Wis. Stat. § 48.65 — WI Code / Chapter 48 / Section 48.65
Child care centers licensed; fees.
Status: in_force

(1) No person may for compensation provide care and supervision for 4 or more children under the age of 7 for less than 24 hours a day unless that person obtains a license to operate a child care center from the department. To obtain a license under this subsection to operate a child care center, a person must meet the minimum requirements for a license established by the department under s. 48.67 , meet the requirements specified in s. 48.686 , and pay the license fee under sub. (3) . A license issued under this subsection is valid until revoked or suspended, but shall be reviewed every 2 years as provided in s. 48.66 (5) .

(2) This section does not include any of the following:

(a) A parent, grandparent, greatgrandparent, stepparent, brother, sister, first cousin, nephew, niece, uncle, or aunt of a child, whether by blood, marriage, or legal adoption, who provides care and supervision for the child.

(am) A guardian of a child who provides care and supervision for the child.

(b) A public or parochial school or a tribal school.

(c) A person employed to come to the home of the child’s parent or guardian for less than 24 hours a day.

(d) A county, city, village, town, school district or library that provides programs primarily intended for recreational or social purposes.

(3)

(a) Except as provided in par. (c) , before the department may issue a license under sub. (1) to a child care center that provides care and supervision for 4 to 8 children or 4 to 12 children, the child care center must pay to the department a biennial fee of $60.50. Except as provided in par. (c) , before the department may issue a license under sub. (1) to a child care center that provides care and supervision for 13 or more children, the child care center must pay to the department a biennial fee of $30.25, plus a biennial fee of $16.94 per child, based on the number of children that the child care center is licensed to serve. A child care center that wishes to continue a license issued under sub. (1) shall pay the applicable fee under this paragraph by the continuation date of the license. A new child care center shall pay the applicable fee under this paragraph no later than 30 days before the opening of the child care center.

(b) A child care center that wishes to continue a license issued under par. (a) and that fails to pay the applicable fee under par. (a) by the continuation date of the license or a new child care center that fails to pay the applicable fee under par. (a) by 30 days before the opening of the child care center shall pay an additional fee of $5 per day for every day after the deadline that the child care center fails to pay the fee.

(c) An individual who is eligible for a fee waiver under the veterans fee waiver program under s. 45.44 is not required to pay a fee under par. (a) for a license under sub. (1) .

(4)

(a) Definitions. In this subsection:

1. “Assistant child care teacher” means a child care worker who works under the supervision of a child care teacher.

2. “Child care teacher” means a child care worker who plans, implements, and supervises the daily activities for a designated group of children at a child care center licensed under this section and who meets the qualifications under s. DCF 251.05 (3) (f) , Wis. Adm. Code.

3. “Full-day center” means a child care center licensed under this section that accepts children for 5 or more consecutive hours.

4. “School-age program” means a program in a child care center licensed under this section that serves only school-age children before and after school, on days on which there is no school, and during the summer break.

5. “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 at a child care center licensed under this section.

(b) Requirements for assistant child care teachers. A child care center licensed under this section may hire an individual to be an assistant child care teacher if the individual meets all of the following requirements:

1. The individual is at least 16 years old.

2. The individual has satisfactorily completed at least one of the following within 6 months after assuming the position:

a. Two credits in early childhood education or its equivalent.

b. One non-credit, department-approved course in early childhood education.

c. An assistant child care teacher training program approved by the department of public instruction.

(c) Sole supervision by assistant child care teachers. An assistant child care teacher who has completed the training required under par. (b) 2. and is at least 18 years old may provide sole supervision to a group of children in the following instances and for the following amounts of time:

1. In a full-day center, if there is a child care teacher on the premises, for opening and closing hours, not to exceed the first 2 hours and the last 2 hours of center operation, and during the center’s designated naptime, not to exceed 2 hours.

2. In a school-age program, if there is a school-age program leader or child care teacher on the premises, for no more than 45 minutes.

History: 1983 a. 193 ; 1985 a. 29 ; 1987 a. 399 ; 1991 a. 39 ; 1995 a. 27 , 289 ; 1997 a. 27 , 35 ; 2005 a. 25 , 232 ; 2009 a. 28 , 185 , 302 ; 2011 a. 209 ; 2017 a. 59 ; 2025 a. 15 .