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Katherine DiBenedetto and Kent Disch, DCYF policy analysts, joined the December 18, 2025, FCC Licensor Call as guest speakers. They shared updates and current status information related to the Child Care Regulation Modernization Project.
The project team plans to release a legislative report in January that will provide updates on all three components of the Child Care Regulation Modernization Project. The report will highlight key changes under consideration for proposed licensing standards and outline upcoming next steps. Once released, the report will be available on the project website.
The Minnesota Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) has launched new child care webpages. A main DCYF Licensing page now directs families and providers to information about the licensed programs overseen by DCYF, including family child care.
The former DHS child care webpages are still available for now, but they will eventually be retired. Information that was previously available on the DHS website is now available on the new DCYF webpages.
DCYF will continue updating the new webpages over time to ensure information and documents reflect DCYF. Please check back regularly for the most up-to-date information.
Federal requirements require every licensed family child care (FCC) provider to receive one unannounced annual visit each year. Annual visits are a critical part of ensuring ongoing health and safety in family child care programs and maintaining compliance with federal and state monitoring requirements.
With the most recent ELICI release on Thursday, December 11, 2025, the following items were added back to the Full Inspection Checklist:
- Child Development, Learning, and Behavior Guidance Training – Annual
- SUID and AHT – Frequency
- SUID and AHT – Off Year
- Total Annual Training
- Training Subjects
- Active Supervision – Ongoing
These items had previously been removed from the Full Inspection Checklist effective January 1, 2025. Providers who were required to complete these trainings must have done so between January 1, 2025, and December 31, 2025.
Beginning January 2026, when completing annual visits, licensors should review training completed during the January 1, 2025 – December 31, 2025, timeframe.
For additional information on monitoring family child care licenses now that licenses are continuous, please refer to the Continuous License Guidance document.
Counties are reminded to continue sending updates to triage for any licenses that were previously reported as having unpaid fees and have since been paid. All updates must be submitted by the end of day on January 5, 2026. A new batch of licenses will then be printed and mailed.
With the new year approaching, fourth quarter data is due. Please submit your county/agency fourth-quarter reports (October 1, 2025 – December 31, 2025) by using the following links for 2025 data:
Serious Injury Report (SIR) Link to Serious Injury Data form
Quarterly Progress Report (QPR) Most information needed for this report can be found in your Complaint Log. If you have questions about requirements, please contact Triage for support. Link to Quarterly Progress Report form
Please remember: Use the designated 2025 form links for each report—do not submit report information via email.
Think of these sessions as live triage, hosted by the Family Child Care Licensing team. The purpose of these sessions is to answer questions, listen to comments, and problem-solve together regarding the unique situations that we encounter. These office hours are open-house style, meaning attendees can come and go as needed. DCYF will not be preparing content for each session so please come with questions and comments regarding FCC licensing. If you have not received an invite to join, please reach out to DCYF FCC Triage.
January
- Tuesday, January 6, 2026, 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
February
- Tuesday, February 3, 2026, 10:00 a.m. -11:00 a.m.
DCYF FCC Licensing will provide information and updates during this call and be available for questions. If you have not received an invite to join, please reach out to DCYF FCC Triage.
January
- Thursday, January 15, 2026, 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.
- Guest speakers: DCYF presentation on upcoming Parent Aware updates.
February
- Thursday, February 19, 2026, 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.
The ELICI tool’s purpose is to ensure consistent compliance monitoring throughout the state. DCYF has planned monthly workshops to support counties with their ongoing compliance with the requirement to use the ELICI tool to do licensing work in Minnesota. We value our partnership with counties and encourage feedback and suggestions to inform these workshop sessions. Here is the link to the ELICI manual: https://mn.gov/dhs/assets/ELICI-user-guide_tcm1053-376631.pdf
January
- Monday, January 26, 2026, 2:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
- Topic: caregiver training
February
- Monday, February 23, 2026, 2:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Information about the revised Foundations training format will be shared soon. In the meantime, if your county has a new licensor who will need Foundations training, please notify our triage team of their start date and the contact information for their assigned supervisor. We will follow up with the licensor’s supervisor to ensure all required training components are addressed. Counties will be notified once new registration dates are established for March.
Foundations training is required for new licensing staff before they carry out licensing work and must be completed within 90 days of hire. Please note that new licensors must attend all sessions to successfully complete the required Foundations training.
Users must log-in to Develop at least every 30 days or an email will be sent from Develop. It is advised to log-in right then, when reminded. If it gets to 60 days, the account access will be deactivated. If your account is deactivated, please contact lisa.mills@state.mn.us for help with reactivation. If there are general issues with your Develop account (password reset, how to access, etc.), contact the Develop help desk at support@develophelp.zendesk.com.
For information about background studies, please visit Minnesota child care provider background studies.
- Use this email for CANR related items and for questions about a specific BGS for child care: backgroundcc@state.mn.us
- Use this email for anything else BGS related: netstudy2@state.mn.us
- The BGS contact center number: 651-431-6620, is available from 10:00 a.m.-3:00 p.m., Monday through Friday
County licensing staff were emailed the fall 2025 update on family child care (FCC) licensing in the Agency Hub and Provider Hub Nov. 6.
This update announced the regional order by which FCC licensing will launch in the online tool. Also included was this key resource to assist you in sharing up-to-date, accurate information during conversations with FCC providers: Provider Hub FCC Licensing | Fall 2025 Update (PDF).
Please review the Nov. 6 email for further details.
Provider communication
Providers were emailed a similar update Nov. 10, followed by Spanish, Somali and Hmong versions Nov. 17.
Copies of these communications are also available on the Provider Hub webpage.
Questions about licensing in the Agency Hub?
FCC county licensing staff are welcome to send comments and questions about licensing in the Agency Hub to agencyhub@state.mn.us. This email is a dedicated inbox for state and county licensing staff who currently use or will use the Agency Hub.
Providers and partners can connect with the Provider Hub team at providerhub@state.mn.us.
Early Childhood Connector Newsletter
Sign up to receive communications from the Early Childhood Connector Newsletter. By signing up, you can expect to receive a newsletter highlighting resources, supports and updates on child care and early education from the Minnesota Children’s Cabinet and Departments of Education, Health, Human Services, and Children, Youth, and Families. Content will be tailored to licensed and nonlicensed child care, Head Start and prekindergarten programs. In addition to the Early Childhood Connector Newsletter, occasional updates will be sent.
Newsletter Sign Up
Read the Latest Articles
Early Childhood Connector Calls
On a quarterly basis, the state is hosting Connector Calls with child care providers and early educators to answer questions related to legislation, licensing, programs, grants and more. The purpose of the call is to answer clarifying questions that providers may have. Calls are hosted online on WebEx, and providers attending the call will not be able to ask questions live. Calls are recorded and available on this webpage.
Learn more about Connector Calls and submit your questions here. Questions must be submitted two weeks before the provider call to be answered. State staff will try to answer all questions but may not have time to get to all of them.
Submit a Question
Upcoming Connector Call information
Date: Tuesday, January 13, 2026, at 7-8 p.m. Central Time
Meeting Link: https://minnesota.webex.com/minnesota/j.php?MTID=m9adb9c9c50a0c520e7210418a83a7aac
While this information is not directly from DCYF Licensing, we think you may be interested:
Infant Safe Sleep Programs in Minnesota Virtual Listening Sessions – Register by Friday, Jan. 16, 2026
The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) will host three virtual listening sessions to learn from hospitals/clinics, local public health agencies, and non-profit organizations about how they implement infant safe sleep programs in Minnesota. Through these listening sessions, MDH hopes to gather professionals working in these settings to learn about their experiences, successes and challenges related to the infant safe sleep programs in their organizations. The information gathered from the listening sessions will be used to inform the activities of the Minnesota Infant Safe Sleep Collaborative.
Event Information:
Who: Professionals who work in infant safe sleep programs and in the following settings in Minnesota:
- Hospitals/clinics (ex. Nurse, family doctor, social worker)
- Local public health agency (ex. Public health nurse, program coordinator, program staff)
- Non-profit organizations (ex. Program coordinator, program staff, community outreach, community health worker)
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When: Participants can choose one of the dates to attend.
- Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2026 | 1-2:30 p.m.
- Tuesday, Jan. 27, 2026 | 8-9:30 a.m.
- Thursday, Jan. 29, 2026 | 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m.
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Where: The sessions will be on Zoom. After registering, a Zoom link will be shared via email closer to the date of the event.
Registration: If you are interested in participating, please select complete this RSVP link (Infant Safe Sleep Programs in Minnesota Virtual Listening Sessions) by Jan. 16, 2026.
Contact: For more information, please contact health.infantmortality@state.mn.us
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Department of Health and Human Services, made this project possible through NU58DP007698. Views expressed by speakers, moderators, and in writing may not reflect the policies of the Department of Health and Human Services. Mentions of trade names, commercial practices, or organizations do not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. The listening sessions will be facilitated by Courageous Change Collective | Consulting | Minnesota.
Want to stay up to date on news and updates from the Department of Children, Youth, and Families? Visit the new website and sign up for the DCYF newsletter.
The Department of Children, Youth, and Families is now on Facebook and LinkedIn! Follow DCYF on Facebook and LinkedIn to stay in-the-know of important updates. Help grow our reach by sharing with others!
DCYF Office of Inspector General, Licensing Division 651-539-8300
DCYF website: Minnesota Department of Children, Youth, and Families
Office of Inspector General, Background Study Division 651-431-6620
DCYF FCC Triage (for county use only), DCYF.FCClicensing@state.mn.us
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