Until July 11, the Department of Human Services (DHS) is seeking feedback on the second draft of revised standards for family childcare. This is part of the Childcare Regulation Modernization Project currently underway.
Following the conclusion of the public comment period, the DHS will use this feedback to create a third (and final) draft to be submitted to the legislature. In the 2026 session, the legislature will consider adopting DHS’s recommendations, turning them into law.
As I previously noted, the new draft represents several improvements over the initial proposal published in April of last year. Notably, it eliminates language that would impose unnecessary burden on family childcare providers, such as rigid cleaning schedules, detailed equipment lists, restrictions on cleaning products, among others.
Concerns remain, however, particularly on capacity limits.
Currently, under the C3 license, providers can have up to 14 children if they have a second caregiver. That number has been increased to 18. The number of allowed infants, however, is still the same, which means that the shortage of slots for infants could persist.
Similarly, under the B3 license — a specialized infant and toddler care license— providers can have up to ten children, if they have a second caregiver, and do not need to get licensed as a group family childcare to do so. This is up from 9. However, the allowed number of infants per person remains the same as under the current rules.
Moreover, the second draft retains some prescriptive language, which, if adopted, would limit flexibility for providers, complicating childcare work.
American Experiment urges caution
Minnesota has lost about half of its total family childcare capacity in the last two decades, partly due to burdensome regulations. Family childcare cannot survive more red tape.
American Experiment is urging the DHS to tread with caution and focus its efforts on maintaining a more accommodating regulatory landscape. ACE argues that instead of introducing new requirements, the modernization team should focus on proposals that ease capacity limits, expand licensing options, and revise prescriptive language to improve flexibility in licensing rules.
Here is a look at CAE comments to the Childcare Modernization Team at DHS.