2018 Changes in Minnesota Child Care Law
The laws are always changing. After this legislative session, several critical changes in child care law shall take effect August 2018. If you possess a childcare license, are licensed in family child care, group family child care, or a child care center, it is import to know the status of the law, so that you can comply with the upcoming regulations.
Child Care Licensing
In some ways, changes to the 2018 child care licensing laws are meant to make it easier to ensure compliance with the law and provide additional transparency to the profession. The commission now must respond using plain language, providing for why they deny an individual license. In corrective orders, the commission must utilize plain language to instruct the applicant how to properly obtain a license.
Changes in providers child care licensing insurance now require the child care provider to give written notice informing all parents or guardians of children receiving services of the change. The new law represents a change from existing law requiring that providers only give notice when renewing their license.
Most significant however is the direction that lawmakers have formally instructed the commissioner to implement child care licensing reform. Under childcare reform, we can expect to see new many new rules promulgated by the commission in the coming year. In keeping with the theme of transparency one notable change coming are enhancements to the department’s licensing web informational database giving consumers and providers the ability to lookup child care provider-specific compliance violations, dates of inspections, and what actions were taken to rectify the breach. With increased transparency, defending against violations will be more critical than ever to protect your businesses.
Positive Support Strategies in Child Care
However, childcare licensing reform was not the only topic lawmakers tackled this session. With the new legislative changes, programs licensed as family child care, group family child care, or child care centers, engaged in caring for children with developmental disabilities, must now comply with individualized education program (IEP) of children with developmental disabilities. The law attempts to bring the same special treatment to children with disabilities as felt by school districts.
Foster Care
Finally, signed this session into law is a foster care sibling bill of rights. Under the new law, a child placed in foster care–who has a sibling–is given the following rights:
(1) placement with the child’s siblings, in foster care homes;
(2) placement near the child’s siblings, when placing the children together is not possible;
(3) frequent contact with the child’s siblings;
(4) annually receive various contact information, and photographs of all siblings in foster care;
(5) participate in face-to-face visits with siblings;
(6) be actively involved in siblings’ lives sharing in celebrations and milestones;
(7) be promptly informed about changes regarding siblings’ placements, circumstances, and life events;
(8) be included in permanency planning decisions for siblings; and
(9) be informed of the expectations and possibility of continued contact with a sibling after adoption.
Also, adult siblings of children in foster care have the right to be considered as foster care providers, adoptive parents, and relative custodians for their siblings, if they choose to do so.
Protecting your License
The state of Minnesota licenses child care providers to protect the health, safety, and welfare of children. Childcare licensure serves to ensure providers offer settings in which children may flourish. The changes in the law represent a crackdown on providers in which the health, safety of the children may be a risk.
If you are a licensed child care provider and you think your license may be jeopardy, you will need an attorney who is knowledgeable in the controlling law and will keep you informed during the process. Take action today by contacting Attorney Fabian Hoffner. With the support of an aggressive attorney on your side, you can be assured your child care license remains protected.
For a free consultation, call 612-206-3777 to learn about your options, your rights, and to have any questions you may have answered honestly and promptly.