HF 3433

1st Engrossment - 89th Legislature (2015 - 2016) Posted on 04/01/2016 10:20am

A bill for an act
relating to human services; appropriating money; modifying certain provisions
governing child care programs; creating a legislative task force on child care;
proposing coding for new law in Minnesota Statutes, chapter 245A.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

new text begin [245A.043] ELECTRONIC APPLICATION; INFORMATION. new text end

new text begin
(a) The commissioner shall conduct a feasibility study regarding the development
of a single, easily accessible Web site that complies with the requirements contained in
the federal reauthorization of the federal Child Care Development Fund and would allow
child care providers and prospective child care providers to:
new text end

new text begin (1) access a guide on how to start a child care business;
new text end

new text begin (2) access all applicable statutes, administrative rules, and agency policies and
procedures, including training requirements;
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new text begin (3) access up-to-date contact information for state and county agency licensing staff;
new text end

new text begin (4) access information on the availability of grant programs and other resources
for providers; and
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new text begin (5) submit a single electronic application and license renewal, including information
related to child care assistance program registration and application for rating in the
quality rating and improvement system.
new text end

new text begin (b) The commissioner shall submit the feasibility study to the chairs and ranking
minority members of the house of representatives and senate committees with jurisdiction
over child care by September 30, 2016.
new text end

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective the day following final enactment.
new text end

Sec. 2.

new text begin [245A.055] NOTIFICATION TO PROVIDER.
new text end

new text begin (a) When the county employee responsible for family child care and group family
child care licensing conducts a licensing inspection or conducts a home visit, the employee
must provide, prior to departure from the residence or facility, a written notification to
the licensee of any potential licensing violations noted. The notification must include
the condition that constitutes the violation, the action that must be taken to correct the
condition, and the time allowed to correct the violation.
new text end

new text begin (b) Providing this notification to the licensee does not relieve the county employee
from notifying the commissioner of the violation as required by statute and administrative
rule.
new text end

Sec. 3.

new text begin [245A.55] TRAINING FOR COUNTY LICENSING STAFF ON FAMILY
CHILD CARE AND GROUP FAMILY CHILD CARE REQUIREMENTS;
SUPERVISION.
new text end

new text begin (a) Within the first two months of employment, county staff who license and inspect
family child care and group family child care programs must complete at least eight hours
of training on state statutes, administrative rules, and department policies related to the
licensing and regulation of family child care and group family child care programs. The
department must develop the training curriculum to ensure that all county staff who perform
licensing and inspection functions receive uniform training. This training must include:
new text end

new text begin (1) explicit instructions that county staff who license and perform inspections
must apply only state statutes, administrative rules, and Department of Human Services
policies in the performance of their duties. Training must reinforce that county staff are
prohibited from imposing standards or requirements that are not imposed by statute, rule,
or approved state policy;
new text end

new text begin (2) the rights of license holders, including their grievance and appeal rights. This
training must include information on the responsibility of the county staff to inform license
holders of their rights, including grievance and appeal rights; and
new text end

new text begin (3) the procedure for county staff to seek clarification from the Department of
Human Services prior to issuing a correction order or other notice of violation to a license
holder if there is a dispute between the license holder and the county licensor regarding
the applicability of a statute or rule to the alleged violation.
new text end

new text begin (b) To ensure consistency among all licensing staff, the commissioner must develop
a procedure by which the department will implement increased training and oversight of
county staff who perform licensing functions related to family child care licensing. This
procedure must ensure that the commissioner conducts at least biennial reviews of county
licensing performance.
new text end

new text begin (c) Each calendar year, county agency staff who license and regulate family child
care providers and group family child care providers and their supervisors must receive
notice from the commissioner on new laws enacted or adopted in the previous 12-month
period relating to family child care providers and group family child care providers. The
commissioner shall provide the notices each year to include information on new laws and
disseminate the notices to county agencies.
new text end

Sec. 4. new text begin CHILD CARE PROVIDER LIAISON AND ADVOCATE.
new text end

new text begin The commissioner of human services must designate a full-time employee of
the department to serve as a child care provider liaison and advocate. The child care
provider liaison and advocate must be responsive to requests from providers by providing
information or assistance in obtaining or renewing licenses, meeting state regulatory
requirements, or resolving disputes with state agencies or other political subdivisions.
new text end

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective the day following final enactment.
new text end

Sec. 5. new text begin LEGISLATIVE TASK FORCE ON CHILD CARE.
new text end

new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end

new text begin Creation. new text end

new text begin A legislative task force on child care is created to review
the loss of child care providers in the state, assess affordability issues for providers and
parents, and identify areas that need to be addressed by the legislature.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 2. new text end

new text begin Membership. new text end

new text begin Task force members shall include:
new text end

new text begin (1) four members from the house of representatives appointed by the speaker, two
from the majority party and two from the minority party; and
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new text begin (2) four members from the senate appointed by the majority leader, two from the
majority party and two from the minority party.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 3. new text end

new text begin Duties. new text end

new text begin (a) The task force may:
new text end

new text begin (1) evaluate factors that contribute to child care costs for providers and families;
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new text begin (2) assess the child care provider shortage in greater Minnesota;
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new text begin (3) review the current preservice and in-service training requirements for family
child care providers and child care center staff. This review shall include training required
for licensure, including staff credentialing for child care center staff positions and the ways
in which this training aligns with Minnesota's Career Lattice and Minnesota's Knowledge
and Competency Framework for Early Childhood and School-Aged Care Practitioners;
new text end

new text begin (4) review the availability of training that is in place to meet the training needs of
providers, including the content of this training, cost, and delivery methods;
new text end

new text begin (5) consider creation of a board of child care to be responsible for all matters related
to licensing of child care providers, both in-home and center-based programs, and to
employ an advocate for child care providers;
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new text begin (6) review the process of issuing and resolving correction orders issued to child
care providers;
new text end

new text begin (7) consider uniform training requirements for county employees and their
supervisors who perform duties related to licensing;
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new text begin (8) review progress being made by the commissioner of human services to streamline
paperwork and reduce redundancies for child care providers;
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new text begin (9) review the time it takes for the department to provide Child Care Assistance
program reimbursement to providers; and
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new text begin (10) consider options for conducting exit interviews with providers who leave the
child care field or choose not to be relicensed.
new text end

new text begin (b) Task force members may receive input from the commissioners of human
services and economic development, providers, and stakeholders to review all action items.
new text end

new text begin Subd. 4. new text end

new text begin Recommendations and report. new text end

new text begin The task force, in cooperation with the
commissioner of human services, shall issue a report to the legislature and governor by
December 31, 2016. The report must contain summary information obtained during
the task force meetings and recommendations for additional legislative changes and
procedures affecting child care.
new text end

new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end

new text begin This section is effective the day following final enactment
and sunsets on December 31, 2016.
new text end

Sec. 6. new text begin CHILD CARE BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT; APPROPRIATION.
new text end

new text begin (a) $....... in fiscal year 2017 is appropriated from the general fund to the
commissioner of employment and economic development for grants to local communities
to develop and implement a community solution action plan to sustain and increase the
supply of quality child care providers in order to support regional economic development.
Grant funds available under this section must be used to assess, identify, and implement
solutions to reduce the child care shortage in the state, including but not limited to
funding for child care business start-up or expansion, training, facility modifications or
improvements required for licensing, and assistance with licensing and other regulatory
requirements. In awarding grants, the commissioner must give priority to communities in
greater Minnesota that have documented a shortage of child care providers in the area.
new text end

new text begin (b) By September 30, 2017, grant recipients must report to the commissioner on the
outcomes of the grant program, including but not limited to the number of new providers,
the number of additional child care provider jobs created, the number of additional child
care slots, and the amount of local funds invested.
new text end

new text begin (c) By January 1, 2018, the commissioner must report on the outcomes to date of
the program to the standing committees of the legislature having jurisdiction over child
care and economic development.
new text end

Sec. 7. new text begin CHILD CARE BUSINESS START-UP MANUAL; APPROPRIATION.
new text end

new text begin $....... in fiscal year 2017 is appropriated from the general fund to the commissioner
of employment and economic development to produce an easy-to-understand manual to
instruct aspiring business owners in how to start a child care business. The commissioner
shall work in consultation with relevant state and local agencies and affected stakeholders
to produce the manual. The manual must be made available electronically to interested
persons. This is a onetime appropriation and is available until June 30, 2019.
new text end