The new bill authored by State Sen. Rachael Cabral-Guevara in the Wisconsin Senate seeks to update regulations for family and group child care centers and improve training standards for caregivers, according to the Wisconsin State Senate.
According to the Wisconsin State Legislature’s official website, the bill was described as follows: “the regulation of family and group child care centers. (FE)”.
The following is our breakdown, based on the actual bill text, and may include interpretation to clarify its provisions.
In essence, this bill mandates changes to the regulation of family and group child care centers. It requires the Department of Children and Families (DCF) to update its licensing rules, allowing family child care centers to provide care for four to 12 children and group child care centers for 13 or more. The bill also adjusts the associated biennial fees for these licenses. Furthermore, it stipulates training requirements for child care center personnel on preventing sudden infant death syndrome, aligns the definitions in administrative codes with these changes, and specifies that foster parents must complete ongoing training for the care of foster children. These updates aim to effectively categorize and regulate child care centers based on capacity and ensure adequate training for child care workers and foster parents.
The bill was co-authored by Representative Joy L. Goeben (Republican-5th District). It was co-sponsored by Representative Scott Allen (Republican-82nd District), Representative Elijah R. Behnke (Republican-6th District), and Representative Robert Brooks (Republican-59th District), along 15 other co-sponsors.
Rachael Cabral-Guevara has authored or co-authored another 105 bills since the beginning of the 2025 session, with all of them being adopted.
Cabral-Guevara graduated from Mount Mary University in 2000 with a BS and again in 2004 from the University of Wisconsin- Oshkosh with a BS.
Cabral-Guevara, a Republican, was elected to the Wisconsin State Senate in 2023 to represent the state’s 19th Senate district, replacing previous state senator Roger Roth.
In Wisconsin, the legislative process starts when a senator, constituent, group, or agency proposes an idea for a bill. After drafting, the bill is introduced, numbered, and referred to a committee for review and public input. If approved, it moves through three readings and votes in both the Senate and Assembly. Once both chambers pass the same version, the bill goes to the governor, who can sign it, veto it, or let it become law without a signature. Only a small share of bills introduced each session ultimately become law. You can learn more about the Wisconsin legislative process here.
| Bill Number | Date Introduced | Short Description |
|---|---|---|
| SB364 | 06/27/2025 | The regulation of family and group child care centers. (FE) |
| SB356 | 06/27/2025 | Perimenopause and menopause education. (FE) |
| SB337 | 06/19/2025 | Local grant writing and compliance assistance. (FE) |
| SB334 | 06/19/2025 | Designating the monarch butterfly as the state butterfly |
| SB327 | 06/12/2025 | Emotional support animals in housing; falsely claiming that an animal is a service animal; and providing a penalty. (FE) |
| SB326 | 06/12/2025 | Creating a nutrient loss reduction grant program. (FE) |
| SB316 | 06/10/2025 | The Warren Knowles-Gaylord Nelson stewardship 2000 program and a major land acquisitions program. (FE) |
| SB305 | 06/02/2025 | Grants to mental health clubhouses and making an appropriation. (FE) |
| SB304 | 06/02/2025 | Hours for voting by absentee ballot in person at the office of the municipal clerk or an alternate site. (FE) |
| SB302 | 06/02/2025 | Performance grants based on improving employment rates for individuals on probation, parole, or extended supervision. (FE) |
| SB291 | 05/30/2025 | Making certain child care expenditures eligible for the business development tax credit. (FE) |
| SB289 | 05/30/2025 | Requirements for proposed administrative rules that impose any costs |
| SB282 | 05/29/2025 | Membership on the Board of Nursing |
| SB281 | 05/29/2025 | Allowing certified advanced practice nurse prescribers to engage in the practice of radiography |
| SB265 | 05/20/2025 | Waiver of fees for admission to state parks on Earth Day. (FE) |
| SB264 | 05/20/2025 | Coverage of breast cancer screenings by the Medical Assistance program and health insurance policies and plans. (FE) |
| SB262 | 05/20/2025 | Assisted living facility referral agencies and providing a penalty |
| SB258 | 05/16/2025 | Advanced practice registered nurses, extending the time limit for emergency rule procedures, providing an exemption from emergency rule procedures, and granting rule-making authority. (FE) |
| SB256 | 05/15/2025 | Delivery network couriers and transportation network drivers, Department of Financial Institutions’ approval to offer portable benefit accounts, providing for insurance coverage, modifying administrative rules related to accident and sickness insurance, and granting rule-making authority. (FE) |
| SB243 | 05/09/2025 | The age at which an infant is covered under the safe haven law |
| SB230 | 04/29/2025 | Requiring retail sellers to accept cash and providing a penalty. (FE) |
| SB228 | 04/29/2025 | Prohibiting school boards and independent charter schools from providing food containing certain ingredients in free or reduced-price meals |
| SB221 | 04/25/2025 | All-terrain vehicles and utility terrain vehicles with out-of-state registrations |
| SB218 | 04/25/2025 | The amount and distribution of the real estate transfer fee, grants under the land information program, real property recording notification systems, and making an appropriation. (FE) |
| SB196 | 04/14/2025 | Various changes to the unemployment insurance law. (FE) |
| SB195 | 04/14/2025 | Serving maple syrup in a public eating place |
| SB190 | 04/14/2025 | Ratification of the Respiratory Care Interstate Compact. (FE) |
| SB189 | 04/14/2025 | An optional final hearing by affidavit for the dissolution of a marriage |
| SB170 | 04/03/2025 | Rehired annuitants in the Wisconsin Retirement System. (FE) |
| SB165 | 03/27/2025 | Eliminating daylight saving time in Wisconsin |
| SB164 | 03/27/2025 | Use of certified seed potatoes in planting potatoes and providing a penalty. (FE) |
| SB154 | 03/21/2025 | Requiring the Department of Health Services to seek any necessary waiver to prohibit the purchase of candy or soft drinks with FoodShare benefits. (FE) |
| SB152 | 03/21/2025 | Financial eligibility for the Alzheimer’s family and caregiver support program. (FE) |
| SB147 | 03/21/2025 | Interpreter action by telephone or live audiovisual means in civil or criminal proceedings |
| SB139 | 03/21/2025 | Transfer of nursing home beds |
| SB137 | 03/14/2025 | The duty of a pharmacist to dispense lawfully prescribed drugs and devices. (FE) |
| SB129 | 03/14/2025 | The right to repair motor vehicles and providing a penalty. (FE) |
| SB128 | 03/14/2025 | Programs and requirements to address PFAS |
| SB127 | 03/14/2025 | Exempting certain persons from PFAS enforcement actions under the spills law. (FE) |
| SB94 | 03/07/2025 | Civil action for injury or damages resulting from riot or vandalism, participation in a riot, prohibiting certain limitations or restrictions on law enforcement responses to riot or vandalism activity, and providing a penalty |
| SB83 | 02/26/2025 | Utilization management controls for antipsychotic prescription drugs under the Medical Assistance program. (FE) |
| SB74 | 02/26/2025 | Ratification of the Social Work Licensure Compact. (FE) |
| SB70 | 02/26/2025 | A minor’s authority to consent to health care |
| SB58 | 02/21/2025 | Referendum questions for certain referenda that affect property taxes. (FE) |
| SB51 | 02/21/2025 | Flags flown at state and local government buildings and eliminating a related administrative rule |
| SB44 | 02/12/2025 | Local regulation of fowl |
| SB43 | 02/12/2025 | Allowing advanced practice nurse prescribers to pronounce the date, time, and place of a patient’s death for purposes of the preparation of death records |
| SB42 | 02/12/2025 | Permitting pharmacists to prescribe certain contraceptives, extending the time limit for emergency rule procedures, providing an exemption from emergency rule procedures, granting rule-making authority, and providing a penalty. (FE) |
| SB31 | 02/12/2025 | State agency status for certain physician assistants and advanced practice nurses who provide services without compensation for local health departments or school districts. (FE) |
| SB30 | 02/12/2025 | Required instruction in civics in the elementary and high school grades, high school graduation requirements, and private school educational program criteria. (FE) |
| SB29 | 02/12/2025 | Requiring school boards to adopt policies to prohibit the use of wireless communication devices during instructional time |
| SB27 | 02/07/2025 | Requiring state employees to perform their work at the offices of their employer. (FE) |
| SB19 | 02/05/2025 | Fee waivers for state park vehicle admission receipts to pupils with Every Kid Outdoors passes. (FE) |
| SB13 | 02/03/2025 | Incorporating cursive writing into the state model English language arts standards and requiring cursive writing in elementary grades. (FE) |
| SB12 | 02/03/2025 | A sales and use tax exemption for the sale of gun safes. (FE) |
| SB11 | 02/03/2025 | Allowing representatives of certain federally chartered youth membership organizations to provide information to pupils on public school property |
| SB10 | 02/03/2025 | Access to public high schools for military recruiters |
| SB7 | 01/24/2025 | Prohibiting a foreign adversary from acquiring agricultural or forestry land in this state |
| SB4 | 01/24/2025 | Agreements for direct primary care |
