Marathon County to subcontract childcare certification to Child Caring, Inc.

Marathon County social services staff told the Health and Human Services Committee that the county plans to subcontract its state-funded childcare certification work to Child Caring, Inc. for 2025.

Social services staff said the county receives reimbursement from the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families to provide childcare certification and that the county historically handled the work in-house with no dedicated specialist. “We are really looking to the experts so that we can increase our certified providers,” the staff member said. The presentation noted a roughly 90% decline in childcare-certified providers in the county since 2011.

The county’s packet included a white paper describing the delivery-model change and noting that Child Caring, Inc., which the presenter said already performs certification for several neighboring counties, would handle licensing, inspections and related work under a subcontract. Social services staff said the county would retain monitoring responsibility: the county would perform annual and random visits, require quarterly invoices detailing activities, and withhold or return any unspent funds to the state. The presentation said the subcontract and monitoring plan must be approved by the Department of Children and Families before a contract is executed.

Committee members asked about county costs. Social services staff said the county does not levy local tax dollars for certification and that the state contract amount for childcare certification is $61,694. The staff member said budget adjustments will be required because the 2025 county budget currently includes only about $1,800 in revenue and expenditures for this program; the county intends to amend the budget so the full state contract amount is recorded as revenue and matching expenditures.

No formal committee vote on the subcontract was recorded in the meeting; staff said they will present a contract and monitoring plan for Department of Children and Families approval and bring a budget amendment to the finance committee. Committee members signaled support in discussion but did not take final action on the proposed subcontract during the meeting.

County staff said the subcontract aims to expand the number of certified childcare providers, aligning with a county strategic priority and a resolution passed late in 2024 on increasing provider capacity. The county will return to the committee with monitoring reports after the program is underway.