|
October 1, 2026 CERTIFIED MAIL Melanie Girouard 5148 Mallard Lane Monticello, MN 55362 License Number 1002468 FCC ORDER OF CONDITIONAL LICENSE ORDER TO PAY A FINE Dear Ms. Girouard: Based on the recommendation of Wright County Health and Human Services (Wright County), the Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) is placing your license to provide family child care at 5148 Mallard Lane, Monticello, MN on conditional status for one year, beginning October 1, 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. In addition, DCYF is ordering you to pay a fine of $400. 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, 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 supervision to children in your care when you were sleeping during child care hours and because you failed to follow sudden unexpected infant death (SUID) reduction requirements when you slept an infant in an infant chair. 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, Wright 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 On August 3, 2026, Wright County conducted a licensing inspection at your licensed program. 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. 1. On August 3, 2026, Wright County determined that you failed to provide supervision to children in your care when you were sleeping during child care hours. Rule Violated: Minnesota Rules, section 9502.0365, subpart 5. 2. On August 3, 2026, Wright County determined that you failed to follow SUID reduction requirements when you slept an infant in an infant chair. Statute Violated: Minnesota Statutes, section 142B.46, paragraph (a). 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 Wright County licensor for assistance. DCYF also considered this history as a factor when it determined that a Conditional License is appropriate. · June 12, 2025, Correction Order, which cited you for the following violations: o You failed to maintain your fire extinguisher as required. o You failed to submit documentation that your pets had rabies vaccinations as required. o You failed to submit documentation that you had provided parents with the form stating that you did not have liability insurance. o You failed to provide documentation that two children in care had immunization records. You did not request reconsideration of this correction order. · August 14, 2024, Correction Order, which cited you for the following violations: o You failed to provide clean and separate bedding for each child in care as required. o You failed to offer well balanced meals and snacks daily. You did not request reconsideration of this correction order. · February 22, 2024, Correction Order, which cited you for the following violations: o You failed to provide documentation of the date and time that fire and storm drills were conducted. You did not request reconsideration of this correction order. · April 17, 2023, Correction Order, which cited you for the following violations: o You failed to provide a fire extinguisher as required. o You failed to provide documentation that your emergency preparedness plan was updated annually as required. o You failed to provide documentation that you and a second adult caregiver had taken Health and Safety I training at least once every five years as required. You did not request reconsideration of this correction order. · June 22, 2022, Correction Order, which cited you for the following violations: o You failed to ensure that hazardous materials were inaccessible to children when children had access to plastic bags. o You failed to dispose of blood contaminated materials in a plastic bag with a secure tie as required. o You failed to meet the procedures for safely handling and disposing of bodily fluids. o You failed to submit documentation that you completed monthly fire and storm drills as required. o You failed to provide immunization records for one child. o You failed to provide documentation that you completed monthly crib/pack and play inspections as required. You did not request 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 a detailed plan for how you will stay awake during nap time. The plan must be submitted to Wright County within 10 days of receiving this order. The plan must be approved by Wright County. 4. You must work with Wright 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. Upon completion of working with the mentor. Upon completion of working with the mentor, you must submit a summary to Wright County of what you learned and changes you will implement into your program to support required compliance with licensing regulations. 5. You must complete at least six hours of additional training within 60 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 infant supervision and in person SUID training. Prior to attending training, you must obtain approval from Wright County that the training is appropriate. You must submit documentation of your attendance to Wright 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. You must provide this documentation to Wright County within 30 days of this order. For new families, you must submit documentation of compliance with this term to Wright County within 5 days of any child’s admission to your child care program. If you close or pause services under license no. 1002468 during the conditional license period, you must complete any remaining duration and terms of this conditional license if you later obtain a new license or resume services under this license. Ongoing Monitoring Your Wright 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. REASON FOR FINE 1. Violation of Safe Sleep Practices As a result of a licensing investigation conducted on August 3, 2026, Wright County determined that you failed to follow SUID reduction requirements when an infant was allowed to sleep in an infant chair. Statute Violated: Minnesota Statutes, section 142B.46. Fine: $200 3. Supervision Violation As a result of a licensing investigation conducted on August 3, 2026, Wright County determined that you failed to provide required supervision to children in care when you fell asleep during child care hours. Rule Violated: Minnesota Rules, section 9502.0365, subpart 5. Fine: $200 Total Fine Amount $400 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 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 receive 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 Upon DCYF’s 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 DCYF 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 Children, Youth, and Families 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 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 Licensing Division Attention: Legal Unit 444 Lafayette Road North St. Paul, MN 55155 Billing and Payment of the Fine DCYF will send you an invoice for the $400 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 DCYF 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 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. 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 On June 27, 2013, DCYF issued an Order to Pay a Fine 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. Legal authority for this licensing action · This action is taken under Minnesota Statutes, section 142B.18, subdivision 1, paragraph (a), which describes under which conditions DCYF may impose a fine against a license. · DCYF may impose a $200 fine for each health, safety, or supervision licensing violation under Minnesota Statutes, section 142B.18, subdivision 4, paragraph (c), subparagraph (4)(iv). · Minnesota Statutes, section 142B.18, subdivision 4, paragraph (c), subparagraph (5), states that license holders may not avoid payment of a fine by closing, selling, or transferring a license. · Minnesota Statutes, section 142B.12, subdivisions 5 and 8, state that DCYF 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 142B.18, subdivision 4, paragraph (c), subparagraph (c), 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 142B.16, 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 DCYF under Minnesota Statutes, section 142B.16, subdivision 4. · Under Minnesota Statutes, section 142B.16, subdivision 4, if DCYF issues a dual order to pay a fine and a conditional license and the license holder appeals both the fine and the conditional license, DCYF 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 DCYF will conduct a reconsideration of the conditional license. · The requirement to post this order in a clearly visible location is required under Minnesota Statutes, section 142B.18, subdivision 6. · Minnesota Statutes, section 142B.05, subdivision 4, provides that a child care provider who has received a Fine or Conditional Order that has not been reversed on appeal may not operate as a legally unlicensed child care provider to non-relatives. Operating a prohibited unlicensed family child care is a misdemeanor under Minnesota Statutes, section 142B.05, 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: Kimberly Cohn, Wright County Health and Human Services
|
