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Section 227.11 (2) (a), Stats., expressly confers rule-making authority on each agency to promulgate rules interpreting the provisions of any statute enforced or administered by the agency.

Summary of the Rule Registration or Enrollment Fees As a condition of approval of Wisconsin’s 2022-2024 Child Care Development Fund plan, the state child care subsidy program must come into compliance with the federal requirement that the payment practices of the subsidy program reflect generally-accepted payment practices of child care providers that serve children who do not receive subsidies, including paying for reasonable mandatory registration fees that the provider charges to private-paying parents. The proposed rules authorize payment of the lower of a provider’s registration or annual enrollment fee for a child or the department’s maximum fee amount. The department will pay no more than 2 registration or enrollment fees per child in any 12-month period. Each provider that charges registration or enrollment fees will be required to submit the amounts of the fees to the department. The proposed rules also include the current requirement that a licensed child care provider submit the provider’s full-time and part-time prices to the child care administrative agency upon request.

Parent Copayments As a condition of approval of Wisconsin’s 2022-2024 Child Care Development Fund plan, Wisconsin must also come into compliance with the federal requirement that the child care subsidy program pay for child care services on a part-time or full-time basis rather than paying for hours of service or smaller increments of time. Due to the change from authorizations for a specific number of hours to full-time and part-time authorizations, the proposed rules on the methodology for determining parent copayment amounts remove “the number of hours authorized” for a child care subsidy. The proposed rules also remove “the number of children in the assistance group in child care” from the methodology for determining copayment amounts. Under the current rules, a parent’s copayment amount is based on the size of the assistance group, the assistance group’s gross income, the number of children in the assistance group in child care, and the number of hours authorized for a child care subsidy. Under the proposed rules, a parent’s copayment amount will be based on the size of the assistance group and the assistance group’s gross income. The proposed rules create exceptions to the copayment requirement for parents who are enrolled in the Wisconsin Works program under s. 49.147 (2) to (5), 49.1475, 49.148 (1m) (a), or 49.159, Stats., and for assistance groups with a gross income that is at or below 100 percent of the federal poverty level. A parent who transitions from enrollment in the Wisconsin Works program to unsubsidized employment will be assessed the minimum copayment until the parent’s next eligibility redetermination.