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CHILD CARE LICENSING UPDATES AND THE FOOD PROGRAM
September 20th, 2024By Kate Abernathy, MS, RDN, LD, CMP, CCNP, Chief Executive Officer
Many changes and updates have impacted child care providers this year, especially changes that will impact family child care in the year ahead. This blog post will highlight some of the changes that impact licensed child care providers and how Providers Choice will adjust to align with some of the new timelines or requirements.
Earlier this year, the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) proposed changes to licensing regulations as part of the Child Care Licensing Modernization Project. The purpose of these changes was to focus on simplifying and updating licensing rules and regulations for family child care and child care centers. Due to overwhelming feedback from providers and stakeholders, these changes have been sent back to DHS for further updates and considerations rather than being sent to the state legislature for review and approval. Later this year or early next year, we expect to see a new draft for family child care and child care centers for additional feedback before this goes to the state legislature in 2026. We appreciate that DHS is listening to all voices and taking the time to review all of the feedback to make the best changes for licensing that benefit children and providers.
Earlier this year, the Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) proposed changes to licensing regulations as part of the Child Care Licensing Modernization Project. The purpose of these changes was to focus on simplifying and updating licensing rules and regulations for family child care and child care centers. Due to overwhelming feedback from providers and stakeholders, these changes have been sent back to DHS for further updates and considerations rather than being sent to the state legislature for review and approval. Later this year or early next year, we expect to see a new draft for family child care and child care centers for additional feedback before this goes to the state legislature in 2026. We appreciate that DHS is listening to all voices and taking the time to review all of the feedback to make the best changes for licensing that benefit children and providers.
Additionally, DHS recently announced that in 2025 family child care licensing will move to calendar year licensing. What this means is that if your license previously was from June to July, in 2025 all licenses will start on January 1st and end on December 31st. This also means that required continuing education each year will be on the same January to December schedule.
HOW DOES THIS ALL IMPACT THE FOOD PROGRAM?
With licensing changing their requirements on continuing education, Providers Choice will move required Food Program Training to early 2025. We know many are excited to get their professional development done early and we want to be able to provide that for you. More details will be coming on how to sign up.
Our Food Program Training theme for 2025 is "Food Explorers: Growing Adventurous Eaters." This topic will focus on all that is picky eating.
Also, don't forget about Gather and Grow January 25th - 28th! This is Providers Choice's own virtual conference that happens every January. Think about joining us for a cold and snowy January curled up with a good cup of coffee or tea and getting a jump start to all of your continuing education! Our conference offers up to 10 hours of continuing education in the comfort of your own home. This is open to all providers across the state of Minnesota and covers multiple areas and requirements for continuing education.
Despite all the changes to licensing happening around the state, I want to assure you that Providers Choice remains dedicated to advocating for YOU, the child care provider. We continue to work with DHS, the Minnesota Department of Education (MDE), and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to make sure that your voices are heard and that you are supported in this important work. Here are a few things that we are currently working on at Providers Choice:
A renewal of the remote monitoring waiver to allow for one monitoring visit to be conducted remotely
Removal of tiering so that all family child care providers are paid at the same rate
Reducing paperwork and making the Food Program easier to manage
And so much more!
Questions? Reach out! We love working with providers and are dedicated to supporting you.