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The 2024 Legislature changed several laws that impact background studies. A few of those changes are highlighted below. The full list of legislative summaries can be found on the What's new page for background studies.
Statute now clarifies that if the person seeking a child foster care license is the child’s relative, DHS will consider the importance of maintaining the child's relationship with relatives when determining whether a background study disqualification should be set aside.
The Minnesota Judicial Branch (MJB) must submit guardian or conservator maltreatment and licensing agency checks to DHS using the specified form, and then DHS will conduct the necessary checks. The MJB shall pay the fee for an applicant who has been granted in forma pauperis status upon receipt of the invoice from the commissioner.
DHS can disqualify a health-related board licensed individual for maltreatment if the individual's study is related to child foster care, adult foster care, or family child care licensure. In all other cases, the health-related licensing board shall determine whether to impose disciplinary or corrective action.
The Department of Human Services (DHS) originally sent out this information on July 7, 2023. It is being re-sent because this legislative change will go into effect July 1, 2024.
Beginning July 1, all requests for reconsideration of an ineligible background study determination (disqualification) will need to be submitted within 30 calendar days of receipt of the Notice of Disqualification. Previously, some reconsideration requests needed to be submitted within 15 days and others within 30 days. To simplify the process, all timelines for requesting reconsideration will be the same going forward.
No. Study subjects will continue to request reconsideration the same way as before. The only change is that as of July 1, all study subjects will have 30 days to request reconsideration. The Notice of Disqualification will reflect this change, so you can continue to tell study subjects to follow the instructions they get in the mail. If a study subject doesn’t have their notice or request for reconsideration form, they can call 651-431-6620 or email dhs.netstudy2@state.mn.us for copies.
The Department of Human Services (DHS) originally sent out this information on July 7, 2023. It is being re-sent because these legislative changes will go into effect April 1, 2024.
To bring DHS into compliance with federal regulations related to data sharing and meet the minimum necessary rule of data sharing, DHS is making the following changes:
To review more legislative changes affecting background studies, refer to the 2023 legislative changes summary on the What’s New in Background Studies webpage.
Licensed or certified providers and individuals affiliated with a licensed or certified child care provider must complete a Department of Human Services (DHS) enhanced child care study every five years. Common errors providers are making can be prevented by the following:
Emergency background studies are no longer valid. NETStudy 2.0 displays emergency studies with the expiration date 12/31/2022. If an individual who is still affiliated completed an emergency study but has not had a new, fully compliant fingerprint-based background study submitted, then your entity is not in compliance with state and federal background study requirements. A new study must be submitted immediately in NETStudy 2.0.
DHS implemented enhanced background studies for child care provider types on Oct. 4, 2018. Background studies submitted before Oct. 4, 2018, are not enhanced studies. If an individual has a study that was submitted prior to Oct. 4, 2018, then your entity is not compliant with state and federal background study requirements. A new study must be submitted immediately in NETStudy 2.0.
On March 12, 2024, the following updates went into effect for children’s residential facilities and child foster residence settings:
For more information and instructions, refer to the updated DHS-8512 Background study changes for children's residential facilities and foster residence settings (PDF) document.
The Department of Human Services (DHS) has moved all license records that remained in the original NETStudy system to NETStudy 2.0. This includes license records for Family Child Foster Care, Family Adult Foster Care, and Family Adult Day Services. Counties and placing agencies no longer need to contact DHS to add a license record from the original NETStudy system into NETStudy 2.0. Existing background studies remain valid.
DHS added the license records for each respective county to the Primary Contact Person's user account in NETStudy 2.0. Counties and placing agencies can now submit studies for newly affiliated individuals. Please call 651-431-6620 or email dhs.netstudy2@state.mn.us with questions.
The Department of Human Services (DHS) is currently covering the cost of child care background studies for all child care provider types. DHS will continue to cover child care background study and fingerprinting fees through 12/31/24. This includes household members or anyone affiliated with a child care program.
As a reminder, licensed or certified providers and individuals affiliated with those providers must complete a background study every five years. Do not submit study applications more than 90 days before the current expiration date. Information on how to identify expiring studies (PDF) is available.
Call 651-431-6620 or email dhs.netstudy2@state.mn.us with questions.
As of November 7, 2023, assisted living providers initiating a background study may be required to complete two additional questions in NETStudy 2.0. These new questions have been added to the “Initiate Study” screen and may appear based on information previously entered. The questions were added to help the Department of Human Services (DHS) determine whether an out-of-state maltreatment check for adults and children is required. If necessary, after the study is submitted DHS will provide a form to the study subject to fill out and return to DHS to complete an out-of-state maltreatment check. If the study subject does not complete and return the form, the study will be closed and a new background study will need to be submitted. If you have any questions, please call 651-431-6620 or email dhs.netstudy2@state.mn.us.
Users can now more easily identify expiring or expired background studies using new functionality in NETStudy 2.0. New instructions for identifying expiring background studies are available.
As a reminder, licensed or certified providers and individuals affiliated with a licensed or certified child care provider must complete a Department of Human Services (DHS) enhanced child care study every five years. Do not submit new background study applications more than 90 days before the current expiration date. New studies that are submitted too far in advance of the study expiration date will not extend the original expiration date and will not meet the requirement for a new study every five years.
Family child care providers, if you have questions, please work with your licensor to identify when a new enhanced study needs to be submitted.
Emergency background studies are no longer valid. NETStudy 2.0 displays emergency studies with the expiration date 12/31/2022. If an individual who is still affiliated completed an emergency study but has not had a new, fully compliant fingerprint-based background study submitted, then your entity is not in compliance with state and federal background study requirements. A new enhanced child care study must be submitted immediately in NETStudy 2.0.
DHS implemented enhanced background studies for child care provider types on Oct. 4, 2018. Background studies submitted before Oct. 4, 2018, are not enhanced studies. If an individual has a study that was submitted prior to Oct. 4, 2018, then your entity is not compliant with state and federal background study requirements. A new enhanced child care study must be submitted immediately in NETStudy 2.0.
The 2023 Legislature changed several laws that impact background studies. A few of those changes are highlighted below. The full list of legislative summaries can be found on the What's new page for background studies.
To better support providers, the Department of Human Services (DHS) Background Studies Division will be adding staff and strengthening infrastructure over the next several years. Staffing will increase in a variety of areas, including the contact center and research teams that make determinations on background studies. This staffing increase will also allow the Background Studies Division to build a provider relations strategy that increases engagement and support for all providers required to submit background studies and expand current quality assurance review capabilities.
Beginning July 1, 2024, all requests for reconsideration of an ineligible background study determination will need to be submitted within 30 calendar days of receipt of the Notice of Disqualification. Previously, some reconsideration requests needed to be submitted with 15 days and others within 30 days. To simplify the process, all timelines for requesting reconsideration will be the same going forward. The recommendation for a standardized timeline was made by the Human Services Background Study Eligibility Task Force.
For background studies requested on or after August 1, 2024, a new 5-year disqualifications tier for certain drug-related crimes (particularly those related to the possession of a controlled substance) is going into effect. Previously, these offenses were subject to a 15-year disqualification. A list of offenses that will be subject to the 5-year disqualification tier can be found in Minnesota Statutes, section 245C.15, subdivision 4b. This was a recommendation from the Human Services Background Study Eligibility Task Force.
To bring DHS into compliance with federal regulations related to data sharing and meet the minimum necessary rule of data sharing, DHS is making the following changes:
Recreational marijuana (cannabis) use will soon become legal in Minnesota for people aged 21 or older. Many current cannabis-related criminal records will be eligible for automatic expungement, and many others will be eligible for reduced sentencing as a result of this law change. DHS is carved out of these automatic expungements, but the cases eligible for automatic expungement will not be disqualifying. For DHS background studies, felony offenses under Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 152 are disqualifying. The cannabis-related records that are based on provisions that are repealed or reduced below felony level will no longer be disqualifying.
Felony level cannabis-related criminal records will be evaluated by the Cannabis Expungement Board for expungement or sentence reduction. The cannabis board will then send its recommendations to the courts, who will order expungement or resentence the cases as appropriate. DHS will ultimately receive information about which cases have been expunged or resentenced, which will inform background study determinations. In the meantime, BGS will have a manual process analyzing cannabis records to determine whether or not these records are disqualifying. The board is expected to take several years to complete its evaluation of all relevant records.
The 2023 Legislature enacted a fee increase for Department of Human Services (DHS) background study applications. Starting July 1, 2023, fees that are currently $40 or $42 will increase to $44 and fees that are $51 will increase to $53. The fee increase will help cover the actual costs of conducting background studies and criminal history searches. Child care background studies will continue to be covered by DHS through 2023.
Fingerprinting and photo service submissions for DHS’ statewide contracted vendor, IDEMIA, will increase from $9.50 to $10.50 on July 1, 2023. The fingerprint and photo service fee is paid to the vendor and is separate from the DHS background study application fee paid in NETStudy 2.0. This fee covers the electronic recording of fingerprint images, one photo of the study subject, and the secure transmission of those images to DHS.
Licensed providers and individuals affiliated with a licensed or certified provider must complete a Department of Human Services (DHS) enhanced background study every five years. Do not submit new background study applications more than 90 days before the current expiration date. For example, for an expiration date of Oct. 4, 2023, you may submit a new study in NETStudy 2.0 on July 6, 2023, at the earliest.
To find the expiration date of a fully compliant, enhanced child care study, locate the study subject by doing a roster search and look for the date in the “Determination Expiration Date” column on the Roster screen in NETStudy 2.0. To get to the Roster screen:
Emergency background studies are no longer valid. Currently, these expiration dates display as five years from the date of the determination, however, NETStudy 2.0 will update expiration dates for emergency studies to be displayed as 12/31/2022 in the coming weeks. Instructions on how to identify emergency studies are in the Help section in the document titled, Identifying Emergency Studies – Updated 2022.11.30 . If an individual who is still affiliated has not had a new fingerprint-based background study submitted since their emergency study expired, then your entity is not compliant with state and federal background study requirements. A new enhanced child care study must be submitted immediately in NETStudy 2.0 for individuals who do not have one.
DHS implemented enhanced background studies for child care provider types on Oct. 4, 2018. Background studies submitted before Oct. 4, 2018, are not enhanced studies. If an individual has a study that was submitted prior to Oct. 4, 2018, then your entity is not compliant with state and federal background study requirements. A new enhanced child care study must be submitted immediately in NETStudy 2.0 for individuals who do not have one.
Instructions on how to identify expiring background studies will be updated soon! Users will have access to a new screen in NETStudy 2.0 to more easily manage expiring studies. User instructions will be sent out when this update occurs later this summer.
In 2017 and 2018, the Minnesota Legislature established enhanced background study requirements for child care providers to bring Minnesota into compliance with federal law. DHS began conducting enhanced child care background studies in October 2018. For clarification on who needs to complete a background study, see the "Additional resources" section below.
Enhanced background studies include fingerprint searches in federal databases. Minors who have a name-based study will need a fingerprint-based study when they turn 18 years old. Enhanced background studies include updates for study subjects regarding new Minnesota criminal history and substantiated Minnesota maltreatment through:
Under the Child Care and Development Block Grant Act and Minnesota state law, individuals affiliated with a licensed or certified child care provider must complete an enhanced background study every five years. The Department of Human Services began a phased rollout of enhanced background studies for child care provider types on Oct. 4, 2018. This means the first enhanced child care background studies will start to expire in October 2023.
This is the first of multiple communications that DHS will provide on this topic over the coming months.
To comply with the five year requirement, new studies will need to be submitted; however, those new studies should not be submitted more than 90 calendar days before the individual’s study expiration date. In NETStudy 2.0, the entity roster shows the study expiration date for each individual affiliated with a child care entity. Child care entities will have until the expiration date to submit a new study for each individual.
New studies that are submitted too far in advance of the study expiration date will not extend the original expiration date and will not meet the requirement for a new study every five years. For example, for an enhanced child care background study with an expiration date of Oct. 4, 2023, the earliest the entity should submit a new study for that affiliated individual would be July 6, 2023.
The study expiration date is five years from the original determination date. The study expiration date will be based on a study subject’s original enhanced study’s determination date, which may or may not be the study that your entity submitted. Even if another entity submitted that original study, the correct expiration date will show up in NETStudy 2.0.
Please note, the dates in the above example are the earliest dates a new enhanced child care background study could be needed. The dates will be later depending on when the entity went live in NETStudy 2.0 with enhanced child care background studies and when the affiliated individual’s previous enhanced child care background study was completed. Child care centers and family child care licensors need to manage their rosters in NETStudy 2.0 and submit studies for individuals based on individual study expiration dates.
DHS will provide more details about this process throughout the year, including how to monitor the status of enhanced background studies.
In 2018, the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) began implementing enhanced child care background studies to comply with federal requirements under the Child Care and Development Block Grant. DHS is currently covering the costs associated with enhanced child care background studies for all child care provider types and affiliated individuals.
DHS has received questions from child care providers about how long the costs will be covered and when providers will be expected to begin paying the background study fees. DHS knows this uncertainty can be challenging, especially as providers plan their budgets. In recognition of this, DHS is announcing that enhanced child care background study fees will continue to be covered by DHS at least through the end of 2023. The department hopes this clarification is helpful to providers.
Reminder: The deadline for individuals currently affiliated with a child care program to submit enhanced child care background studies is Dec. 31, 2022. All individuals must have an enhanced study submitted on or before that date. An enhanced child care background study is a fingerprint-based study that was submitted in NETStudy 2.0 on or after Oct. 4, 2018.
An individual may have completed an emergency background study since 2018, but emergency background studies do not qualify as an enhanced background study. Emergency background studies also expire on Dec. 31, 2022. If an individual affiliated with your program has an emergency study and has not started an enhanced background study, they need to do so before the end of December 2022.
Note: A cleared enhanced background study lasts for five years. Studies that are submitted too far in advance of the 5-year time frame for expiration may connect with the previous study and therefore would not extend the study expiration date. DHS will provide more details about this process in the future.
The temporary waiver of the supervision requirement for certain newly affiliated individuals expires Dec. 31, 2022
Emergency background study extension ends Dec. 31, 2022
Temporary 21-day fingerprint and photo requirement expires Jan. 2, 2023
Emergency background study credits will be available in NETStudy 2.0 until Jan. 2, 2023
As the end of the year is quickly approaching, so too is the end of the extension of emergency background studies, Dec. 31. Entities are strongly encouraged to submit fully compliant, fingerprint-based studies as soon as possible for individuals currently providing services under an emergency study. Effective Jan. 1, 2023, emergency studies will no longer be valid, and the deadline cannot be extended by DHS.
Beginning Jan. 3, 2023, study subjects will no longer have 21 days to complete their fingerprint and photograph requirement. The timeframe to complete the fingerprint and photo requirement will return to 14 days. Study subjects who have a background study application submitted on or before Jan. 2, will still have 21 days to have their fingerprints and photographs taken.
Entities can use their emergency background study credits in NETStudy 2.0 until Jan. 2, 2023. Starting Jan. 3, 2023, entities will no longer be able to access emergency study credits in NETStudy 2.0.
Entities should ensure they are reviewing and maintaining their rosters in NETStudy 2.0 regularly and separating individuals from the entity’s roster when those individuals are no longer affiliated.
As the end of the year is quickly approaching, so too is the end of the extension of emergency studies. Entities are strongly encouraged to submit fully compliant, fingerprint-based studies for individuals currently providing services under an emergency study as soon as possible. Effective Jan. 1, 2023, emergency studies will no longer be valid, and the Dec. 31 deadline cannot be extended by DHS.
Resources
For the most updated information about resubmitting emergency studies, see transition from emergency studies to full compliance.
NETStudy 2.0 Instructional videos
DHS Background study FAQs page has additional information.
In 2019, The Department of Human Services (DHS) began facilitating a phased roll out of enhanced child care background studies. In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic and peacetime state of emergency interrupted this process, and DHS temporarily modified certain background study requirements and implemented an emergency background study process. On Sept. 15, 2021, DHS returned to conducting enhanced fully compliant fingerprint-based studies for child care providers. Child care providers were instructed to prioritize studies for newly affiliated individuals and individuals who had never received an enhanced study.
The deadline to submit enhanced child care studies is Dec. 31, 2022. All individuals must have an enhanced study submitted on or before that date.
An enhanced child care background study is one that was submitted in NETStudy 2.0 on or after Oct. 4, 2018; however, emergency background studies do not qualify as an enhanced background study.
Find the latest information and additional updates for background studies at What's new for background studies.
Additional information
Report concerns and complaints about fingerprinting and photo services by completing the IDEMIA Fingerprint and Photo Services Issue Report Form or contact IDEMIA’s Customer Service Call Center at 844-556-8505.
Resources
The Department of Human Services (DHS) will issue checks to family adult foster care entities that were not able to receive emergency background study credits in NETStudy 2.0. Checks will be made payable and sent directly to the family adult foster care license holders. The message memo of the check will indicate study credit.
To be eligible for the credit, a per transaction fee in NETStudy 2.0 must have been paid for emergency background studies beginning on April 6, 2020. While many types of entities successfully received and used their credit directly in NETStudy 2.0, DHS was made aware that some adult foster care entities were unable to access the credit in the NETStudy 2.0 system. Entities that were unable to access the credit will be receiving a lump sum payment from DHS for all eligible study transactions that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic and peacetime emergency.
Background studies completed in the original NETStudy system are no longer valid. Effective immediately, any individual who is required to have a background study and is not currently on an entity’s active NETStudy 2.0 roster(s), must have a new background study submitted.
Roster import process is closed.
The deadline to complete the NETStudy 2.0 roster import process has expired. DHS will not be reopening the process for any entities. DHS implemented the NETStudy 2.0 roster import process in 2018 so that entities could transfer background study determinations for individuals who completed a study in the original NETStudy system to their NETStudy 2.0 rosters. The two-year effort concluded in December 2020.
State law requires entities to use NETStudy 2.0 to maintain current and accurate rosters. All applicable fees apply to new background study requests, including the costs for fingerprinting.
This change will potentially impact the following entities:
To assist providers and study subjects with completing background study and fingerprinting requirements, the Department of Human Services (DHS) is continuing the temporarily extended timeline for background study subjects to be fingerprinted and photographed. For background studies submitted on or after Oct. 1, study subjects will have 21 days to complete the fingerprint and photo requirement. This temporary extension will remain in effect through Dec. 31. No action is required by entities. The updated fingerprinting requirement deadline displays in the “Determination in Process” queue in NETStudy 2.0.
Please encourage study subjects to schedule their fingerprint and photo appointment with IDEMIA immediately after they receive the pre-enrollment email from IDEMIA.
14-day consent and disclosure requirement continuesThe deadline for study subjects to complete the consent and disclosure process remains at 14 days. When the consent and disclosure is not completed, the study subject’s application will close. Study subjects and providers receive reminder emails to complete this requirement. Providers may view whether study subjects have completed the consent and disclosure process by going to the “Consent and Disclosure Status” column in the “Determination In Process” queue within the NETStudy 2.0 system.
Providers should ensure they are reviewing their roster(s) in NETStudy 2.0 regularly and removing individuals from their roster that are no longer affiliated. For further information:
As the end of the year is quickly approaching, so too is the end of the extension of emergency studies. Entities are strongly encouraged to submit fully compliant, fingerprint-based studies for individuals currently providing services under an emergency study as soon as possible. Effective Jan. 1, 2023, emergency studies will no longer be valid. For the most updated information about resubmitting emergency studies, see transition from emergency studies to full compliance.
To assist providers and study subjects with completing background study requirements, the Department of Human Services (DHS) is continuing the temporary extended timeline for background study subjects to be fingerprinted and photographed. This temporary extension will remain in effect through Sept. 30.
Study subjects will continue to have 45 days to complete the fingerprint and photo requirement. No action is required by entities. The 45-day fingerprinting deadline displays in the “Determination in Process” queue in NETStudy 2.0.
Please encourage study subjects to schedule their fingerprint and photo appointment with IDEMIA immediately after they receive the pre-enrollment email from IDEMIA.
14-day consent and disclosure requirement continuesThe deadline for study subjects to complete the consent and disclosure process remains at 14 days. If it is not completed, the study subject’s application will close. Study subjects and entities receive reminder emails to complete this requirement. Entities may view whether study subjects have completed the consent and disclosure process by going to the “Consent and Disclosure Status” column in the “Determination In Process” queue within the NETStudy 2.0 system.
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Return to full compliance fingerprint-based background studiesThe deadline to submit a fully compliant study for individuals who only have an emergency study is Dec. 31. The Minnesota legislature approved the additional extension of emergency studies to return to full compliance background studies by law in June, and the new deadline of Dec. 31 cannot be extended by DHS. As a reminder, DHS encourages entities to continue to prioritize new hires and individuals affiliated with an entity’s license, while also continuing to submit their emergency studies in order to ensure full compliance by the end of the year.
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Provider credits for emergency studies
The provider credit in NETStudy 2.0 will be available to use through Dec. 31. Credits for emergency background studies fees are available through NETStudy 2.0 for most entities. A guide for utilizing provider credits, "Emergency Background Study Credit Overview and Instructions," is available in the Help section of NETStudy 2.0.
The Department of Human Services (DHS) is modifying the temporarily extended timeline for background study subjects to be fingerprinted and photographed. For background studies submitted on or after Oct.1, study subjects will have 21 days to complete the fingerprint and photo requirement. This temporary extension will remain in effect through Dec. 31. No action is required by entities. The updated fingerprinting requirement deadline displays in the “Determination in Process” queue in NETStudy 2.0.
Please encourage study subjects to schedule their fingerprint and photo appointment with IDEMIA immediately after they receive the pre-enrollment email from IDEMIA.
14-day consent and disclosure requirement continues
The deadline for study subjects to complete the consent and disclosure process remains at 14 days. When the consent and disclosure is not completed, the study subject’s application will close. Study subjects and entities receive reminder emails to complete this requirement. Entities may view whether study subjects have completed the consent and disclosure process by going to the “Consent and Disclosure Status” column in the “Determination in Process” queue within the NETStudy 2.0 system.
