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Latest Connector Call Questions

Intro

On a quarterly basis, the state hosts Connector Calls with child care providers and early educators to answer questions related to legislation, licensing, programs, grants and more. The purpose of the call is to answer clarifying questions that early educators may have. The latest questions and answers are below. 

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April 2026 Connector Call questions and answers 

Can someone please explain why background checks for LNL providers takes so long? I have someone who has been waiting for many months with no help. Can anything be done about this? 

All background studies are processed in the order they are received, and about 80% of studies are completed within 24-48 hours. However, additional records or information may sometimes be required from other agencies, databases, repositories, or even other states. For example, the federal Child Care Development Block Grant Act required DHS to obtain criminal history records information for applicants who have lived in other states within the past five years in addition to Minnesota. This can create longer wait times as records are being requested from other jurisdictions. DHS does not have the authority to influence other states' response times. 

Background study subjects are encouraged to contact the Background Studies Division’s Contact Center directly at (651) 431-6620 for more information about the status of their own background study. Providers and counties should note that subjects are not required to share any information they receive about the status of their study. 

In our licensed child care center, we post allergy lists in each classroom. When an allergy list is posted in a classroom, does the list have to be covered up if the list includes a child's first name, last name, and picture, alongside the allergy? What if the list just indicates the child's first name, picture, and allergy but does not contain the child's last name? Would the answers to both questions be the same if the allergy list is posted in the center's kitchen area where food is prepared? If the answer is yes to either questions, and the lists do need to be covered up, can you reference the licensing guideline in child care centers that applies to this?

Under requirements for allergy prevention and response in MN Statutes, section 142B.66, a child’s allergy information must be available at all times and food allergy information must be readily available to staff in the area where food is prepared and served to the child.  The requirement to not disclose a child’s record without written parent or guardian consent can be found under Children’s Records in Minnesota Rules, part 9503.0125.   

DCYF has an Individual Child Care Program Plan form for allergies that includes parent or guardian consent to post their child’s name, allergy information, and treatment information in a place visible to others at the program.  If written parental/guardian permission is not obtained, personal information about a child must not be publicly available in the facility.  In these circumstances, providers may post them inside a cupboard door or on a clipboard with a coversheet to ensure privacy. 

Can the state provide clear guidance on what licensors consider "hazards or hazardous materials." For example, a plunger in the bathroom will result in a citation but the rules and statues do not clearly identify it as a hazard.

For Family Child Care: Minnesota Rules, part 9502.0435, subpart 6, states the following about hazards: Hazardous activity materials. Knives, matches, plastic bags, and other potential hazards must be kept out of the reach of infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. The use of potentially hazardous materials and tools must be supervised. 

A hazardous item would include any item that could reasonably cause injury, choking, poisoning, burning, cutting, or other harm to a child, or any item designated by the manufacturer to be stored out of reach of children.  

For Child Care Centers: A toilet plunger accessible to children may be cited as a cleanliness issue under Minnesota Rules, part 9503.0140, but not as a hazardous object.   

Minnesota Rules, part 9503.0140, subpart 17, provides this definition of hazardous objects: Sharp objects, medicines, plastic bags, and poisonous plants and chemicals, including household supplies, must be stored out of reach of children.  

As defined, hazards are things that could cause harm to a child, such as an open bottle of bleach, cleaning chemicals, or pest control products when they are accessible.  Other items, such as knives, can be hazardous if left on an accessible child sized table without supervision.  The same knife could be used with staff supervision for a cooking project, and it would not be a hazard.   

For both family child care and child care center settings, licensors use their professional judgement based on all the information at the time of a licensing inspection.  If a license holder disagrees with a correction order they have received for hazards, they are encouraged to request reconsideration from DCYF as described in the correction order.      

When will the DHS Licensing page be removed and/or a link made for the new DCYF Licensing page?  

The DCYF licensing page has migrated to Licensing | Minnesota Department of Children, Youth, and Families on the new DCYF website. DHS's child care licensing page now points to the DCYF page, and will be available temporarily to give people time to notice the change without breaking the link. 

Would a Masters in Parent Education count in the 2028 School readiness teacher licensure in 2028? Would a Masters in ECSE allow a teacher to be qualified to be a School Readiness teacher?  

After July 1, 2028, all school-based preschool teachers will need to be appropriately licensed in "Early Childhood Education," "Pre-primary," or "Pre-Kindergarten." If a Master’s degree in Parent Education or ECSE has not resulted in one of those specific child-instruction credentials, the teacher would need to either qualify for the statutory exemption which states  that any teacher who has taught in a preschool, School Readiness, School Readiness Plus, or prekindergarten program, or other school-based early learning program for at least five years prior to September 1, 2028, may continue to teach without obtaining a license. Notwithstanding this exemption from the licensure requirement, these individuals are teachers under Minnesota Statutes, section 179A.03, subdivision 18. Finally, districts still have the option of utilizing Out-of-Field Permissions (OFP) for those who do not yet hold the required license and do not meet the five-year exemption, provided the teacher is in the process of obtaining their appropriate licensure. More detailed information and a full FAQ be found on our DCYF webpage.

There have been recent discussions about a requirement for staff to have a 15-minute paid break for every four hours worked, in addition to their 30 minute unpaid break after 6 hours. Are we required to offer this to staff if we provide paid coverage for them to use the bathroom and take phone calls whenever they need it?  

Yes. Minnesota’s meal and rest break laws were updated as of Jan. 1, 2026. More information can be found on Work breaks, rest periods | Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry. The Department of Labor and Industry’s Labor Standards Division is ready to talk through specific situations and answer questions at 651-284-5075 or dli.laborstandards@state.mn.us.