What's new/legislative changes

Child foster care 

Beginning June 18, all newly initiated background studies for minors (17 years of age and younger) affiliated with family child foster care programs will have a name and date of birth state study instead of one that uses fingerprints. (Minnesota Laws 2018, Chapter 166)

Adult foster care 

Beginning June 18, all newly initiated background studies for minors (17 years of age and younger) affiliated with family adult foster care programs will have a name and date of birth state study instead of one that uses fingerprints. (Minnesota Laws 2018, Chapter 166)

Family child care 

Historically, children (ages 13 – 17) living in the household with a family child care program were required to have a state background study based on their name and date of birth. In 2017, a law change would have required these children to have a state background study based upon their fingerprints. The 2017 law never went into effect because DHS had not finished updating its computer system and did not require providers to meet the enhanced requirements. 

After much conversation among providers, legislators, and DHS staff, the 2017 law was changed in 2018. Under the new law, most children (ages of 13 to 17) living in the household with a family child care program will continue to be required to have a state background study based on their name and date of birth. There are a number of circumstances in which a child living in the household would be required to have a fingerprint-based FBI background study.

A fingerprint-based FBI check will be required for children living in the household if they meet any of these requirements: 

• They supervise children, or 
• They are employed by the child care provider, or
• They live outside of Minnesota, or
• They  have lived outside of Minnesota at any time in the last five years, or
• They have a Minnesota criminal record, or
• There is reasonable cause to believe that they may have a criminal record in another state. 

The new law also capped the cost of background studies for children at $20, unless a fingerprint-based FBI background study is required (in which case an additional fingerprinting fee is also required).  

The background studies conducted by DHS are not available right now while DHS finishes updating its computer system.  Providers will be given more information before they need to take any action and will continue to complete county studies until they receive further notice from DHS.  (Minnesota Laws 2018, Chapter 166)

General changes for background studies 

The 2018 law requires individuals affiliated with a DHS-licensed program to have a fingerprint-based FBI check if the individual:

• Currently lives outside of Minnesota or 
• Has lived outside of Minnesota in the last five years.  

This change is effective starting in August 2018.  More information will be posted on the DHS website and in NETStudy 2.0.

Laws of Minnesota 2017, Chapter 90
Effective the day following final enactment 

Child foster care background study streamlining (Sections 2-9)
This amends state law to differentiate between the background study processes for family foster care and corporate foster care. The change specifies that county and private agencies must submit the background study request to DHS only when the child foster care applicant or license holder resides in the home where foster care services are provided. The applicant or license holder is responsible for submitting background study requests to DHS in settings where the license holder does not reside in the home where services are provided.  

Laws of Minnesota 2017, 1st Special Session, Chapter 6
Various effective dates

Child Care and Development Block Grant Conformity (Article 16, Sections 3, 5, 18-42)
These changes require a new fingerprint-based background study for all child care providers. The new background study, which will be valid for five years, will include a review of Minnesota criminal records, checks against Minnesota’s predatory offender registry and child abuse and neglect registry. It will also include a review of FBI criminal records, the National Sex Offender public website, and child abuse and neglect registries in any state where the subject has resided in the previous five years. All individuals whose activities involve the care or supervision of a child or include unsupervised access to children will be required to undergo the new enhanced background study. The department will be working with county social service agencies and providers to review the amendments to the law, develop more detailed materials and meet with affected parties to review these changes.

The department will contact providers and counties with more details about when the new enhanced background studies will be required.

Affected providers

The new study requirements apply to licensed family child care, licensed child care centers, legal nonlicensed child care, and license-exempt centers that receive Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) payments. The new law requires all “child care staff” and controlling individuals to have a compliant study. “Child care staff” is defined as anyone who meets at least one of these definitions: 

• Anyone employed by a child care provider
• Anyone whose activities involve the care or supervision of a child for a child care provider
• Anyone who has unsupervised access to a child who is cared for or supervised by a child care provider
• An individual at least 13 years or older who resides in a licensed family child care home or a legal nonlicensed child care program. Individuals under the age of 18 will not have the FBI portion of the study, but they must have a fingerprint-based background study that complies with all other elements of the CCDBG study. 

Content of new studies

All studies will be conducted using the study subject’s fingerprints. The state does not retain fingerprints, but the FBI may keep them. All new studies will require the department to review the following databases: 

• A fingerprint search of FBI criminal records (for individuals 18 years of age and older)
• A search of the National Sex Offender public website
• A fingerprint search of records held by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA)
• A search of Minnesota's predatory offender registry
• A search of Minnesota's child abuse and neglect registry
• An out-of-state search of the child abuse and neglect registry for every state where that the individual resided during the past 5 years.

Changes in disqualifications

The law adds new permanent disqualifications that prohibit licensure, certification, CCAP registration, residing in the licensed or registered household of a child care provider, or working for a child care provider. This list only includes the new changes to disqualifications in state law – all others are listed in Chapter 245C:

• Refusing to consent to the background study
• Knowingly making a materially false statement in connection with the background study
• Being registered, or being required to be registered, on a state sex offender registry or repository or the National Sex Offender Registry
• Having been convicted of a felony consisting of one of the following: murder; child abuse or neglect; a crime against children, including child pornography; spousal abuse; a crime involving rape or sexual assault; kidnapping; arson; physical assault or battery; or a drug-related offense committed during the preceding 5 years
• Having been convicted of a violent misdemeanor committed as an adult against a child, including the following crimes: child abuse, child endangerment, sexual assault, or of a misdemeanor involving child pornography.

Process changes

• The law requires DHS to conduct the background studies for all child care provider types. 
• All studies will require study subjects to be fingerprinted and photographed. A new study will cost $40, and will need to be repeated at least once every 5 years. There is a separate fingerprinting fee paid to the fingerprinting vendor.  

Questions?

If you have questions about any of these changes, please see our frequently asked questions about child care background studies.

Laws of Minnesota 2015, Chapter 71

Background Study Enhancements effective July 1, 2015:
Several significant provisions were enacted that will improve the accuracy of DHS background studies and increase protections for vulnerable adults and children who receive services from those who have a background study. The changes include:

• Counties will be required to conduct background studies on new county employees who have child protection duties, and on current county employees who are assigned new child protection duties. The counties are allowed, but are not required, to conduct these background studies through the DHS NETStudy system. (Article 1, sections 4, 5, and 7 )
• DHS will conduct both maltreatment and FBI checks on non-Minnesota residents who provide direct care services in nursing homes, home care facilities, or boarding care homes. (Article 7, section 1 )
• Tribal organizations will be allowed to contract with DHS to do FBI checks on individuals affiliated with tribally licensed nursing facilities. (Article 7, section 9)

Group Residential Housing Providers (Article 1, sections 3, 6, and 28)

• Effective July 1, 2016, DHS is required to conduct background studies on providers of group residential housing or supplementary services. Background studies are required for controlling individuals, managerial officials, employees and volunteers who have direct contact or unsupervised access to recipients, or their person property or private data.
• The provision also requires group residential housing providers to pay a fee of $20 to DHS for each background study conducted.
• By July 1, 2017, providers of group residential housing or supplementary services must be able to demonstrate that all required individuals have undergone a background study and are either not disqualified or if disqualified, the disqualification has been set aside for their program.

Non-emergency Medical Transportation (NEMT) Providers (Article 11, sections 7, 8 and 9)

• Effective Jan. 1, 2016, DHS is required to conduct background studies for providers of NEMT, which includes any persons with a direct or indirect ownership interest of 5 percent or higher in the transportation service provider; each controlling individual; managerial officials; each driver employed by the transportation service provider to assist a passenger during transport; and all employees of the transportation service agency who provide administrative support.
• Individuals are not permitted to provide services until the background study has been completed and the provider receives a notice that the individual is not disqualified or, if disqualified, the disqualification has been set aside.
• The provision also requires special transportation providers to pay a fee of $20 to DHS for each background study conducted.

Laws of Minnesota 2015, Chapter 78

Several significant provisions were enacted that will help clarify and streamline background studies conducted by DHS. The changes include:

• Clarifying the definition of "access to persons served by a program" in the background study law to include access to the personal, financial or health information of individuals receiving services by the program. In other words, when a person is disqualified from "direct contact with, or access to" children and vulnerable adults receiving services from a program, they are also disqualified from having access to any personal, financial or health information about the individuals receiving services . (Article 4, section 33. Effective Aug. 1, 2015);
• People working through supplemental nursing service agencies, personnel agencies, educational programs and unlicensed home and community-based waiver providers are no longer required to undergo annual background studies once they are using the new NETStudy 2.0 system to initiate background studies. (Article 4, sections 34, 35 and 36. Effective immediately);
• NETStudy 2.0 accepts a background study's driver's license from any state for identification purposes, where it only used to accept a Minnesota driver's license. (Article 4, section 37. Effective immediately);
• Clarifies requirements related to transferability of background studies across entities that are owned and controlled by the same entity. The sensitive information person must be employed by the agency. (Article 4, section 38. Effective immediately);
• Clarifies record keeping requirements for license holders who rely on background studies initiated by others to include those initiated by supplemental nursing services agencies and to exclude those initiated by educational programs. ( Article 4, section 40. Effective Aug. 1, 2015);
• Specifies conditions under which license holders using NETStudy 2.0 can satisfy the documentation requirements for ensuring required background studies have been completed through a written agreement with the educational program. (Article 4, section 41. Effective Aug. 1, 2015)