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June 3, 2025 CERTIFIED MAIL Nicole Minke 8124 Clinton Avenue South Bloomington, MN 55420 License Number 1092081 FCC ORDER OF CONDITIONAL LICENSE ORDER TO PAY A FINE Dear Ms. Minke: Based on the recommendation of Hennepin County Human Services and Public Health Department (Hennepin County) the Department of Human Services (DHS) is placing your license to provide family child care at 8124 Clinton Avenue South, Bloomington, MN on conditional status for one year, beginning June 3, 2025. 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. In addition, DHS is ordering you to pay a fine of $600. Details of our findings are 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 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 comply with a Correction Order, because you failed to ensure a caregiver had a background study completed prior to working with children, and because you had numerous licensing violations listed below. 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 6.1 2. Failure to comply with licensing laws and rules As a result of previous licensing visits, Hennepin 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 Licensing History 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 Hennepin County licensor for assistance. DHS also considered this history as a factor when it determined that a Conditional License is appropriate. · January 29, 2025, Correction Order, which cited you for failing to comply with a Correction Order that was issued on December 30, 2024. · December 20, 2024, Correction Order, which cited you for the following violations: o You failed to operate within the license distribution limits when you were caring for two infants and your C2 license only allows one infant. o You failed to ensure that equipment was age appropriate, safe, and in good repair when children had access to a hanging ladder, a therapy swing, and a toy was missing pieces. o You failed to ensure the basement was free of hazards when children had access to metal brackets, a hanging apparatus, uninstalled shelving units, wooden boards leaned against egress, and carpeting squares scattered and exposed foam insulation used as flooring which is not in accordance with manufacturers guidelines. o You failed to ensure the outdoor play space was free of litter, rubbish, machinery, and toxic items when children had access to brush, debris, machinery, construction materials, untreated wood, dirty diaper, and a bag of garbage. Children also had access to an unlicensed garage area. o You failed to ensure the combustible items were the proper distance away from the furnace when you had carpet squares, paint, and dirty furnace filters. o You failed to ensure that children did not have access to construction or remodeling areas. o You failed to ensure that your fire extinguisher was maintained as required when it was last serviced in December of 2020. o You failed to ensure that there was a carbon monoxide detector within ten feet of each room used for sleeping. o You failed to ensure that children did not have access to toxic substances as required when children had access to chemicals and detergents. o You failed to ensure that children did not have access to hazards when they had access to a sharp knife, plastic bags, heavy unstable box, and access to the master bedroom which had hazards present. o You failed to ensure that each child was provided a separate towel and cup for drinking as required. o You failed to provide required documentation of pet vaccinations as required when the documents you provided were altered. o You failed to handle and store food properly as required when food was stored in a cooler without preventing contamination and spillage. You also had spoiled food on your counter. o You failed to ensure that appliances used in food storage and preparation are safe or clean when you had flammable items on and near the stove top. o You failed to provide documentation that you completed fire and storm drills as required. o You failed to provide documentation of substitute tracking as required. o You failed provide documentation of the date and time of background studies and the date of first direct contact as required. o You failed to provide documentation that each staff person had completed Sudden Unexpected Infant Death (SUID) and Abusive Head Trauma (AHT) training prior to caring for children. o You failed to provide documentation that each child in care had immunizations on file as required when you did not have all the exemption information. · September 24, 2024, Correction Order, which cited you for the following violations: o You failed to provide documentation of substitute tracking as required. o You failed to request background studies as required for one staff person before they began working in the program. o You failed to provide documentation that a staff person completed Basics of Licensed Family Child Care for Substitutes as required. · February 28, 2023, Correction Order, which cited you for failing to request background studies as required for two staff persons before they began working in the program. 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 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 a written detailed plan on how you will keep your home clean, sanitary, and free of hazards accessible to children. The plan must be submitted to Hennepin County within 15 days of the order and must be approved by Hennepin County. 4. You must submit a request for fire marshal inspection to Hennepin County and pay the $50 fire marshal fee within 15 days of the order. You must correct and follow all citations and recommendations from the fire marshal report. 5. You must work with Hennepin County to obtain a mentor to work on ensuring you are following all family child care rules and laws. The mentor must be obtained within 30 days of the issuance of this order and must be approved by Hennepin County. Upon completion of working with the mentor you must submit a summary to Hennepin County of what you learned and changes you will implement into your program to support required compliance with licensing regulations. 6. You must either provide a copy of the Order to Pay a Fine and 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 and submit documentation of compliance with this term to Hennepin County within 30 days of this order. For new families, you must submit documentation of compliance with this term to Hennepin County within 5 days of any child’s admission to your child care program. Ongoing Monitoring Your Hennepin 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. REASON FOR FINE 1. Background Study Violation As a result of a licensing review, Hennepin County determined that you failed to request background studies for a staff person before they began working in positions allowing direct contact with children being served in your licensed program. Statute Violated: Minnesota Statutes, section 245C.04, subdivision 1, paragraph (g). Fine: $200 2. Failure to Comply with Correction Order Hennepin County determined that you failed to correct violations that were cited in a correction order issued to you on December 30, 2024. You were to correct the items and submit documentation to Hennepin County by January 8, 2025. You failed to correct and submit documentation for the items cited. You were issued a correction order for failure to comply on January 29,2025. Statute Violated: Minnesota Statutes, section 245A.06, subdivision 3. Fine: $200 3. Failure to Complete Training On December 20, 2024, Hennepin County conducted a licensing review and determined that you failed to ensure that a helper had SUID and AHT prior to caring for children. Statute Violated: Minnesota Statutes, section 245A.50, subdivision 5a. Fine: $200 YOUR APPEAL/RECONSIDERATION RIGHTS If You Wish to Appeal the Fine and the Conditional License, or Just the Fine You have the right to appeal both the fine and the conditional license, or only the fine. 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 receive 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 receive 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 Wish to Only Appeal the Conditional License If you are not appealing the fine, you do not have a right to a contested case hearing. However, you have the right to request reconsideration of the conditional license 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 Licensing Division Attention: Legal Unit PO Box 64242 St. Paul, MN 55164-0242 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 Licensing Division Attention: Legal Unit 444 Lafayette Road North St. Paul, MN 55155 Billing and Payment of the Fine DHS will send you an invoice for the $600 fine. Payment must be made as directed on the invoice. If you request a contested case hearing, as described above, do not pay the fine at this time. Following the contested case hearing, the Commissioner of DHS will issue a final order on this matter. Please note, you may not avoid payment of this fine by closing, selling, or otherwise transferring the license to a third party. If this occurs, you are personally responsible for payment. If you do not pay the fine on or before the date specified on the invoice and you did not request a contested case hearing, as described above, the Commissioner may issue a second fine, may not issue or reissue a license, or may suspend the license until the license holder pays the fine. 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. 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. Posting of this licensing action You are required to place this Order of Conditional License and Order to Pay a Fine 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. Prohibition against providing legally unlicensed child care If this action is not reversed on appeal, you will not be allowed to provide legally unlicensed child care to unrelated children. Operating an unlicensed family child care home is a misdemeanor offense. Legal authority for this licensing action · This action is taken under Minnesota Statutes, section 245A.07, subdivision 1, paragraph (a), which describes under which conditions DHS may impose a fine against a license. · DHS may impose a $200 fine for each health, safety, or supervision licensing violation under Minnesota Statutes, section 245A.07, subdivision 3, paragraph (c)(4)(iv). · Minnesota Statutes, section 245A.07, subdivision 3, paragraph (c)(5) states that license holders may not avoid payment of a fine by closing, selling, or transferring a license. · Minnesota Statutes, section 245A.04, subdivision 7, paragraph (d)(4), states that DHS shall not issue or reissue a license if the applicant, license holder, or controlling individual has an outstanding debt related to a license fee, licensing fine, or settlement agreement for which payment is delinquent. · Minnesota Statutes, section 245A.07, subdivision 3, paragraph (c)(2), states that that the license holder shall pay the fine assessed on or before the payment date specified, and if the license holder does not do so the commissioner may issue a second fine or suspend the license until the license holder complies. · The timeline to request reconsideration of the order of conditional license is provided in Minnesota Statutes, section 245A.06, subdivision 4. · License holders have a right to appeal licensing actions and request a contested case hearing, under Minnesota Statutes, chapter 14 and Minnesota Rules, parts 1400.8505 to 1400.8612. · 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. · Under Minnesota Statutes, section 245A.06, subdivision 4, if DHS issues a dual order to pay a fine and a conditional license and the license holder appeals both the fine and the conditional license, DHS will not do a separate reconsideration of the conditional license. If the license holder does not appeal the fine but requests reconsideration of the conditional license, then the license holder does not have a right to a hearing and DHS will conduct a reconsideration of the conditional license. · Minnesota Statutes, Chapter 245A.03, subdivision 2b, subdivision 1 states that a child care provider who has received a Fine or Conditional Order under Minnesota Statutes, Section 245A.07 that has not been reversed on 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. · The requirement to post this order in a clearly visible location is required under Minnesota Statutes, section 245A.06, subdivision 8 and Minnesota Statutes, section 245A.07, subdivision 5. Questions If you have any further questions regarding this matter, you may contact me at 651-431-6565. Sincerely,
Beth Donahue, Unit Supervisor Licensing Division Office of Inspector General cc: Kristin Kalahar, Hennepin County Human Services and Public Health Department 1The Office of the Revisor of Statutes recently updated its website to reflect 2024 legislative changes to Minnesota statutes. The Revisor’s website states that parts of Chapter 245A have been renumbered to Chapter 142B. Despite this language on the Revisor’s website, parts of Chapter 245A (2023), as referenced in this document, remain effective until DHS formally transfers power and responsibility for parts of chapter 245A to the Minnesota Department of Children, Youth, and Families. The anticipated transfer date is July 1, 2025. Laws 2024, chapter 80, article 8, section 72; Laws 2023, chapter 70, article 12, section 30.
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