Child care & preschools
How can I check whether a Madison-area child care provider is licensed and see its record?
A common question, answered by the MadisonWI.com editors · November 9, 2026
1 answer
From MadisonWI.com
Start with Wisconsin's Child Care Finder (childcarefinder.wisconsin.gov), run by the Department of Children and Families. It shows monitoring visit reports for licensed and public school-operated programs. After each visit, the state issues either a Compliance Statement (no violations seen) or a Noncompliance Statement and Correction Plan listing any violations. Licensed programs must also post these reports near their license where parents can see them; if you don't see one, ask the program about its most recent visit. For more detail, contact the DCF regional licensing office, which can describe a licensed program's compliance history and whether complaints were filed and substantiated. For a certified provider, contact its certification agency instead. Source: Wisconsin Department of Children and Families, Choosing Child Care in Wisconsin (checked November 2026).
Written by the MadisonWI.com editors · November 9, 2026