|
September 23, 2025 CERTIFIED MAIL RaChelle Donaldson 122 Tindolph Avenue South Thief River Falls, MN 56701-3017 License Number 1119113 FCC ORDER LIFTING IMMEDIATE SUSPENSION ORDER OF CONDITIONAL LICENSE Dear Ms. Donaldson: 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 122 Tindolph Avenue South, Thief River Falls, MN on conditional status for two years, beginning September 23, 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. REASON FOR THE CONDITIONAL LICENSE 1. Commissioner’s evaluation of program In determining whether a licensing action is warranted, DCYF 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 repeatedly failed to provide required supervision to children in your care and because you failed to report suspected maltreatment as required. DCYF 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 142B.10, subdivision 13. 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. DCYF has considered the nature, chronicity, and severity of these violations, which are provided below. Legal Authority: Minnesota Statutes, section 142B.16, subdivision 1. Nature, history and severity of violations New violations determined The following are new violations that have not been the subject of a previous correction order. If you appeal this order, the following violations will be reviewed as a part of the appeal. DCYF considered these violations as a factor when it determined that a Conditional License is appropriate. On August 1, 2025, Pennington County received a report regarding your family child care program. The report alleged that you were not providing supervision to children in your care as required. Pennington County investigated the report and determined the following licensing violations: 1. You failed to provide required supervision on at least the following three separate occasions: · A young child wandered away while at the park and a community member had to intervene, so the child did not go out into the street. · A young child was left at a park, and you did not realize the child was missing until another child asked where the child was. · During an investigation visit on August 7, 2025, you left a young child outdoors unsupervised while you were indoors. Rule Violated: Minnesota Rules, part 9502.0315, subpart 29a and Minnesota Rules, part 9502.0365, subpart 5. 2. You failed to report suspected maltreatment as required when you left a child at a park unattended and did not know the child was missing for an unknown period of time. Rule Violated: Minnesota Rules, part 9502.0375, subpart 1 and subpart 2 B. 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. DCYF also considered this history as a factor when it determined that a Conditional License is appropriate. · August 8, 2025, Temporary Immediate Suspension, which determined children were at an imminent risk of harm. · June 28, 2024, Correction Order, which cited you for the following licensing violations: o Failure to ensure that pet vaccinations records were current as required. o Failure to submit complete fire and storm drills logs. The logs were missing the date and time the drills took place. 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 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 a detailed written plan for how you will provide required supervision at all times both indoors and outdoors. The plan must include steps you have taken or changes you have made in the program to ensure children are supervised as required and to prevent further supervision violations. The plan must be submitted to Pennington County within 15 days of the issuance of this order and must be approved by Pennington County. 4. You must work with Pennington County to obtain a mentor to work on ensuring you are following all family child care rules and laws with an emphasis on supervision. The mentor must be obtained within 30 days of the issuance of this order. Upon completion of working with the mentor you must submit a summary to Pennington County of what you learned and changes you will implement into your program to ensure you are following supervision requirements. 5. You must obtain a minimum of six hours of additional training within 90 days of this order. The training is in addition to the annual training requirements as listed in Minnesota Statutes, section 245A.50. The training must be in the area of supervision. You must obtain approval from Pennington County that the training is appropriate, and you must submit documentation of your attendance to Pennington County. 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 and submit documentation to Pennington County within 15 days of the issuance of this order. 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, DCYF 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 Children, Youth, and Families 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 DCYF within 10 calendar days from when you received this order. Please bring it to: Commissioner, Department of Children, Youth, and Families 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 DCYF. If the conditional license is affirmed on reconsideration, the terms would take effect on the date of the reconsideration decision and run for two years 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 On August 8, 2025, DCYF issued an Order of Temporary Immediate Suspension 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 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 142B.16, subdivision 4. · Minnesota Statutes, section 142B.05, subdivision 4, provides that an applicant for licensure who has received a conditional license order that has not been reversed on appeal may not provide unlicensed child care to non-relatives. Operating a prohibited unlicensed family child care is a misdemeanor under Minnesota Statutes, section 142B.05, subdivision 5. · The requirement to post this order in a clearly visible location is required under Minnesota Statutes, section 142B.16, subdivision 5. · If a license holder files a timely reconsideration request, the terms of the conditional license are stayed pending a decision by DCYF under Minnesota Statutes, section 142B.16, subdivision 4. Questions If you have any further questions regarding this matter, you may contact me at 651-431-6565. Sincerely,
Beth Donahue, Supervisor Licensing Division Office of Inspector General cc: Brooklyn Melcher, Pennington County Human Services
|
