Minnesota Day Care License Suspensions and Revocations… How to Respond?

In the state of Minnesota, an individual, partnership or organization may not operate a residential or nonresidential child care program without a license. As Minnesota values safe, quality child care, the standards by which day care licenses are issued and upheld are stringent. There are numerous situations in which an individual or a licensed day care provider can face a a license disqualification, a maltreatment-of-minor determination, a conditional license issuance, a license suspension or a license revocation. As these determinations and sanctions ultimately affect the safety of the children concerned and the livelihood of the day care providers, it is important to understand what these determinations and sanctions mean and how day care providers can respond.

License Disqualification

Under Minnesota law, individuals who have direct contact with vulnerable adults or children, such as daycare providers, are the subject of a background study as part of the requirements to obtain a license to provide such care.

A conviction, admission to, or acceptance of a plea bargain without entering a guilty plea (a so-called Alford plea) to any of numerous crimes including offenses involving violent acts, sexual or financial exploitation, or fraud, can disqualify an individual from receiving a license for a period from seven years to a permanent disqualification. If a background study reveals facts that show by a preponderance of the evidence that an individual committed an offense that would have disqualified him or her from receiving a license, even if the individual was not charged or tried for the offense, the individual will be disqualified.

If the individual is disqualified from providing direct care, the individual has the right to request a reconsideration of the disqualification. The individual’s disqualification may be reviewed in a contested case hearing or a fair hearing, depending on the circumstances.

Maltreatment-of-Minor Determinations

When substantial child endangerment is reported to the state agency, an investigation is required. Substantial child endangerment occurs when a person responsible for the child’s care, including day care providers, commits or attempts to commit blatantly harmful acts against a child. Examples of such conduct include sexual abuse, abandonment, assault, solicitation, neglect that substantially endangers the child’s physical or mental health, egregious harm and malicious punishment, neglect, or endangerment of a child.

An investigation may also be performed in cases of reported child neglect. Under Minnesota law relating to maltreatment of minors, neglect occurs in various situations unless such situations are accidental. These situations include:

• Failure by a person responsible for a child’s care to provide necessary food, clothing, shelter, health and medical care required for the child’s physical and mental health
• Failure to provide necessary supervision appropriate for a child, considering the child’s age, mental ability and physical condition
• Emotional harm from a pattern of behavior that contributes to a child’s impaired emotional functioning
• Physical abuse and aversive deprivation procedures

Should an investigation determine that a day care provider engaged in maltreatment of minors through substantial child endangerment or neglect, the day care’s license may become conditional, may be suspended or may be revoked. A maltreatment-of-minor determination also prevents the individual from working in other settings where direct care is provided such as in elementary, middle and high schools, including charter schools.

Conditional Licenses

If a day care provider fails to comply with certain rules that do not imminently endanger the health, safety or rights of the children in its care, the provider may be issued a correction order and a conditional license. A correction order and conditional license will allow the provider to correct its violations within a specified period of time. If the provider does not correct the specified violations, it may face a fine or a license suspension or revocation.

A provider can only clear its social services record of said violations by appealing the correction order and requesting reconsideration from the state agency.

License Suspensions and Revocations

Depending on the chronic nature or severity of the maltreatment, a day care provider may have its license suspended or revoked. If the provider’s license is suspended or revoked, the day care may only continue to operate if the provider appeals the suspension or revocation. Even then, the day care may only continue to operate for the length of time that the appeal is pending. During that time, the provider will be granted a temporary provisional license to be used only until a final judgment is rendered.

Please note that a license may be suspended or revoked for reasons other than maltreatment. A day care license may be revoked if there are complications with the background study necessary to obtain a day care license or if the provider withholds information or provides false or misleading information on its license application.

If a day care provider chooses to appeal both a license suspension or revocation and a maltreatment-of-minor determination, the appeal hearings may be consolidated if feasible.

For Further Reference

A day care provider facing a maltreatment-of-minor determination, issuance of a conditional license, or a license suspension or revocation can only clear its name by appealing the determination and sanction. Successful appeal will allow a day care provider to clear its social services record and obtain license reinstatement. The amount of time that the law allows a day care provider to appeal is minimal. If your day care center is facing any of these issues, please contact an experienced attorney immediately.