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.
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.
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)
