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June 18, 2025 CERTIFIED MAIL Tara Wandrey 230 Riverside Avenue Owatonna, MN 55060-2234 License Number 1015911 FCC ORDER OF LICENSE REVOCATION Dear Ms. Wandrey: Based on the recommendation of Minnesota Prairie County Alliance (MN Prairie), the Department of Human Services (DHS) is revoking your license to provide family child care at 230 Riverside Avenue Owatonna, 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 repeatedly failed to comply with term 1 of 6 of your conditional when you had several additional licensing violations while on a conditional license, because you failed to follow required behavior guidance standards, because you failed to ensure toxic substances were inaccessible to children, because you failed to ensure that hazards were inaccessible to children, because you failed to provide documentation of crib safety, because you failed to ensure water temperature was at or below 120 degrees Fahrenheit. 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 6.1 2. Conditional license violations MN Prairie determined that you failed to follow certain terms of the Order of Conditional License that is in place from July 1, 2024, to June 30, 2025. Term #1: You must follow and comply with all applicable Minnesota Rules and Laws. On March 25, 2025, MN Prairie made a visit to your family child care home. As a result of the visit, you were issued a correction order for failing to follow required behavior guidance standards when you forced food into children’s mouths and when you withheld food as a form of discipline. On March 14, 2025, MN Prairie made a visit to your family child care home. As a result of the visit, you were issued a correction order for the following violations: · Failure to ensure that toxic substances were inaccessible to children in care when children had access to medication. · Failure to ensure that hazards were inaccessible to children in care when children had access to plastic bags. On November 4, 2024, MN Prairie made a visit to your family child care home. As a result of the visit, you were issued a correction order for the following violations: · Failure to provide or make available documentation of crib safety verification. · You failed to ensure that your water temperature was at or below 120 degrees Fahrenheit when your water temperature was 134 degrees Fahrenheit. 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 MN Prairie 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 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 MN Prairie licensor for assistance. DHS also considered this history as a factor when it determined that revocation of your license is appropriate. On March 25, 2025, MN Prairie made a visit to your family child care home. As a result of the visit, you were issued a correction order for failing to follow required behavior guidance standards when you forced food into children’s mouths and when you withheld food as a form of discipline. On March 14, 2025, MN Prairie made a visit to your family child care home. As a result of the visit, you were issued a correction order for the following violations: · Failure to ensure that toxic substances were inaccessible to children in care when children had access to medication. · Failure to ensure that hazards were inaccessible to children in care when children had access to plastic bags. On November 4, 2024, MN Prairie made a visit to your family child care home. As a result of the visit, you were issued a correction order for the following violations: · Failure to provide or make available documentation of crib safety verification. · You failed to ensure that your water temperature was at or below 120 degrees Fahrenheit when your water temperature was 134 degrees Fahrenheit. On July 1, 2024, Order of Fine and Conditional. On November 15, 2023, MN Prairie made a visit to your family child care home. As a result of the visit, you were issued a correction order for the following licensing violations: · Failure to provide documentation of pet vaccinations as required. · Failure to provide documentation of substitute use as required. On November 2, and November 3, 2023, MN Prairie made visits to your family child care program. As a result of the visits, you were issued a correction order for the following licensing violations: · Failure to ensure that electrical outlets were shielded as required. · Failure to ensure that hazards were inaccessible to children in care when children had access to push pins, plastic bags, and coins. · Failure to ensure that pet feces was inaccessible to children in care. On September 13, September 14, and September 28, 2023, MN Prairie made visits to your child care program to investigate a report. As a result of the visits, you were issued a correction order for the following licensing violations: · You failed to provide required supervision when a young child was observed to be upstairs in an open window. · You failed to provide required supervision when a child was upstairs in a crib and you were unable to see or hear the child or capable of intervening to protect the child. · Failure to ensure there were two means of escape when windows were blocked by lofted beds, in rooms used for sleeping children in care. · Failure to ensure that toxic substances were inaccessible to children in care when children had access to cleaner, eye drops and muscle rub. · Failure to ensure hazards were inaccessible to children in care when children had access to a plugged in hair straightener. · Failure to obtain admission and arrangement forms for all children in care as required. · Failure to provide immunization information for five children in care 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 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: If you file an appeal within the timeframes described above, you may continue to operate pending the outcome of your appeal. If you continue to operate, you must do so in full compliance with all licensing laws and rules. Failure to follow a law or rule that may impact the health or safety of children served by your program could result in the immediate suspension of your license. Questions about CCAP If you are a provider registered to receive Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) payments, this revocation order 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 July 1, 2024, DHS issued an Order to Pay a Fine and 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 revoked 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, Unit Manager Licensing Division Office of Inspector General cc: Cheryl Moret, Minnesota Prairie County Alliance 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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