At this time, however, most of Wisconsin's families receive support, care, or education for their young children through individual programs. By briefly describing the primary early childhood programs in Wisconsin, this section provides an overview of the services and the settings in which they are delivered.

Early Intervention Services: Birth to 3 Programs
The Wisconsin Birth to 3 Program serves children under the age of three, who have a diagnosed physical or mental condition likely to result in a developmental delay or who have been determined to have a developmental delay in one or more of the following areas: cognitive, physical, or communication development, social/emotional maturation, adaptive behavior or self-help skills. The federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Part C and State regulations (HFS 90) govern the program. Birth to 3 services are funded through local, state, and federal funds in each of Wisconsin's 72 counties. The Department of Health and Family Services (DHFS) is the lead state agency, while county governments are the local lead agencies. In most counties human services is the lead agency, while a few county public health departments serve as the lead agency. Many counties contract with other community providers to deliver various components of the program. The Birth to 3 Program provides a statewide comprehensive system of services, resources, and supports to qualifying infants and toddlers and their families. Based on an Individualized Family Service Plan, services are provided at home and/or in natural environments such as child care centers or other community programs along with typically developing children. Additional information can be found on the DHFS website http://dhfs.wisconsin.gov/bdds/birthto3/index.htm and at the University of Wisconsin Waisman Center site www.waisman.wisc.edu:8000/birthto3

Child Care Centers
Licensed by the Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services, Bureau of Regulation and Licensing, child care centers provide a large portion of care and education during the hours while parents work and when young children are not being cared for at home. Many school-age children also attend licensed programs before and after school and during school vacations.

These programs may be "full day" (to serve working parents, many are open from 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m.) or may be "part day" (open two hours or more). Some programs also offer evening and weekend care. A program's financial structure may be not-for-profit or for-profit. To meet their budgets, most licensed early childhood programs rely primarily on fees paid by parents or subsidized by the Department of Workforce Development for some parents based upon income and work eligibility requirements. The financial structure and philosophy of a licensed program can have a significant effect on program quality, staff salaries, and benefits.

Currently Wisconsin has approximately 2,456 licensed group early childhood programs. These child care centers must always maintain group sizes and staffing ratios that fall within state requirements. For more information about regulations (HFS 46) and location of licensed centers, go to http://dhfs.wisconsin.gov/rl_dcfs/

Family Child Care Homes
These independent, home-based businesses provide care and education for thousands of Wisconsin children. In Wisconsin there are approximately 3,101licensed family child care programs. These homes are licensed by the Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services, Bureau of Regulation and Licensing. For licensed family child care, generally no more than eight children can be present at one time, depending on the age of the children. For more information about regulations (HSF 45) go to http://dhfs.wisconsin.gov/rl_dcfs/ .

There are also. 4,450 certified providers in Wisconsin. Of this number, 3,180 were regularly certified (they have completed 15 or more hours of required training, in addition to SIDS training), and 1,270 were provisionally certified. A child care provider who provides care for 3 or fewer children under the age of 7 years who are unrelated to the provider may voluntarily become certified.

The county/tribal human services departments are required to certify providers who serve children subsidized by the Wisconsin Shares Child Care Subsidy Program. The counties/tribes may make certification available to all providers, whether or not public funding is involved. The Department of Workforce Development (DWD) promulgates the certification rules in Chapter DWD 55. See www.dwd.state.wi.us/childcare/certification/default.htm for more information. There are 72 counties and 8 tribes throughout Wisconsin that administer certification programs; monitor providers for compliance with the certification rules, and investigate complaints. The certification agencies maintain a file on each provider that includes copies of the provider's complaint and compliance history. Information on a provider's complaint and compliance history is available by phone, mail or in-person review. The listing of certification agencies is posted at
http://dwd.wisconsin.gov/dws/programs/childcare/certification/pdf/certifiers.pdf

Before and After-School Programs
Programs that provide care to school age children in Wisconsin vary greatly in the types of services provided. The settings for school-age care also vary, including private for-profit or nonprofit centers, corporate settings, public schools, family child care homes, and faith-based settings. School-age programs must be either licensed or legally exempt from licensing. A variety of school-age options and settings are available to families, although not all are available in every part of the state. Most of these programs charge fees although, the cost varies.

Most school-age programs provide care that focuses on social skills, life skills and activities. Some programs focus on academic or tutorial services, while others provide more recreational activities. These programs typically serve children ages four through twelve. Typical programming may include outdoor activities, snacks, indoor activities and time for homework. Programming generally occurs before school, after school, and throughout the day for part- time kindergartners. Full- day care may also be available on days when school is not in session.

Many public elementary schools provide before- and after-school child care at the elementary school site. Some schools operate programs within the school system and may utilize existing elementary teaching or support staff as school-age teachers. Other schools contract with outside agencies to run before-and after-school programs at the school sites. Under this arrangement, staff is employed by the contracted agency and is not part of the public school system.

Head Start
There are currently 43 Head Start agencies in Wisconsin, including 9 tribal programs and one migrant program. Wisconsin Head Start programs receive federal and state funds to provide comprehensive services to primarily low-income children and families including education, disabilities, health, mental health, nutrition, community and social services. Parent partnership is a cornerstone of these programs. Children from three to five years old may receive Head Start services in their own homes, in classrooms, in schools, in child care centers or, in family child care settings. Traditionally, Head Start has been a part-day program, but as more low-income parents attend school or work outside of their homes, many programs offer Head Start services within full-day licensed early childhood programs. Others network with child care providers. Head Start agencies include public schools, private not -for -profit organizations, Cooperative Educational Service Agencies, tribal governments, and Community Action Programs. During the 2003-2004 over 18,000 children participated in Head Start and Early Head Start programs in Wisconsin. For a listing of local programs go to http://whsaonline.org/

Early Head Start
The 1994 Reauthorization of Head Start included the development of a new program of comprehensive services for low income pregnant women and families with infants and toddlers called Early Head Start. Head Start has a history of providing programs for infants and toddlers through Parent Child Centers, Migrant Head Start, and comprehensive child development programs. There are currently fourteen Early Head Start programs in Wisconsin, including three tribal programs. The development of Early Head Start represents a commitment to increase the number of infants and toddlers served through the comprehensive Head Start approach. These programs are free to qualifying families and they follow the Head Start Program Performance Standards. For a listing of local programs go to http://whsaonline.org/

Public School Kindergarten and Early Elementary
All Public elementary schools in Wisconsin begin with 5-year-old kindergarten and may include 4-year-old-kindergarten programs. Recently, 4-year-old kindergarten programs have seen a dramatic increase. In 2006-2007 one half of Wisconsin school districts now offer four-year-old kindergarten programs. Each of the 426 school districts offers five-year-old kindergarten, with approximately 98% of these programs lasting a full school day. Wisconsin schools operate for full school days (typically 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.). Public schools generally operate from early September to mid-June, although there now are several year-round schools in the state. All of these public school programs must be available to all children in the community. All public schools must also meet state building and safety requirements as well as local and state school standards.

Typically, these programs have been in public school buildings. Recently, however, school districts have initiated community-based approaches through partnerships that bring 4-year-old kindergarten programs into child care, preschools, or Head Start center settings. In these locations, licensed teachers may still have separate kindergarten classrooms, may team-teach in a blended program, or teach through other arrangements. For more information about kindergarten programs go to http://dpi.wi.gov/ec/eckindhm.html

Private Schools and Home-Based Education
Wisconsin statutes require children ages 6 to 18 to attend school regularly in a public or private school. Students and parents who choose the option of non-public instruction can select either a private school or a home-based private education program. Private schools differ from home-based schooling in that private schools provide education programming to more than one family. Home-based education programs, on the other hand, are provided to a child by his/her parent or guardian or by a person designated by the parent or guardian.

The legislature has classified an educational organization as a "private school" if it is privately controlled, provides at least 875 hours of instruction each school year, and provides private or religious-based education as the primary purpose of its educational program. There is no state certification process for the establishment of new private schools.

Even Start Family Literacy Programs
Wisconsin Even Start Family Literacy Programs are collaborative ventures between schools, community-based organizations and institutions of higher education. They are built upon existing services in communities. Federal Even Start dollars provide seed money to help fill gaps and connect services. Even Start partnerships integrate the components of early childhood education, adult education, parenting education, and interactive literacy activities between parents and children. There must also be a home visits as one of the four basic components.

Even Start and other comprehensive family literacy programs strive to support parents so that they may be full partners with schools and communities in the education of their children. As parents develop their literacy skills, essential messages about the importance of education are passed on to their children. Parents and children become learning teams and partners for success. These programs are located in schools, on college campuses and in community settings. To locate programs and fine more information go to http://dpi.wi.gov/title1/esfl_index.html

Family Resource Centers
Family Resource Centers (FRCs) provide services and support systems that emphasize and build on family strengths. In Wisconsin, the Children's Trust Fund promotes the establishment of FRCs around the state, and provides training, technical assistance and regular monitoring of these programs. Each Family Resource Center is unique. FRC's primarily focus on parents and their children from birth to age three, and offer a wide range of services to meet the individual needs of each community. Each center works to help parents develop additional positive parenting skills. The specific services each center offers may be located at the center, in homes, or at other locations. In Wisconsin all FRCs provide a combination of these core services:

Group services:including parent-education courses, workshops, support groups, drop-in programs, child care while parents use the center, and play groups.
Individual center-based services: providing families with personal consultations and support.
Outreach and family visiting services: reaching out to new parents in their homes or in other locations convenient for families.
Community resource and referral and follow-up services: offering are liable link to public and private agencies and providing strong family advocacy within local communities. Families can request referrals to other community programs, as well as assistance with transportation.

For more information and program location go to http://wctf.state.wi.us/home/FRC.htm

Parents Plus and Parents as Teachers
Parents Plus of Wisconsin is a statewide initiative, which provides technical assistance to school districts, family resource centers, and home visiting programs. Parents Plus encourages parents to become involved in their children's education, and also works with school staff to promote the benefits of forming and maintaining partnerships with parents. Parents Plus sites include a mixture of rural and urban settings serving approximately 40% of Wisconsin's population. For more information go to http://www.parentspluswi.org/

Parents Plus is the state affiliate for the Parents as Teachers (PAT) program. PAT is a voluntary, parent-child early education program. This program is constructed as a home, school, and community partnership that empowers parents to give children the best possible start in life. PAT, which originated in Missouri in 1981, is based on the philosophy that parents are their children's first and most influential teachers. Participating parents acquire knowledge and skills to help make the most of their children's crucial early-learning years. The program covers child development from birth through kindergarten age, and recommends parent activities that foster language and intellectual growth, curiosity and social skills. PAT fosters optimal development of young children because it identifies disabilities and delays as early as possible and strengthens parenting skills.

Parents as Leaders
Parents as Leaders (PALs) is a program aimed at parents and other caregivers of children with special needs, ages birth to six. Meetings are held five times per year and provide an opportunity for families to gain information and resources pertaining to leadership and advocacy. Meetings also provide parents with opportunities to explore topics of interest and to work on selected projects. Sample projects have included developing effective communication with professionals, developing support networks to gather information about social services, health, education, and framing important policy issues.

Through the Wisconsin Parent Educator Initiative (WSPEI) and Wisconsin FACETs, this program has been adapted for a variety of settings, including parents of school-age children, and parents who live in rural or urban communities. Funding for PALs flows through Wisconsin's Birth to 3 Program with a grant to the Wisconsin Birth to 3 Personnel Development Project, located at the Waisman Center. The Statewide programs are held annually in retreat settings around the state; programs for specific communities are held locally or regionally. For a program brochure for PALs go to http://www.waisman.wisc.edu:8000/cedd/ecfr.html. Additional information is available at http://www.wifacets.org/services.htm and http://www.dpi.state.wi.us/sped/parent.html

Family Foundations
The Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (POCAN) initiative, now called Family Foundations, refers to legislation passed in 1997 that established grant-funded projects throughout the state. These programs provide home visitation, wrap-around and case management services to first-time parents who are on Medicaid. The projects are available in ten counties and 2 tribes through a variety of agencies including public health and Family Resource Centers. For more information go to http://www.uwex.edu/ces/flp/homevisit/pocan/index.cfm

Child's Own Home
Nannies, au pairs, and baby sitters care for children in the child's own home. Many nannies live with the families who employ them, and their compensation includes room and board. Au pairs are often teenagers or young adults from other countries wishing to live and work with a family in a country of interest. Professional agencies often train au pairs and connect them with families. Baby sitters, on the other hand, care for children on a short-term basis, frequently in the evening when parents must leave young children at home. Baby sitters are frequently teenagers who are recommended by friends or neighbors.