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September 8, 2026 CERTIFIED MAIL Paige Gentry 191 6th Avenue Northwest Wells, MN 56097 License Number 1119138 FCC ORDER OF CONDITIONAL LICENSE Dear Ms. Gentry: Based on the recommendation from Health and Human Services of Faribault and Martin Counties (Faribault Martin County) the Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) is placing your license to provide family child care at 191 6th Avenue Northwest, Wells, MN on conditional status for one year beginning September 8, 2026. 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. Specifically, because you failed to provide appropriate activities for the developmental ages of children in your care, because you failed to ensure that each room used for napping met means of egress requirements, because you failed to ensure that toxic substances were inaccessible to children in care, because you failed to safely transport children, because you failed to ensure that clean diapers and diapering products were inaccessible and because you failed to follow required handwashing procedures. 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. 3. Failure to comply with licensing laws and rules As a result of previous licensing visits, Faribault Martin 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 License history The following violations summarize the nature of your previous licensing violations. 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 Faribault Martin County licensor for assistance. DCYF also considered this history as a factor when it determined that a Conditional License is appropriate. · July 29, 2026, Correction Order, which cited you for the following violations: o You failed to provide appropriate activities for the developmental stage and age of children in care when you transported children on a highway in a motorized golf cart. o You failed to ensure that each room used for napping had a second means of egress when the window did not meet egress standards. o You failed to ensure that toxic substances were inaccessible to children when cleaning products were on the dining room table accessible to children. o You failed to ensure children were transported safely by transporting them in a motorized golf cart without any seatbelts. o You failed to ensure that clean diapers and diapering products were inaccessible to children in care. o You failed to follow required handwashing procedures when children did not wash their hands before snack. o You failed to ensure the program was clean and sanitary when you poured chips directly on the dirty picnic table outdoors. You did not seek reconsideration of this correction order. · March 24, 2026, Correction Order, which cited you for the following violations: o You failed to ensure your outdoor play space was safe when a children’s playhouse had peeling paint. o You failed to ensure that a swimming pool was inaccessible to children in care as required. o You failed to ensure that the exit windows used for child care met the required minimum opening requirement. o You failed to ensure that combustible items were the proper distance away from the furnace. o You failed to maintain a safe environment when an electric fireplace was accessible to children in care. o You failed to ensure that closet doors accessible to children could be opened from the inside as required. o You failed to ensure that smoke alarms were UL listed. o You failed to ensure that toxic substances were inaccessible when there were pest control chemicals accessible to children in care. o You failed to ensure that rubbish containers were inaccessible when there was an uncovered garbage can accessible to infants and toddlers in the bathroom. o You failed to ensure that toxic substances were inaccessible when spray foam was accessible to children in care. o You failed to ensure that hazardous materials were inaccessible to children in care when children had access to tools, plastic bags, scissors and broken window glass. o You failed to ensure that the first aid kit had all required items when it was missing the thermometer and mild liquid soap. o You failed to follow required sanitation procedures when children had access to clean diapers, and the diaper area did not have a covered diaper disposal lined with a disposable plastic bag. o You failed to follow required handwashing procedures when children did not wash their hands before breakfast or snack. o You failed to ensure that your water temperature was at or below 120 degrees Fahrenheit when your water temperature was 138.8 degrees Fahrenheit. o You failed to have your written emergency plan available and ready for review. o You failed to provide documentation that you had completed Sudden Unexpected Infant Death (SUID) training. o You failed to submit documentation that you checked crib brand names and model numbers against the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission website annually as required. You did not seek reconsideration of this correction order. 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 and comply with a detailed plan regarding health and safety requirements. The plan must outline where each child will sleep to ensure that each sleeping arrangement is appropriate and in an approved sleep space. The plan must also include how you will ensure all toxins and hazards are inaccessible to children in care and how you will follow handwashing procedures before and after meals and after toileting. The plan must be submitted to and approved by Faribault Martin County within 15 days of this order. 4. You must complete at least 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 142B.70. The training must include BEST training and training on supervision. You must obtain pre approval from Faribault Martin County that the training is appropriate, and you must submit documentation of your attendance to Faribault Martin County. 5. 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 Faribault and Martin County within 30 days of this order. For new families, you must submit documentation of compliance with this term to Faribault and Martin County within 5 days of any child’s admission to your child care program. If you close or temporarily stop services at license no.1119138 during the conditional license period, you must complete any remaining duration and/or terms of this conditional license in the event you apply for and is approved for a new family child care license or resumes services at license no. 1119138. Ongoing Monitoring Your Faribault Martin 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 one year 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 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. 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: Audrey Schultz, Health and Human Services of Faribault and Martin County
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