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This newsletter is intended for delegated county FCC licensing workers and supervisors. It includes important updates and a summary of information from the monthly FCC Licensor Call.
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May 28, 2026
On May 21, Stacia Rosas, DCYF CCAP Supervisor, joined our monthly Licensor Call alongside BreeAnn Bothun to provide an overview of the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP), Family Child Care Licensing, and Program Integrity resources. They highlighted how local agencies and DCYF can work together when program‑integrity concerns arise and shared tools to support licensors and providers.
Provider resources
Recently, misleading and unsupported claims about the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) created confusion and uncertainty for Minnesotans. These claims have also prompted federal scrutiny. DCYF remains committed to responsible stewardship of public funds and to balancing enforcement efforts with the needs of children, families, and child care providers. Program integrity and fraud prevention are essential parts of this work, and we all play a role.
How to share concerns?
On the DCYF webpage: https://dcyf.mn.gov/report-fraud
- Submit a tip through the Fraud Reporting tip form
- Call the Fraud Reporting Hotline at 651-539-8211
- Email your report to: oig.ccaptips@state.mn.us
What is the licensor role?
The requirements for licensing have NOT changed. As a licensor you are still required to check the attendance records for publicly funded services. The records must be accessible to the commissioner during the program's hours of operation, they must be completed on the actual day of attendance, and they must include:
- the first and last name of the child;
- the time of day that the child was dropped off; and
- the time of day that the child was picked up.
Potential Red Flags
DCYF has fielded many questions regarding things licensors can look for regarding fraud. Here are some extra things licensors can do or look for regarding fraud:
- Cross reference the attendance record with a list from CCAP if there are concerns regarding the record.
- Review the attendance record for any discrepancies:
- Times never change
- Times do not match hours of operation
- High or low enrollment
- Review the staffing for the program, does the number of staff seem reasonable for the enrollment.
Conclusion
Licensors are required to check attendance records for publicly funded services. It is not your role as a licensor to determine if fraud did or did not occur. If you see something that raises concern regarding fraud reach out to triage for next steps.
The 2026 Minnesota Legislative Session adjourned on May 18, 2026. During the session, legislation containing revised licensing standards for licensed child care centers and family child care programs was passed as part of the Health and Human Services Budget Omnibus Bill, Senate File 4612. See Articles 12 and 13 for the revised child care center and family child care licensing standards, respectively. Governor Walz signed the bill containing the revised licensing standards into law on May 26, 2026. The revised licensing standards are not set to take effect until July 1, 2027.
What Happens Now
Now the work transitions from developing new standards to implementing the new statutory requirements, along with the other components of Licensing Modernization. As with all new requirements, licensing staff will develop an implementation plan that addresses communication and engagement, IT changes, training, and rollout of the components.
As implementation plans are made, the Department will share periodic updates with stakeholders. As additional information becomes available, it will be posted to the Child Care Regulation Modernization webpage.
DCYF Licensing staff understand this is a big change to prepare for and you may have questions or comments about the new licensing standards and how they will be implemented. Please submit those questions or comments to ccregmodernization.DCYF@state.mn.us. DCYF Staff will review submissions but will not be responding to individual questions or comments.
The updated licensing regulations are effective July 1, 2027. Until that time, current child care licensing requirements remain in effect.
How We Got Here
These licensing standards passing into law is the culmination of years of work from providers, licensors, parents, and other child care organizations to update Minnesota’s child care licensing, which began with the Minnesota legislature enacting the child care regulation modernization efforts into law in 2021. Thank you to all those who have dedicated time and effort over the past five years to get us to this point.
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Since 1995, the Friday before Mother's Day has been dedicated as Family Child Care Appreciation Day. In Minnesota, we honor our more than 5,400 family child care providers for their loving dedication to Minnesota's children. Governor Walz honored the occasion with an official proclamation, highlighting family child care providers as "compassionate, dependable, and highly skilled professionals who understand child development, create nurturing and safe learning environments, and support children and their families as they grow and thrive." Read the full message from Bharti Wahi, Assistant Commissioner for Early Childhood at DCYF.
Under Minnesota Statute, Section 142B.10.12, the Commissioner has the right to access licensed programs to ensure the rights of persons served. If a license holder appears to be denying a licensor access to their program, licensors should clearly ask whether the provider is denying access and present the Commissioner’s Right of Access letter.
We recently updated this letter to correct a previous typo. Please use the updated version moving forward.
Licensors should consult with triage if they encounter any issues gaining access to a program.
The most recent quarterly, Provider Link, newsletter was sent to our FCC list-serv on Wednesday, May 27. County licensing staff were sent a courtesy copy.
Archived Provider Link Newsletters are available from the DCYF FCC Licensing webpage.
Badging has been available in Develop for SUID/AHT courses for some time, and DCYF/Develop has now expanded badges to include additional courses required for both center-based and family child care programs. This includes:
- Active Supervision courses owned by DCYF • Independently owned Active Supervision courses approved by Family Child Care Licensing
Badge colors: • Blue “L” = Family Child Care Licensing • Green = Child Care Centers • Some courses are also badged for Eager‑to‑Learn
What’s New?
New badging icons have been added in Develop to help users easily identify state‑approved licensing training on the Search for Training page. This new round of badges covers additional required trainings.
For Family Child Care: • Developmentally Appropriate Behavior Guidance • Supervising for Safety for Family Child Care • Health & Safety I and II for Family Child Care • Basics of Licensed Family Child Care for Substitutes • DCYF‑owned Active Supervision courses • Approved independently owned Active Supervision courses
For Child Care Centers: • Health and Safety Pre-Service for Child Care Centers • Health & Safety I and II In-Service for Child Care Centers
Timeline
The new badges went live on Friday, May 8, 2026.
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.
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Registration for the next Foundations cohort (June 3–25, 2026) is now available in TrainLink.
If you plan to participate in the updated format, please register as soon as possible and block your calendar to ensure full participation.
Foundations training is required for all new licensing staff before they begin licensing work and must be completed within 90 days of hire.
Based on extensive assessment and feedback from licensors, the Foundations format has recently been updated. The new structure includes a full day of self-study, two in-person training days at the DCYF offices, fieldwork, and several content specific virtual sessions. New licensors must attend all sessions to complete the required training.
June 2026 Schedule
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Wednesday, June 3 | 1:30–3:30 | TEAMS Kickoff, pre‑work assigned, ELICI intro/training region
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Thursday, June 4 | Self-paced (all day) Independent prework; please block a full 8hour day
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Friday, June 5 | 9:30–12:30 | TEAMS
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Monday, June 8 | 10:00–4:00 | In person
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Tuesday, June 9 | 9:00–3:00 | In person
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Wednesday, June 10 | 1:00–2:00 | TEAMS
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Wednesday, June 24 | 1:00–4:00 | TEAMS Self-study/final check-in, SFCC condensed, Rule 13 condensed, wrap-up
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CORRECTION: Thursday, June 25 | 9:30–4:00 | VIRTUAL/TEAMS Investigations & Licensing Actions
Join us for a clear, informative session that will offer practical guidance, helpful examples, and straightforward tools to strengthen your work with FCC investigations, licensing actions, and conditional monitoring. Come ready to learn key insights you can put to use right away.
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June 25 | 9:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. VIRTUAL/TEAMS
Registration is available in TrainLink.
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.
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Tuesday, June 2 | 10:00 a.m. – 11:00 a.m.
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Tuesday, July 7 | 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.
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Thursday, June 18 | 1:00 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.
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Thursday, July 16 | 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
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Monday, June 22 | 2:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. (Open Office Hour style – come with questions)
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Monday, July 27 | 2:30 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
For calls, office hours and ELICI workshops, you should receive an invite with a link to join. If you are not getting these invites, please contact Triage.
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Learn more about Connector Calls and submit your questions here.The Early Childhood Connector Newsletter was created just for the child care and early education community. Packed full of relevant content, the newsletter shares the latest updates on licensing, grants and funding opportunities, resources for families, and much more. Learn more about the Early Childhood Connector here, including Connector Calls, and subscribe to the newsletter here.
Read the Latest Articles
Early Childhood Connector Calls - Next call Tuesday, July 14, 2026, at 7-8 p.m. Central Time
Meeting Link: https://minnesota.webex.com/minnesota/j.php?MTID=m0a3b65777c34458eb8ab5104c3b74d7b
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.
Calls are recorded and temporarily available to those unable to attend. Visit the Early Childhood Connector website to learn more about Connector Calls and the Early Childhood Connector Newsletter.
Upcoming sessions: Wednesday, June 10 and Wednesday, July 8
Second Wednesday of every month, 12-1 p.m. Register on Zoom.
Bring your questions, share ideas and learn new tips for making the most of Help Me Connect. Rotating demos include:
- What can I find in Help Me Connect?
- Tips for using key word search
- Filters and Features
- Analytics: Top searches and topics
- Saving favorite searches
- and more
You can also order and/or download free Help Me Connect marketing materials, videos and other resources.
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