Training requirements for licensed child care centers

For the purposes of training requirements, the following roles are defined as:

"Substitute" means an adult who is temporarily filling a position as a director, teacher, assistant teacher, or aide in a licensed child care center for less than 240 hours total in a calendar year due to the absence of a regularly employed staff person.

"Staff person" means an employee of a child care center who provides direct contact services to children.

"Unsupervised volunteer" means an individual who:

1. Assists in the care of a child in care.
   1. Is not under the continuous direct supervision of a staff person and
   2. Is not employed by the child care center.

Defining these roles in statute provides clarity for the training requirements in 245A.40 to those terms. The definition of staff person includes all employees who provide direct contact services to children. Parents or other volunteers who are always supervised and never alone with children are considered supervised volunteers and do not require training. For a list of defined roles with their accompanying training requirements, see: Training Requirements for Licensed Child Care Centers. For assistance on qualifying a person, see:  Personnel Information (PIF).

Licensed child care centers must establish a process for tracking substitute hours to ensure those who work more than 240 hours in a calendar year complete the required trainings. The 240 hours is site-specific. If a substitute works more than 240 hours in a calendar year, then the substitute needs all the training required of a staff person. The licensed child center must also establish a process for tracking volunteers to identify volunteers who are always supervised and those who are unsupervised at any time. An example of an unsupervised volunteer is a parent who accompanies a child to the bathroom and is not directly supervised by another staff person. 

Legal authority: Minn. Stat. 142B.65, subd.2

The center director, staff persons, substitutes, and unsupervised volunteers must be given orientation training and successfully complete the training before starting assigned duties. According to MN Statutes, section 142B.65, subdivision 1, training for orientation cannot be used to meet in-service training requirements. Documentation of orientation is required. The DCYF licensing Orientation Training Record can be used by child care centers to meet these requirements.

The license holder must ensure that all required content is included in each orientation training requirement:

• Abusive Head Trauma training for individuals working with a child under school age per MN Statutes, section 142B.65, subd. 7; Can be N/A for centers with only school age children.
  • Allergy Prevention and Response training on details of center policy per MN Statutes, section 142B.66, subd. 1
  • Behavior Guidance training on details of center policy per MN Rules, part 9503.0055
  • Child Development and Learning training as required per MN Statutes, section 142B.65, subd. 3
  • Center Child Care Program Plan training on details of the center’s child care program plan per MN Rules, part 9503.0045
  • Emergency Preparedness training on details of the center’s Emergency Plan per MN Statutes, section 142B.66, subd. 3
  • Handling and Disposal of Bodily Fluids training on details of center policy per MN Statutes, section 142B.66, subd. 2
  • Handling Emergencies and Accidents training on details of center policy per MN Rule, part 9503.0110, subp. 1
  • Health Policies training on details of center policy per MN Rules 9503.0140, subp. 1
  • Individual Child Care Program Plan training on details of individual child care program plans for all children that the staff will interact with per MN Rules 9503.0065 and MN Statutes, section 142B.66, subd. 1, if applicable
  • Job Responsibilities specific to the individual’s position at the center per MN Statutes, section 142B.65, subd. 1 (2)
  • Program Drug and Alcohol Policy training on the details of the center’s policy per MN Statutes, section 142B.65, subd. 1 (5)
  • Reporting Responsibilities and training per MN Statutes, Chapter 260E and MN Rules, part 9503.0130
  • Risk Reduction Plan training on details of the center’s Risk Reduction Plan per MN Statutes, 142B.54, subd. 2
  • Sudden Unexpected Infant Death training for individuals working with infants per MN Statutes, section 142B.65, subd. 6; Can be N/A for centers not serving infants.

In addition, before having unsupervised direct contact with a child, the director and staff persons within the first 90 days of employment, and substitutes and unsupervised volunteers within 90 days after the first date of direct contact with a child, must complete:

• Pediatric First Aid training for individuals as required per MN Statutes, section 142B.65, subd. 4
  • Pediatric Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) for individuals as required per MN Statutes, section 142B.65, subd. 5

In addition, the director and all staff persons, substitutes, and unsupervised volunteers shall complete child development and learning within the first 90 days of employment:

• Child Development and Learning training as required per MN Statutes, section 142B.65, subd. 3 For the purposes of orientation, “child development and learning training” means any training that covers an understanding in how children develop physically, cognitively, emotionally and socially, and learn as part of the children’s family, culture and community. Knowledge and Competency Area I: Child Development and Learning training may be used to meet this requirement. Child development and learning training taken within the previous two years satisfies this requirement.

Legal Authority: Minn. Stat. 142B.65 Subd. 1 and Minn. Stat. 142B.65 Subd. 10;

The center director, staff persons, substitutes, and unsupervised volunteers must receive ongoing training each calendar year according to MN Statute, section 142B, subdivision 9. Documentation of in-service training is required.

• Training required to be completed every year can be completed at any time within each calendar year.
  • The center director and staff persons who work more than 20 hours per week must complete 24 hours of in-service training each calendar year.
  • Staff persons who work 20 hours or less per week must complete 12 hours of in-service training each calendar year.
  • Substitutes and unsupervised volunteers are required to complete 2 hours of training on health and safety topics; mandated reporting; the risk reduction plan; child development and learning, pediatric first aid, pediatric CPR, cultural dynamics; disability training, and child passenger restraint training, if applicable.
  • The number of in-service training hours may be prorated for individuals not employed for an entire year.

Training topics to be completed each calendar year:

• Abusive Head Trauma training for individuals working with a child under school age per MN Statutes, section 142B.65, subd. 7; Can be N/A for centers with only school age children
  • Allergy Prevention and Response training on details of center policy per MN Statutes, section 142B.66, subd. 1
  • Emergency Preparedness training on the details of the center’s Emergency Plan per MN Statutes, section 142B.66, subd. 3
  • Handling and Disposal of Bodily Fluids training on details of center policy per MN Statutes, section 142B.66, subd. 2
  • Handling Emergencies and Accidents training on details of center policy per MN Rule, part 9503.0110, subp. 1
  • Health policies training on details of center policy per MN Rules 9503.0140, subp. 1
  • Reporting Responsibilities and training per MN Statutes, Chapter 260E and MN Rules, part 9503.0130
  • Sudden Unexpected Infant Death training for individuals working with infants per MN Statutes, section 142B.65, subd. 6; Can be N/A for centers not serving infants.

Each year or when a change is made, whichever is more frequent, training must be provided on:

• Risk Reduction Plan Training must include details on center’s Risk Reduction Plan per MN Statutes, 142B.54, subd. 2

A child’s individual child care program plan as required under Minnesota Rules, part 9503.0065, subp. 3.

Training topics to be completed every other calendar year:

• Child Development and Learning training as required per MN Statutes, section 142B.65, subd. 3
  • The director and staff must complete at least two hours of child development and learning training every other year.
    • Substitutes and unsupervised volunteers must complete child development and learning training every other year, but it is not required to be a minimum length.
  • Cultural Dynamics training as required per MN Statutes, section 142B.65, subd. 9, para. (f), clause (4)
  • Disabilities training as required per MN Statute, section 142B.65, subdivision 9, para. (f), clause (5)

Training topics to be completed every 5 calendar years:

• Child passenger restraint training for individuals that place children in child restraint systems per MN Statutes, section 142B.51, subd. 2

You must document and maintain on site, completed training for the director, staff persons, substitutes and unsupervised volunteers. Documentation must also be available that shows the individual’s start date, date of first direct contact with children and date of first unsupervised direct contact with children. Direct contact means when the individual begins assisting in the care of a child. Unsupervised direct contact means when the individual begins assisting in the care of a child without any supervision by a staff person.  As is current practice, for employees hired prior to Sept. 30, 2019, licensors will look to see that employee documentation includes the start date and date of first direct contact with children. For employees hired after Sept. 30, 2019, licensors will look to see that employee documentation includes the start date, date of first direct contact with children and date of first unsupervised direct contact with children. The license holder must ensure that documentation identifies the number of hours completed for each topic with a minimum training time identified, if applicable, and that all required content is included.

To assist in the required documentation of in-service training each calendar year, the Licensed Child Care Center Yearly In-Services Training Record form has been developed. 

Legal Authority: Minn. Stat. 245A.40 subd. 10

Sudden Unexpected Infant Death (SUID) videos

The Department of Children, Youth, and Families has approved the following series of videos which can be used, but are not required when providing SUID training. Centers are responsible for meeting all SUID training requirements as outlined in MN Statutes, section 142B.65. subd. 6, including the standards in MN Statutes, section 142B.46.

Please note: The videos below include portrayals of infant sleep environments in private, non-licensed homes that are not subject to the requirements of MN Statutes, section 142B.46. Licensed child care providers must comply with statutory safe sleep requirements for sleeping infants, including nothing in the crib except for an infant’s pacifier. In addition, attachments or modifications to the crib are prohibited. The videos below do not meet the minimum of 30 minutes required for training on Sudden Unexpected Infant Death. If providers choose to use the videos for training on SUID, additional training time will be required.

• Safe Sleep (produced by Hennepin County, 4:17)
• Sleep On It - Preventing Unsafe Sleep Practices (produced by Dakota County, 6:28)
• Safe Sleep for Childcare Providers (produced by the city of St. Louis, 4:19)
• Safe Sleep for Your Baby (produced by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, 9:56)
• Clear the Crib to Reduce the Risk of Sleep-Related Infant Death (produced by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, 1:59)

Abusive Head Trauma (AHT) videos

The Department of Children, Youth, and Families has approved the following videos which can be used, but are not required when providing AHT training. Centers are responsible for meeting all AHT training requirements as outlined in MN Statutes, section 142B.65, subd. 7.

• Never Shake: Preventing Shaken Baby Syndrome (produced by the Missouri Children's Trust Fund, 7:48)
• Forever Shaken (produced by the Brain Injury Association of Nebraska, 33:17)
• Jippson & Sapp Family (produced by Never Shake Minnesota, 13:49)

The DHS Licensed Child Care Center E-learning videos can be used for training purposes. Certificates of completion are not provided. It is up to the individual center to document the training in the center’s records, including determining if the information meets a KCF area. Develop credit is not provided.

• Defining Licensed Child Care in Minnesota
• Business of Licensed Child Care Centers
• Facility
• Staffing Requirements
• Policies and Procedures

• ICCPP training (July 2024): Webinar recording  |  Handout
• Behavior Guidance Requirements training (May 2024): Webinar recording  |  Handout
• Outreach Connection webinar (June 2024): Webinar recording  |  Handout

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