Legal nonlicensed providers must meet specific requirements and register with the Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF). See Chapter 11.9 (Legal Nonlicensed Providers).

What is required for care to be authorized?

Families, including families eligible for Expedited Child Care for Families Experiencing Homelessness, must sign and return the Parent Acknowledgment When Choosing a Legal Nonlicensed Provider Form (DHS-5367) (PDF) before care can be authorized with the legal nonlicensed provider.

Legal nonlicensed providers are not required to report hours of operation. Consider a legal nonlicensed provider to be available during the hours that child care is needed unless other information indicates the provider is not available.

For care to be authorized with a registered legal nonlicensed provider, they must:

· Not be a member of the MFIP assistance unit of the family they want to be authorized to care for.

· Not be a member of the family applying for or receiving child care assistance that they want to be authorized to care for.

· Not live in the same home as the child whose family is applying for or receiving child care assistance that they want to be authorized to care for.

· Meet additional training requirements if caring for a child that is not related to them or a child under age 5. See What training is required for care to be authorized?

· Provide child care for no more than eight children aged 12 and younger at one time. See What group size and age limits are required for care to be authorized?

Care cannot be authorized with a legal nonlicensed provider during hours they provide Personal Care Assistance (PCA) services or are being paid as a Personal Care Assistant because child care is unavailable (i.e., the provider is employed at another job).

What training is required for care to be authorized?

When a legal nonlicensed provider has an active registration status, care can be authorized for children who are related to the provider AND who are age 5 years old or older. For all other children, additional training must be completed or current before care can be authorized.

Training required to authorize care depends on the age of children in care, see “Training that depends on the age of children in care,” AND whether they are related to the child care provider, see “Training that depends on the provider’s relationship to the children in care.”

This may mean that the authorization start date is different for different children being cared for by the provider.

See Training requirements for legal nonlicensed providers DHS-6419.

Training that depends on the age of children in care

Children 5 years old and older

For children 5 years old and older, no additional training is required before care can be authorized.

Children under 5 years old

For children under 5 years old, additional training is required before a Service Authorization can be issued. This may mean that the authorization start date is different for different children being cared for by the provider.

Before issuing a Service Authorization for a child under 5 years old, the legal nonlicensed provider must take and verify the following training:

· For any children under five years old:

· Training in preventing Abusive Head Trauma (AHT)*

OR

· Supervising for Safety Legal Nonlicensed (only available on Develop)

DCYF Provider Support Staff will verify training and update the LNL provider training record in MEC2 with the most recent date training was taken. Training must be within the last two years of the date the Service Authorization is issued.

Children under 1 year old

For children under 1 year old, additional training is required before a Service Authorization can be issued. This may mean that the authorization start date is different for different children being cared for by the provider.

Before issuing a Service Authorization for a child under 1 year old, the legal nonlicensed provider must take and verify the following training:

· For any children under one year old:

· Training in preventing Sudden Unexpected Infant Death Syndrome (SUIDS)** AND preventing Abusive Head Trauma (AHT)*

OR

· Supervising for Safety Legal Nonlicensed (only available on Develop)

DCYF Provider Support Staff will verify training and update the LNL provider training record in MEC2 with the most recent date training was taken. Training must be within the last two years of the date the Service Authorization is issued.

Training that depends on the provider’s relationship to the children in care

In addition to training requirements based on the age of children in care, legal nonlicensed providers caring for at least one child receiving child care assistance who is not related to them must complete additional training. See “Determining the provider’s relationship” below for the definition of related.

Supervising for Safety

Legal nonlicensed providers must complete Supervising for Safety Legal Nonlicensed (health and safety training) within 90 days of the Service Authorization issue date for an unrelated child. Even when the Service Authorization start date is retroactive to the date of issue, it is the issue date that starts the 90-day period.

The Supervising for Safety Legal Nonlicensed course (8 hours) is offered through Child Care Aware. Providers search for the training using key words “Supervising for Safety Legal Nonlicensed” and register online on Develop. The web-based course is completed through the partner website Eager-to-Learn. This course includes the Sudden Unexpected Infant Death Syndrome (SUIDS) and Abusive Head Trauma (AHT) training requirements.

When DCYF CCAP Provider Support verifies that the training requirement is met, they will enter the date the training was completed in MEC² on the training page in the Health & Safety: field.

Agencies must track the 90-day deadline. The case worker is encouraged to set alerts to assist with tracking. The Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) will support agencies with tracking this deadline and providing outreach to the provider.

Annual Training

Legal nonlicensed providers must complete at least two hours of training in caring for children within 12 months of the Service Authorization start date for an unrelated child.

Any training available on Develop meets this requirement. The training hours count towards the eight hours of training required at registration renewal.

When DCYF CCAP Provider Support verifies that the training requirement is met, they will enter the date the training was completed in MEC² on the training page in the Ongoing Training: field.

Agencies must track the 12-month deadline. The case worker is encouraged to set alerts to assist with tracking. The Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) will support agencies with tracking this deadline and providing outreach to the provider.

What happens if training is not completed timely?

If Supervising for Safety Legal Nonlicensed is not completed within 90 days of issuing a Service Authorization for an unrelated child, care for any unrelated children must end. Agencies must track the end of the 90-day period and end Service Authorizations for unrelated children. Once the course is completed, Service Authorizations can be approved back to the course completion date.

If the two hours of training is not completed within 12 months of issuing a Service Authorization for an unrelated child, care for any unrelated children must end. Agencies must track the end of the 12-month period and end Service Authorizations for unrelated children. Once two hours of training is completed, Service Authorizations can be approved back to the course completion date.

Service Authorizations for related children are not impacted by the annual training requirement or the Supervising for Safety Legal Nonlicensed (health and safety) training requirement.

Training verification

Legal nonlicensed providers must verify all required trainings with DCYF. The DCYF CCAP Provider Support Team will enter training dates on the training page of the provider’s registration information if they are verified.

CCAP agencies must not request or require additional verification of training requirements. If training dates are entered in MEC², CCAP agencies must use those dates to determine if care can be authorized. If there are no training dates entered or the dates do not show care can be authorized, submit an inquiry to the DCYF CCAP Provider Support Team using the CCAP Provider Communications Form on SIR.

If you have any questions about training requirements and verification, submit them on the CCAP Provider Communications Form on SIR.

Determining the provider’s relationship

Related means the provider is the child’s sibling, grandparent, great-grandparent, aunt, or uncle of the child, based on blood relationship, marriage or court decree.

Families report on the child care application or redetermination form if the provider is related or not related. DCYF also asks legal nonlicensed providers during their registration if they are related to all the children that they care for at the time of the registration submission.

Code the “Related to” field on the Child’s Provider window in MEC² as “Yes” if the provider is the child’s sibling, grandparent, great-grandparent, aunt, or uncle, based on blood relationship, marriage or court decree.

How do training completion dates impact Service Authorizations and payments?

Chapter 9.3 (Payments to Providers) provides information about the earliest date payment can be made to providers. For legal nonlicensed providers, payment cannot be made for dates of service before:

· Pediatric first aid and pediatric CPR training is completed for any children

· Preventing Abusive Head Trauma (AHT) training is completed for any children under 5

· Preventing Sudden Unexpected Infant Death Syndrome (SUIDS) AND Preventing Abusive Head Trauma (AHT) is completed for any children under 1.

Example of LNL Service Authorization begin date

· LNL provider started providing care on 1/15

· LNL provider completed Pediatric first aid and pediatric CPR training on 2/1

· LNL provider completed Preventing Abusive Head Trauma (AHT) training on 2/15

The earliest Service Authorization begin date for a 4-year-old child is 2/15, the date the provider completed Preventing Abusive Head Trauma (AHT) training.

The earliest Service Authorization begin date for a 7-year-old child is 2/1, the date the provider completed Pediatric first aid and CPR training.

Authorizing care if a provider’s registration closes and reopens at renewal

At renewal, legal nonlicensed providers must meet additional training requirements to remain registered. See Training requirements for legal nonlicensed providers DHS-6419.

If the provider’s registration closes because training requirements were not met at renewal but later reopens, authorize care back to date all training was completed (not date registration closed).

What group size and age limits are required for care to be authorized?

Legal nonlicensed (LNL) child care providers may care for up to eight children at one time who are:

· age 12 and younger

AND

· ages 13-14 with special needs due to a disability and authorized to receive child care assistance

There are additional limitations on how many children under age 6 a provider can care for.

The limit of eight children includes all children aged 12 and younger present while care is provided to children paid by CCAP. This includes the provider’s own children and children who do not receive child care assistance. Children over age 12 not receiving CCAP do not count towards the limit.

Group sizes

Authorization of care must be within group size and age limits and include all children present while care is provided.

At any one time, a legal nonlicensed provider may care for a maximum of eight children, age 12 and younger and ages 13 or 14 with special needs due to a disability and authorized to receive child care assistance. Of those eight children:

· Up to six children can be age 5 and younger.

· Up to three children can be under age 2, with a maximum of two children who are under 1 year old. No children under age 6 weeks can be cared for in a legal nonlicensed home.

Determining group size and age limits

Prior to authorizing care, the CCAP agency must determine if the legal nonlicensed provider meets group size and age limits during the times care is provided to a family receiving CCAP.

The CCAP agency may use the Child Care Assistance Program Group Size and Age Limits for Legal Nonlicensed (LNL) Child Care Providers (DHS-5192F) (PDF) form or another method to determine if a legal nonlicensed provider meets the group size and age limit requirements.

Documenting the determination in a provider note and family case note is recommended.

Care cannot be authorized if the legal nonlicensed provider does not meet the group size and age limits.

If a legal nonlicensed provider has open Service Authorizations and it is discovered that they are not meeting the group size and age limits at any one time, Service Authorizations must end for all children with a 15-day notice. The CCAP agency should also report this to DCYF CCAP Provider Support Staff using the CCAP Provider Communications Form on SIR. If the provider stops caring for some children and comes into compliance with group size and age limits, Service Authorizations can be approved as of the date the provider complies.

Example of all children within age limits and group size

Provider cares for a total of five children receiving CCAP while three of the provider’s own children are in the home.

The five children receiving CCAP are all from one family. The ages of the children are:

· 6 months

· 20 months

· 3 years

· 4 years

· 7 years

The ages of provider’s own children are:

· 10 months

· 5 years

· 9 years   

· 13 years

Children’s ages	Maximum number of children	Number of children in example provider’s care	Requirement met?
Children older than 6 weeks but less than 1 year old	Up to 2 children can be under age 1 (no children can be under 6 weeks)	2	Yes
Children older than 6 weeks but less than 2 years old	Up to 3 children can be under age 2	3	Yes
Children older than 6 weeks but less than 6 years old	Up to 6 children can be under age 6	6	Yes
Children 6 weeks to 12 years old and 13 or 14 years old with special needs due to a disability and authorized to receive child care assistance	Up to 8 children	8	Yes

Outcome: the provider is always within the age limits and group size while providing care. All Service Authorizations remain open.

Notes: the provider has one child of their own who is 13 who is present while care is being provided. The 13-year-old child does not count towards the eight-child limit; any child over the age of 12 not receiving CCAP does not count towards the limit.

Example of children over age limits

Provider cares for a total of four children receiving CCAP while four of the provider’s own children are in the home.

The four children receiving CCAP are all from one family. The ages of the children are:

· 7 months

· 2 years

· 4 years

· 8 years

The ages of provider’s own children are:

· 9 months

· 9 months

· 5 years

· 7 years

Children’s ages	Maximum number of children	Number of children in example provider’s care	Requirement met?
Children older than 6 weeks but less than 1 year old	Up to 2 children can be under age 1 (no children can be under 6 weeks)	3	No
Children older than 6 weeks but less than 2 years old	Up to 3 children can be under age 2	3	Yes
Children older than 6 weeks but less than 6 years old	Up to 6 children can be under age 6	6	Yes
Children 6 weeks to 12 years old and 13 or 14 years old with special needs due to a disability and authorized to receive child care assistance	Up to 8 children	8	Yes

Outcome: While the provider is within the limit of 8 children under the age of 12, the provider is only able to care for a maximum of two children who are under 1 year old but older than 6 weeks. Care must end and the Service Authorization must close for all children with a 15-day notice.

Notes:

· If the parent found another provider for the 7-month-old and the legal nonlicensed provider was no longer caring for the infant, the legal nonlicensed provider would be in compliance with group size and age limit requirements. Care could be authorized for the other children.

· Once the provider’s own 9-month-old children turn 1 year old, the provider will then be within the allowable group size and age limits. Care could then be authorized with the legal nonlicensed provider for all the parent’s children.

Example of two shifts of care

On Monday – Friday, the provider cares for five children from one family receiving CCAP.

On Saturday and Sunday, the provider cares for two other children from another family receiving CCAP.

The provider has three of their children present in the home while providing care to both families.

Monday - Friday

On Monday – Friday, the ages of the five children receiving CCAP are:

· 2 years

· 3 years

· 6 years

· 8 years

· 13 years (with special needs authorized to receive CCAP)

The ages of provider’s own children are:

· 6 months

· 19 months

· 4 years

Children’s ages	Maximum number of children	Number of children in example provider’s care	Requirement met?
Children older than 6 weeks but less than 1 year old	Up to 2 children can be under age 1 (no children can be under 6 weeks)	1	Yes
Children older than 6 weeks but less than 2 years old	Up to 3 children can be under age 2	2	Yes
Children older than 6 weeks but less than 6 years old	Up to 6 children can be under age 6	5	Yes
Children 6 weeks to 12 years old and 13 or 14 years old with special needs due to a disability and authorized to receive child care assistance	Up to 8 children	8	Yes

Outcome: The provider is within the age limits and group size while providing care Monday - Friday. All Service Authorizations remain open.

Saturday - Sunday

On Saturday - Sunday, the ages of the two children receiving CCAP are:

· 17 months

· 5 years

The ages of provider’s own children are:

· 6 months

· 19 months

· 4 years

Children’s ages	Maximum number of children	Number of children in example provider’s care	Requirement met?
Children older than 6 weeks but less than 1 year old	Up to 2 children can be under age 1 (no children can be under 6 weeks)	1	Yes
Children older than 6 weeks but less than 2 years old	Up to 3 children can be under age 2	3	Yes
Children older than 6 weeks but less than 6 years old	Up to 6 children can be under age 6	5	Yes
Children 6 weeks to 12 years old and 13 or 14 years old with special needs due to a disability and authorized to receive child care assistance	Up to 8 children	5	Yes

Outcome: The provider is within the age limits and group size while providing care Saturday - Sunday. All Service Authorizations remain open.

Legal authority

Minnesota Statutes 142E.16
Minnesota Rules 3400.0020, subp. 38b
Minnesota Rules 3400.0110, subp. 9
Minnesota Rules 3400.0120, subps. 6 -7