or portable
partitions or dividers acting as a visual barrier for children which is
reserved for a group of children and contains the indoor equipment and
furnishings required for that group.
(28m) "Shaken baby syndrome" or "SBS" means a
severe form of brain injury that occurs when an infant or young child is shaken
or thrown forcibly enough to cause the brain to rebound against his or her
skull.
(29) "Sleeping bag" means a
padded fabric bag that is closed or capable of being closed on three
sides.
(29g) "Substitute" means a
person who replaces a regularly scheduled person and meets the requirements
under s.
DCF 251.05 (3)
(i).
(29m) "Sudden infant death syndrome" or
"SIDS" means the sudden death of an infant under one year of age that remains
unexplained after a thorough case investigation, including performance of a
complete autopsy, examination of the death scene and a review of the clinical
history.
(30) "Supervision of
children" means guidance of the behavior and activities of children for their
health, safety and well-being by child care workers who are within sight and
sound of the children.
(31)
"Supervision of staff" means guidance of the behavior and activities of center
employees which may include provision of instructions to carry out activities
for limited periods of time out of sight or hearing of the
supervisor.
(32) "Toddler" means a
child at least one year of age but less than 2 years of age.
(33) "Universal precautions" means measures
taken to prevent transmission of infection from contact with blood or other
potentially infectious material, as recommended by the U.S. public health
services centers for disease control and adopted by the U.S. occupational
safety and health administration (OSHA) as
29 CFR
1910.1030.
Note: "Standard precautions" for infection control measures incorporate universal precautions. Information on the OSHA requirements related to standard or universal precautions is available on the OSHA web site at http://www.osha.gov. Information is also available from the Child Care Information Center, 1-800-362-7353.
(34)
"Volunteer" means a person who is not paid, but agrees to give time, with or
without reimbursement for expenses, to transport children attending a group
child care center or to work in a group child care center.
(35) "Wading pool" means a shallow pool, with
sides 15 inches or less in height, capable of being dumped to change water and
used primarily for small children.
Notes
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