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February 17, 2023 CERTIFIED MAIL Haley Swenson 18659 140th Avenue Northeast Thief River Falls, MN 56701 License Number 1076935 FCC ORDER OF CONDITIONAL LICENSE Dear Ms. Swenson: Based on the recommendation of Pennington County Human Services (Pennington County), the Department of Human Services (DHS) is placing your license to provide family child care at 18659 140th Avenue Northeast, Thief River Falls, MN on conditional status for one year beginning February 17, 2023. This means you must meet certain conditions to maintain your license, detailed below. This order is based on your level of noncompliance with family child care licensing requirements. Our next steps and your options are also provided below. REASON FOR THE CONDITIONAL LICENSE 1. Commissioner’s evaluation of program In determining whether a licensing action is warranted, DHS evaluated the facts, conditions, and circumstances concerning your program’s operation. This includes consideration of the well-being of children served in your program, available evaluations from consumers of your program, and information about the qualifications of caregivers working in your program. Specifically, because you have repeatedly failed to provide required training records to Pennington County and because you failed to comply with a correction order. DHS has determined that it is appropriate to place your license on conditional status based on the violations identified below and the program evaluation. Legal Authority: Minnesota Statutes, section 245A.04, subdivision 6. 2. Failure to comply with licensing laws and rules As a result of previous licensing visits, Pennington County determined that your program failed to comply with the laws and rules for licensed family child care. DHS has considered the nature, chronicity, and severity of these violations, which are provided below. Legal Authority: Minnesota Statutes, section 245A.06, subdivision 1. Nature, history and severity of violations New violations determined On May 31, 2022, Pennington County conducted a licensing visit at your licensed program. You were issued the initial correction order on May 31, 2022, and subsequently issued a second correction order for failure to comply. If you appeal this order, the following violations will be reviewed as a part of the appeal. DHS considered these violations as a factor when it determined that a Conditional License is appropriate. 1. You failed to provide documentation of training as follows: · Failure to provide documentation of annual child development and learning and behavior guidance training as required. Statute Violated: Minnesota Statutes 245A.50, subdivision 2. · Failure to provide documentation of abusive head trauma (AHT) as required. Statute Violated: Minnesota Statutes 245A.50, subdivision 5. · Failure to provide documentation of 16 hours of annual training as required. Statute Violated: Minnesota Statutes 245A.50, subdivision 7. · Failure to provide documentation of active supervision training as required. Statute Violated: Minnesota Statutes 245A.50, subdivision 9. You were to correct the violations and return the correction order by July 31, 2022. You failed to respond to the correction order. As a result, on September 29, 2022, Pennington County issued you a correction order for failure to comply with the correction order dated May 21, 2022, and subsequently you were issued a fine on October 14, 2022, for failure to comply with the correction the correction order. Statute Violated: Minnesota Statutes 245A.06, subdivision 3. Previous licensing actions The following violations summarize the nature of your previous licensing violations. Because these violations are now conclusive, the individual violations are not within the scope of your appeal rights. Please refer to the previously issued correction orders for further details on these violations. If you do not have copies of these orders, contact your Pennington County licensor for assistance. DHS also considered this history as a factor when it determined that a Conditional License is appropriate. · October 14, 2022, Order to Pay a Fine of $200 for failure to comply with a correction order. · April 21, 2021, Correction Order, which cited the following licensing violations: o Failure to provide documentation of cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training as required. o Failure to provide documentation of first aid training as required. · March 27, 2019, Correction Order, which cited the following licensing violations: o Failure to provide documentation of supervising for safety training as required. o Failure to provide documentation of annual child development and learning and behavior guidance training as required. o Failure to provide documentation of training on abusive head trauma (AHT) prior to caring for children. o Failure to provide documentation of 16 hours of annual training as required. Severity of violations Due to the serious and chronic nature of these violations, and the conditions in the program, which impact the health and safety of children in your care, your license to provide family child care is placed on a conditional status. Conditional License Terms In addition to the licensing rules and statutes for family child care, you are required to comply with the following terms: 1. You must follow and comply with all applicable Minnesota Rules and Laws. 2. No variances to age distribution or capacity will be granted during the conditional period. 3. You must submit and comply with a written plan of how you will keep your training current. You must submit the plan to Pennington County by March 10, 2023. 4. You must complete outstanding training within 60 days of this order. You must submit documentation of completed training to Pennington County. 5. You must submit your training records to Pennington County by the 5th of the month beginning April 5, 2023. 6. You must either provide a copy of the Order of Conditional License to parents of children in care or document that all parents have been given an opportunity to review the Order. You must obtain parent signatures of each currently enrolled child, indicating they have either received a copy of the Order or had an opportunity to review the Order. You must provide this documentation to Pennington County by March 10, 2023. For new families, you must submit documentation of compliance with this term to Pennington County within 5 days of any child’s admission to your child care program. Ongoing Monitoring Your Pennington County licensor will monitor your compliance with these terms and with all of the family child care rules and laws. This will include unannounced visits. If you fail to demonstrate substantial compliance with family child care requirements or with the terms of your conditional license that are provided above, DHS may take an additional licensing sanction, including a revocation of your license. YOUR RIGHT TO REQUEST RECONSIDERATION You have the right to request reconsideration of this order and the cited violations. Your request must: · Be in writing · Clearly state that you are requesting reconsideration of the conditional license · List each citation you are challenging and identify what is inaccurate or incomplete about the information in the order · Supply information that is accurate or more complete · State why you believe your license should not be on a conditional status · Be made before the deadlines provided below If you are mailing your request, it must be sent by certified mail and postmarked within 10 calendar days from when you received this order. If you do not meet this deadline, you lose your right to request reconsideration. The timeline to appeal began when you received this order. Please send it to: Commissioner, Department of Human Services Office of Inspector General Legal Counsel’s Office Attention: Licensing Legal Unit PO Box 64953 St. Paul, MN 55164-0953 If your request is being personally delivered, it must be received by DHS within 10 calendar days from when you received this order. Please bring it to: Commissioner, Department of Human Services Office of Inspector General Legal Counsel’s Office Attention: Licensing Legal Unit 444 Lafayette Road North St. Paul, MN 55155 Conditional license stayed pending reconsideration If you request reconsideration within the timeframes described above, the terms of the conditional license will not take effect until a decision is issued by DHS. If the conditional license is affirmed on reconsideration, the terms would take effect on the date of the reconsideration decision, and run for one year from that date. You continue to be required to comply with all family child care laws and rules. Prohibition against providing legally unlicensed child care As a result of this order, you are prohibited from providing legally unlicensed child care. A child care provider who has received a conditional license that has not been reversed on reconsideration or appeal may not provide legally unlicensed child care to non-relatives. Operating a prohibited unlicensed family child care program is a misdemeanor offense. Posting of this licensing action You are required to place this Order of Conditional License in a place that is clearly noticeable to the people receiving services and all visitors to the facility for two years, even if you appeal. Legal authority for this licensing action · The timeline to request reconsideration of the order is provided in Minnesota Statutes, section 245A.06, subdivision 4. · Minnesota Statutes, section 245A.03, subdivision 2a provides that an applicant for licensure who has received a conditional license order that has not been reversed on appeal may not operate as a legally unlicensed child care provider. Operating an unlicensed family child care is a misdemeanor under Minnesota Statutes, section 245A.03, subdivision 3. · The requirement to post this order in a clearly visible location is required under Minnesota Statutes, section 245A.06, subdivision 8. · If a license holder files a timely reconsideration request, the terms of the conditional license are stayed pending a decision by DHS under Minnesota Statutes, section 245A.06, subdivision 4. · Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 245A.03, subdivision 2b, subdivision 1 states that a child care provider who has received a conditional license under Minnesota Statutes, Section 245A.06 that has not been reversed on reconsideration or appeal may not provide unlicensed child care to non-relatives. · Operating a prohibited unlicensed family child care program is a misdemeanor offense under Minnesota Statutes, Section 245A.03, subdivision 3. Questions If you have any further questions regarding this matter, you may contact Beth Donahue, Supervisor at 651-431-6565. Sincerely,
Barbara Wagner, Unit Manager Licensing Division Office of Inspector General cc: Jamie Danzl, Pennington County Human Services
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