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November 20, 2024 CERTIFIED MAIL Rebeka Jones 27963 280th Street Badger, MN 56714-9125 License Number 1119130 FCC ORDER OF LICENSE REVOCATION Dear Ms. Jones: Based on the recommendation of Roseau County Social Services (Roseau County), the Department of Human Services (DHS) is revoking your license to provide family child care at 27963 280th Street, Badger, MN. Details of our findings are provided below. Our next steps and your options are also detailed. REASON FOR LICENSE REVOCATION 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 in your program, available evaluations from consumers of your program, and information about the qualifications of caregivers working in your program. Specifically, because you failed to provide required supervision, because you failed to report a serious incident to Roseau County, because you failed to follow licensing rules while your license was on a conditional status including failure to follow the distribution limits of your license, failure to ensure that a means of escape was not blocked, failure to submit background studies as required, failure to ensure that hazards and toxins were inaccessible to children in care, failure to notify parents that you did not carry liability insurance, and because you released a child to an unauthorized individual. DHS has determined that revocation of your license is appropriate based on the violations identified below and the program evaluation. Legal Authority: Minnesota Statutes, section 245A.04, subdivision 6. 2. Conditional license violations On November 1, 2023, DHS placed your family child care licensed on Conditional Status for one year. Term #1 was that you must follow and comply with all applicable Minnesota Rules and Laws. On July 23, 2024, Roseau County made a licensing visit to your home. As a result of the visit, you were issued a correction order for several licensing violations. You failed to respond to the correction order. Legal Authority: Minnesota Statutes, sections 245A.06, subdivision 3; and 245A.07, subdivision 3, paragraph (a). 3. Failure to comply with licensing laws and rules Roseau County determined that you failed to fully comply with the laws and rules that apply to licensed family child care. DHS has considered the nature, chronicity, or severity of the violations that led to the revocation of your license. Legal Authority: Minnesota Statutes, section 245A.07, subdivision 3, paragraph (a), subparagraph (1). Nature, history and severity of violations Violations determined Previously, on August 7, 2023, Roseau County determined that you failed to provide required supervision when a child left your program and was found by a community member in a parking lot by a gas station and busy highway. When the community member returned the child to your program, you again failed to provide required supervision when another child opened the door without adult supervision. You and another caregiver were observed coming from the back of the program. Additionally, you failed to report the incident to Roseau County as required. As a result, your license for family child care was put on conditional status on November 1, 2023, for a period of one year. On November 27, 2023, you relocated your family child care program from a commercial location to your home residence. On July 23, 2024, Roseau County made a relicensing visit to your family child care program. As a result of the visit, you were issued a correction order for the following licensing violations: · You failed to notify parents of children in care that you did not carry liability insurance as required. · You failed to submit background studies for two individuals as required. · You failed to provide documentation of admission and arrangement forms as required. · You failed to provide documentation of written consent for emergency medical care as required. · You failed to provide documentation of monthly crib safety inspections. · You failed to ensure that mesh fabric was secured as required. · You released a child to someone other than a child’s parent or someone authorized to pick up the child by their parent. You were to make the corrections and submit documentation to Roseau County by July 30, 2024. You failed to respond to the correction order. On July 31, 2024, Roseau County made a drop in visit to follow up on the correction order that you failed to respond to. During the visit, the following licensing violations were determined: · You failed to operate within in the distribution limit of your license when you were caring for 12 children under school age. You were allowed to have no more than 10 children under school age. · You failed to provide an infant in care a crib for sleeping as required. · You failed to ensure there were two means of escape when a window exit was blocked by an air conditioning unit, a couch, and a changing table. · You failed to ensure that permanent wiring was in place when you were using extension cords. · You failed to ensure that cleaning products were inaccessible to children in care as required. · You failed to ensure that hazardous were inaccessible to children in care when a knife was accessible to children in care. · You failed to ensure that a potty chair was emptied when it contained urine. Subsequently, on August 1, 2024, your license to provide family child was immediately suspended when it was determined that there was an imminent risk of harm to children in your program. You appealed the temporary immediate suspension of your license. On October 15, 2024, the Commissioner of DHS affirmed the temporary immediate suspension. The temporary immediate suspension remains in effect. You have repeatedly failed to comply with licensing requirements putting children at a risk of harm. 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 served in your care, your license to provide family child care services is revoked. YOUR RIGHT TO APPEAL You have the right to appeal the revocation. Your request must be in writing and clearly state that you are requesting a contested case hearing for this matter. Your request must be made before the deadlines provided below. If you do not meet this deadline, you lose your right to an administrative appeal. The timeline to appeal began when you received this order. 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. 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 Upon DHS’ receipt of your timely appeal, your case would be scheduled for a contested case hearing in front of an Administrative Law Judge. Following this hearing, the Commissioner of DHS will issue a final order. If you do not appeal or if the order is affirmed by the Commissioner following a hearing, DHS is prohibited from issuing you a license for five years. In addition, any additional licenses held by you shall also be revoked. Legal representation at the contested case hearing: You do not need a lawyer to appeal. However, a lawyer can help you with your appeal. The state or county will not get you a lawyer and will not pay for a lawyer. If you cannot afford a lawyer, you may be able to get free legal advice or help with your appeal. To find out if free help is available, contact: Volunteer Lawyers Network at 612-752-6677; Central Minnesota Legal Services at 612-332-8151; Southern Minnesota Legal Services at 651-222-4731; or go to www.lawhelpmn.org to find a local legal services program that may be able to help you. You can also find information on contested cases from the Office of Administrative Hearings website at https://mn.gov/oah/self-help. Click on Administrative Law Overview, then click on Administrative Law Contested Case Hearing Guide for a list of frequently asked questions. Operating the program pending the outcome of the appeal: On August 1, 2024, DHS issued an Order of Temporary Immediate Suspension on your family child care license. Because the immediate suspension of your license remains in effect, if you appeal the revocation, you continue to be prohibited from operating pending a final order from the Commissioner of DHS. Questions about CCAP If you are a provider registered to receive Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) payments, this revocationorder could impact your ability to receive CCAP funding. If your CCAP registration is closed or denied as a result of this Licensing action, you will get a separate notice(s). If you have questions about: · Your CCAP registration, and you get a notice telling you your registration is being closed or denied, contact the agency that sent the notice. · Billing or payments for specific children, contact the county or CCAP agency where the children get CCAP. Prohibition against providing legally unlicensed child care On November 1, 2023, DHS issued an Order of Conditional License to your family child care program, which disqualified you from providing legally unlicensed child care. You remain prohibited from providing legally unlicensed child care even if you appeal this order. Posting of this Licensing Action You are required to place this Order of License Revocation 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 · This action is taken under Minnesota Statutes, section 245A.07, subdivision 3, which describes under which conditions DHS may revoke a license. · Minnesota Statutes, section 245.095 defines which programs administered by DHS are included in the exclusion provision, and further defines “excluded,” “individual,” and “provider.” · License holders have a right to appeal licensing actions and request a contested case hearing, under Minnesota Statutes, chapter 14, Minnesota Rules, parts 1400.8505 to 1400.8612, and Minnesota Statutes, section 245A.08. · Under Minnesota Statutes, section 245A.04, subdivision 7, paragraph (d), clause (3), the commissioner shall not issue or reissue a license if the applicant, license holder, or controlling individual has had a license issued under this chapter revoked within the past five years. · Under Minnesota Statutes, section 245A.04, subdivision 7, paragraph (d), clause (5), when a license issued under this chapter is revoked under clause (1) or (3), the license holder and controlling individual may not hold any license under chapter 245A for five years following the revocation, and other licenses held by the applicant, license holder, or controlling individual shall also be revoked. · Minnesota Statutes, section 245A.03, subdivision 2a provides that an applicant for licensure who has received a license revocation 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.07, subdivision 5. Questions If you have any further questions regarding this matter, you may contact Beth Donahue, Supervisor at 651-431-6565. Sincerely,
Alexandra Keys, Family Child Care Unit Manager Licensing Division Office of Inspector General cc: Jennifer Berggren, Roseau County Social Services
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