Minnesota's child care regulations in need of game-changing overhaul, House lawmaker says

People who work in child care say that licensing requirements and practices in Minnesota need an overhaul.

As amended, HF2617 takes a run at that overhaul.

Laid over Wednesday for possible inclusion in a later bill by the House Children and Families Finance and Policy Committee, the bill would change current licensing requirements and direct the Department of Children, Youth and Families to propose new regulations for child care in Minnesota.

It would allow child care providers the option to ask the department for guidance on a rule or statute on a correction order issued to them prior to requesting a reconsideration of the order.

“This is a game changer,” said Rep. Nathan Coulter (DFL-Bloomington), the bill sponsor. “We all agree that the current approach to child care licensing is simply not working for providers, and more importantly that means it's not working for our families and for our kids.”

Karin Swenson, executive director of Meadow Park Preschool and Child Care Center in Rochester, said providers too often live in fear of citations because regulations can be difficult to navigate and are left up to the interpretation of a licenser.

“The child care system has become overly punitive rather than supportive of providers,” she said.

An Office of Early Care and Education Program Support and Accountability would be created, under the bill.

Among other things, that office would develop regulations for basic physical health and safety of children, create an early care and education program designation for child care providers, provide specified resources and supports for parents and caregivers, provide supports to ensure that child care programs are compliant, develop guidance on the rules and regulations governing child care providers and the consequences for violating the rules.

“What we're doing with this bill is making sure that we are centering the joy of serving Minnesota families and kids,” Coulter said. “By making sure that our providers can focus on doing that we're going to keep more providers in the business in the first place. That’s going bring down costs and more importantly it's going to show that we know how important the work that providers do.”

The bill would also direct the department to develop standards for the conduct of licensors when conducting inspections of licensed child care centers, and to maintain a website that provides information for child care providers, including information about the supports available to providers.