The Legislative Audit Bureau released a report Wednesday revealing four registered sex offenders who share addresses with licensed child care providers.
The report follows a request made by the Joint Legislative Audit Committee for an audit of Wisconsin Shares, a child care subsidy program administered by the Department of Children and Families.
""There are significant problems with Wisconsin Shares ... that affect the integrity of the program,"" said Sen. Kathleen Vinehout, D-Alma, co-chair of the Joint Legislative Audit Committee. ""These problems are simply intolerable; they require immediate action.""
According to the audit, it is believed that though there were address matches, no children were harmed.
Sen. Robert Jauch, D-Poplar, chair of the Committee on Children and Families and Workforce Development, emphasized the effectiveness of the audit.
""It's doing its job to act as a laser beam and focus in on the strengths and weaknesses ... in a system that deserves our review and warrants our complete attention fixing those problems,"" Jauch said.
""As important as it is to immediately fix problems that are identified, we have to continue to commit ourselves to providing the tools, the resources and the statutory changes needed to prevent problems like this from happening in the first place.""
Rep. Tamara Grigsby, D-Milwaukee, chair of the Committee on Children and Families, along with Jauch, is drafting legislation that will provide tools for the DCF to regulate child care providers.
These tools include the authority to ensure child care providers and those working or living at the same address do not appear on the sex offender registry and a requirement of four reviews of licensed child care providers per year.
The legislation also gives the DCF authority to suspend Wisconsin Shares payments to child care providers under investigation for criminal offenses.
""We will continue to fight this fight,"" Grigsby said. ""First of all to make sure that the taxpayers' dollars are not being irresponsibly used, but most importantly to make sure that our children are in quality environments where people are responsible.""
