Child Care Centers Regulation Modernization

In 2021, the Minnesota legislature passed legislation and allocated federal funding to support regulation modernization projects for both licensed child care centers and family child care (MN Laws 2021, First Special Session, Chapter 7, Article 2, sections 75 and 81). The regulation modernization projects support the development of three components:

Key indicator systems for abbreviated inspections
Risk-based tiered violation systems
Revised licensing standards

News and updates

Draft 2 of revised licensing standards now available
The second draft of revised licensing standards for child care centers is now available for review.
- Draft 2 Revised Child Care Center Licensing Standards
- Draft 2 revisions document: An annotated draft identifying all changes made between Draft 1 and Draft 2.
- Significant changes summary: A high-level overview of significant changes made between Draft 1 and Draft 2.
Information sessions about Draft 2
The Child Care Regulation Modernization team invites the child care community and all interested parties to learn more about the second draft of the revised child care center standards during informational webinar sessions in February.
- Tuesday, February 25 from 1:00 to 2:15 p.m. | Register here
- Thursday, February 27 from 1:00 to 2:15 p.m. | Register here
Please note that the same information will be shared at both webinars. Please register for just one webinar session to ensure there is enough space for all interested participants as there is limited capacity.

About the projects

The Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) has contracted with the National Association for Regulatory Administration (NARA) to assist with developing these components for both licensed child care centers and family child care. NARA will develop and implement a stakeholder engagement process that solicits input from licensed child care providers, licensors, parents, experts in child development, staff from DHS, and others.

NARA will collaborate with DHS to develop a report and proposed legislation to implement the new licensing tools and revised licensing standards. An interim report describing progress on each of the licensing tools and the draft licensing standards will be submitted to the legislature in the 2025 legislative session. There will also be further stakeholder engagement throughout 2025, to inform an additional draft of the licensing standards before they are proposed to the legislature in the 2026 legislative session.

This page contains information related to the Child Care Centers Regulation Modernization project. You may also visit the Child Care Regulation Modernization Projects overview page or the Family Child Care Regulation Modernization project page. Please contact the project team with questions or comments at ccregmodernization.dhs@state.mn.us.

Not finding what you're looking for? If you are looking for information regarding the Provider Hub system for online licensing, certification, and Child Care Assistance Program registration, please visit the Systems Transformation Initiative page.

Objective
Get Involved
Resources
FAQs

Objective

There are two projects that will move forward in parallel: Child Care Centers Regulation Modernization and Family Child Care Regulation Modernization. There are three components of each project:
- Key indicator systems for abbreviated inspections
- Risk-based tiered violation systems
- Revised licensing standards
Licensed child care centers will have opportunities to provide input as these components are developed. For more details about these components and how they will be developed, see the Child Care Regulation Modernization Projects overview page.

Get Involved

DHS has contracted with the National Association for Regulatory Administration (NARA) to assist with stakeholder engagement for the Child Care Regulation Modernization projects. During the course of these projects, NARA and DHS will engage a wide array of stakeholders through surveys, focus groups, and meetings.

If you have questions or comments about the projects, please contact the project team at ccregmodernization.dhs@state.mn.us.

Email Updates

If you would like to receive updates on the Child Care Centers Regulation Modernization project, please subscribe to the listserv for Child Care Centers Regulation Modernization.

Information on Stakeholder Opportunities

Information about meetings and other stakeholder engagement opportunities for licensed child care centers will be posted here as it becomes available.

Upcoming Opportunities

Date	Opportunity Type	Audience Type	Materials
Tuesday, February 25, 1:00 to 2:15 p.m.	Informational webinar on Draft 2 of the revised child care center licensing standards	Any child care stakeholders or people interested in the projects	Register for the webinar
Thursday, February 27, 1:00 to 2:15 p.m.	Informational webinar on Draft 2 of the revised child care center licensing standards	Any child care stakeholders or people interested in the projects	Register for the webinar
Interest form open until February 28	Provider association discussions on Draft 2 of the revised licensing standards	Provider associations	Interest form

Past Opportunities

Date	Opportunity Type	Audience Type	Materials
May 26, 2022	Child care regulation modernization introduction	Any child care stakeholders or people interested in the projects	Presentation slides (PDF)
July-September 2022	Focus groups on risk-based tiered violation system	Parents/guardians, child care providers, licensors, organizations, and others	Presentation slides (PDF) Stakeholder session report (PDF)
October 6-17, 2022	Survey to guide revised child care licensing standards	Any child care stakeholders or people interested in the projects	Stakeholder survey report (PDF)
November 1-16, 2022	Stakeholder sessions on key indicators for abbreviated inspections	Any child care stakeholders or people interested in the projects	Presentation slides (PDF) Stakeholder survey report (PDF)
April 11 – May 7, 2023	Child Care Weighted Risk System (WRS) assessment	Child care providers, parent/guardians, early childhood organization	A stakeholder survey report will be shared once finalized.
August 16, 2023	Child Care Regulation Modernization project update	Child care providers, parent/guardians, early childhood organization	Presentation slides (PDF) Questions and Answers (Q&A) document (PDF)
Initially shared in April 2024	Viewing Child Care Center Draft Licensing Standards (245K)	Any child care stakeholders or people interested in the projects	First draft of Child Care Center Draft Licensing Standards (245K)
April 10-11, 2024	Info sessions on Child Care Center Draft Licensing Standards	Any child care stakeholders or people interested in the projects	Presentation slides (PDF)
June and July 2024	In-person listening sessions and online survey to gather stakeholder feedback on Draft Revised Child Care Center Licensing Standards	Child care providers, licensors, and the public	Report on key themes of stakeholder feedback on Draft Revised Child Care Center Licensing Standards

Resources

Resources specific to child care centers:
- To answer questions we have received about the draft staff qualifications licensing standards in the 245K document, we’ve produced a staff qualifications fact sheet clarifying differences between draft new licensing standards (245K) and existing Minnesota Rules (9503).
- 2021 legislation requiring the Child Care Regulation Modernization projects: MN Laws 2021, First Special Session, Chapter 7, Article 2, sections 75 and 81 (PDF)
- The Family Child Care Task Force (2019-2021) recommended a modernization project in their final report: 2021 Minnesota Family Child Care Task Force Legislative Report (PDF)
- This report from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services provides an overview of the methods that states are using to monitor child care facilities efficiently and effectively: Contemporary Issues in Licensing: Monitoring Strategies for Determining Compliance: Differential Monitoring, Risk Assessment, and Key Indicators (PDF)
- This report prepared by the National Association for Regulatory Administration (NARA) for the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) summarizes the findings from stakeholder sessions that were held between July – September 2022 on the development of a risk-based tiered violation system for Minnesota’s licensed child care programs: Risk-Based Violation System: Report of Stakeholder Sessions.
- This report prepared by the National Association for Regulatory Administration (NARA) for the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) summarizes the findings from a stakeholder survey that was administered October 2022, to gather feedback to guide Minnesota’s revised licensing standards for child care programs: Survey to Guide Revised Licensing Standards - Stakeholder Survey Report.
- This report prepared by the National Association for Regulatory Administration (NARA) for the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) summarizes the findings from a stakeholder survey that was administered congruently with stakeholder sessions on key indicators for abbreviated inspections in November 2022, to gather feedback to guide Minnesota's eligibility criteria for abbreviated inspections: Eligibility Criteria – Stakeholder Survey Report.
- Read about 2023 project highlights, including updates on each of the key project components and what the next steps are in 2024, in the 2023 project highlights document.
- Stakeholder Engagement Key Themes Report (November 2024): This report summarizes feedback from summer 2024 stakeholder engagement on the draft revised child care center licensing standards.
As more resources which are specific to the Child Care Centers Regulation Modernization project become available, they will be posted here.
FAQs

Information on frequently asked questions (FAQs) specific to child care centers will be posted here. You can find more general FAQs about child care centers and family child care projects on the Child Care Regulation Modernization Projects page.

Where can I find the current regulations that govern child care centers?
Are certified license-exempt child care centers included in the scope of the regulation modernization projects?

No, they are not. The legislation that authorizes the Child Care Centers Regulation Modernization project specifies that the project should create a proposal for revised licensing standards for licensed child care centers. Certified license-exempt child care centers are not licensed, and fall outside the scope of this project (MN Laws 2021, First Special Session, Chapter 7, Article 2, section 75).