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We have updated the 2025 Legislative Implementation Plan and the amended version is now available on our website.
Areas that have updates included:
Correction orders on Licensing Information Lookup (LIL)
Overview
Pending federal approval, correction order violation information cannot be posted until the 20-day reconsideration request timeline has passed; or, if reconsideration has been requested, until the Commissioner’s final disposition has been provided.
See MN Laws, Chapter 3, Article 14, Section 3.
Effective date: January 1, 2026, or upon federal approval, whichever is later.
What providers need to do:
There is no change in what providers need to do.
What licensors need to do:
Implementation of this provision is pending federal approval. Until approval is received and implementation guidance is issued, licensors should continue monitoring compliance consistent with current policy and practice. No changes to licensing monitoring procedures are required at this time.
Interpretive guidance
Beginning July 1, 2026, license holders may request interpretive guidance from the Department on a current rule or statute prior to requesting reconsideration of a correction order. Providers may request interpretive guidance from the Department using a form posted on the family child care licensing webpage.
Requests for interpretive guidance must be submitted within 20 calendar days of receiving the correction order using the official Interpretive Guidance Request Form available on the family child care licensing webpage.
Family child care providers may dispute a proposed correction order within 5 calendar days of the exit interview or licensing inspection if the dispute is voiced at the exit interview.
An FCC Interpretive Guidance Flow Chart was created and is available in the FCC Licensor Library.
Direction to the Commissioner to establish time frames for county licensors to respond to time sensitive or urgent requests
Overview:
By July 1, 2026, DCYF must establish time frames for county licensors to respond to time-sensitive or urgent requests.
See MN Laws, Chapter 3, Article 14, Section 21.
Effective date: Day following final enactment. Time frames must be established by July 1, 2026.
What providers need to do:
Providers do not need to make any changes.
What licensors need to do:
Licensors will need to respond to time-sensitive or urgent requests from providers within the established time frames.
County licensing staff are the primary contacts for license holders on all licensing-related questions. In 2025, the legislature directed DCYF to establish time frames for county licensors to respond to time-sensitive or urgent requests.
Minnesota Rules, part 9543.0070, subpart 2 specifies time frames required for responses to complaints.
These time frames should continue to be followed.
If a provider is not given a response in the allotted time or is not satisfied with the response given, they may reach out to the DCYF provider inbox: DCYF.FCCProviderQuestions@state.mn.us
Type of communication and time frame for response
Complaint – Report alleging IMMINENT DANGER or RECURRING PHYSICAL INJURY to persons served by the program – immediately upon agency receipt.
Complaint – Report alleging licensing violations that may result in a licensing action – Must begin investigation within 3 working days after agency receipt.
Complaint – Report alleging something that does NOT involve the safety of persons served – Must begin investigation within 10 working days after agency receipt.
General inquiries/requests – Within 5 working days after agency receipt.
Time-sensitive or urgent requests – Within 3 working days after agency receipt.
Requirement to complete ELICI checklists in the field
Overview:
By July 1, 2026, county licensors will be required to use ELICI during family child care provider inspections and complete the inspection report on site.
See MN Laws, Chapter 3, Article 14, Section 21.
Effective date: Day following final enactment. Use of ELICI is required by July 1, 2026.
What providers need to do:
Providers do not need to make any changes.
What licensors need to do:
Licensors are required to use the ELICI checklist during licensing inspections and complete the checklist to the best of their ability while onsite at the licensed family child care program.
In some situations, licensors may need additional consultation with county staff or DCYF before finalizing certain checklist items or determining whether a correction order is necessary. In those cases, licensors may leave the program site to confirm decisions but should clearly communicate this to the provider before leaving the site.
The licensor and provider must also establish a plan for follow-up communication and completion of the exit interview, which may be conducted offsite by direct phone call.
New licensing standards signed into law - effective July 1, 2027. During the 2026 legislative session, the Legislature passed updated licensing standards for licensed child care centers and family child care programs. The new standards take effect on July 1, 2027.
Until then, providers must continue following current licensing requirements. The licensing standards will be organized into two new statutory chapters: Chapter 142H for licensed child care centers, and Chapter 142I for family child care. DCYF will use the coming year to share information, guidance, and training to help programs prepare.
DCYF will share updates, answers to common questions and more in monthly newsletters from the Licensing team. You may subscribe to the newsletter and view past newsletters at the .
2026 implementation plans coming later this year. DCYF will share new implementation plans later this year on legislative changes that were passed by the 2026 Minnesota Legislature that impact licensed and certified child care.
Stay informed. DCYF will continue to communicate with license holders about legislative changes as more information becomes available.
For questions related to the newly updated child care licensing standards, reach out to the project team at ccregmodernization.dcyf@state.mn.us. Every email is read to inform implementation, but the team may not respond to each email.
Please submit your county’s response to the County Licensor Variance Survey shared during the July 16 Licensor Call. If you have not yet completed the survey, please do so by the end of day on August 7.
County Licensor Variance Survey
During the July Licensor Call, there was a discussion about various roles within programs and when a background study is required. As a reminder, the BGS Family Child Care Background Study Worksheet DHS-7733-ENG lives on the FCC Licensor Library and can help identify who needs a background study within a licensed family child care program.
For additional 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
With the move to continuous licenses, we’re seeing a few recurring challenges related to Form 3324, especially around license class updates. To help streamline your workflow and reduce unnecessary back‑and‑forth, please remember:
9502.0355 Caregiver Qualification
Subp. 3. Group family day care. A group family day care applicant shall meet all the requirements listed in subparts 1 and 2 for family day care. A group family day care applicant shall also meet the qualifications in item A, B or C.
A minimum of one years’ substantial compliance with parts 9502.0315 to 9502.0445 as a licensed family day care provider.
If you have a license holder that is interested in moving to a group class license, and you conduct their visit before they have operated for a full year, please follow these steps;
- Publish the visit
- Set a calendar reminder for yourself for 2 weeks before the license holder’s one year anniversary of operating.
- If this program is still meeting substantial compliance, fill out and submit a 3324 to update for the license class change.
- Make sure to fill in the correct effective date based on the one-year of substantial compliance eligibility date.
This is a reminder that after each annual review of a Special Family Child Care program, the current Program Plan be submitted to our DCYF FCC Triage email within 10 days.
The Request for Fire Inspection or Reinspection (Form 7786) has been updated and is now available in its new format on the FCC Licensor Library. Licensors can use this updated form when requesting initial inspections or reinspection.
Additionally, the Interagency Agreement for Fire Inspections has been refreshed with current information and is also available on the FCC Licensor Library. Please be sure to reference these updated materials to ensure consistency with current fire inspection procedures.
If you have not already done so, please submit your county/agency second-quarter reports (April – June 2026) by using the following links for 2026 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. Link to Quarterly Progress Report form
If you have questions about requirements, please contact Triage for support.
Please note when submitting QPR information: if the complaint comes late in the quarter and you are unable to determine if a correction order will be issued, enter the complaint data on the following quarter. At this time, we are unable to update submitted QPR report data.
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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