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December 1, 2025 CERTIFIED MAIL Mindy Blankers 731 Mill Street East Edgerton, MN 56128-4424 License Number 1129020 ORDER OF CONDITIONAL LICENSE Dear Ms. Blankers: Based on the recommendation from Southwest Health and Human Services (SWHHS), the Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) is placing your license to provide family child care at 731 Mill Street East Edgerton, MN on conditional status for two years, beginning December 1, 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 in your program, available evaluations from consumers of your program, and information about the qualifications of caregivers working in your program. As described in the licensing history section below, you were previously licensed by MN Department of Human Services (“DHS”) to provide family child care. On July 16, 2014, DHS issued an order to revoke your license, which you appealed. On March 30, 2015, the Commissioner of Human Services rescinded the revocation and imposed an Order of Conditional License against you. The duration of the conditional license was to be for two years from the date of the Commissioner’s final order, but you chose to close shortly after it was issued. Since you are now opening as a family child care provider again, you need to complete the terms of the previously issued Order of Conditional License. DCYF has determined that it is appropriate to place your license on conditional status based on your licensing history as detailed below, and the program evaluation.1 Legal Authority: Minnesota Statutes, section 142B.10, subdivision 13. 2. Failure to comply with licensing laws and rules Licensing History The following violations summarize the nature of your previous licensing violations. Please refer to the previously issued orders for further details on these violations. If you do not have copies of these orders, contact your SWHHS licensor for assistance. DCYF also considered this history as a factor when it determined that a Conditional License is appropriate. · You were previously licensed under family child care license 1054271 by SWHHS. o On March 18, 2014, you were issued an Order or Temporary Immediate Suspension, for an infant that sustained a broken arm in your care. o On July 16, 2014, you were issued an Order of Revocation, you appealed that Order on June 25, 2014. o On November 26, 2014, the administrative law judge made a recommendation to reverse your maltreatment determination for physical abuse and subsequently reverse your background study disqualification. The administrative law judge also made the recommendation to impose a lesser sanction. o On March 30, 2015, the Commissioner issued their final order of a Conditional to run for a period of two years. o You did not appeal the Conditional License issued on March 30, 2015, and on April 14, 2015, you chose to close your 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 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 to SWHHS a detailed written plan regarding operating within the (C2) child/adult ratio and age distribution restrictions set forth under Minnesota Rule 9502.0367. This plan must be submitted within 15 days of this order. The plan must be approved by SWHHS. 4. You must have parents sign children in and out each day and submit these records, along with daily attendance records to SWHHS by the 5th of each month for the previous month starting January 5, 2026. The daily attendance records must include the name and date of birth, and hours of attendance of each child in care. 5. You must refrain from any emotional or psychological abuse such as, but not limited to, name calling, ostracism and derogatory remarks about any daycare children or their families. 6. You must submit to SWHHS a written detailed plan for providing to children in care the appropriate level of supervision as required under Minnesota Rule 9502.0315, subpart 29a, while inside and outside of the home, ensuring provider is within sight and/or hearing and capable of intervening depending on the ages of children in care and in order to protect the safety of the children. This plan must be submitted within 15 days of this order. The plan must be approved by SWHHS. 7. You must complete at least six hours of additional training within 60 days of receiving this order. The training is in addition to the annual training requirements as listed in Minnesota Statutes, section 142B.70. The training(s) must include the topic of active supervision. You must get approval from SWHHS prior to attending the training(s) and you must submit documentation of your attendance to SWHHS. 8. 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 SWHHS within 15 days of receiving this order. For new families, you must submit documentation of compliance with this term to SWHHS within 5 days of any child’s admission to your child care program. Ongoing Monitoring Your SWHHS 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 On March 30, 2015, you were issued an Order of Conditional license as a result of a final agency decision from the Commissioner. After the order was issued you closed your family child care license on April 14, 2015. Because your license was on conditional status and you closed shortly after the conditional license was issued, your new license is being opened on conditional status for two (2) years. If you wish to request reconsideration of this order, 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 March 18, 2014, 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. 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: Angie Frisk, Southwest Health and Human Services 11 On June 18, 2025, licensing functions for child care centers, family child care programs, and child foster care programs, and maltreatment investigations involving child care centers, have been transferred from DHS to DCYF, as directed by state law.
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