Minnesota

Staff-child ratios (centers)

Requirements

Annual training

Directors and staff working more than 20 hours/week: 24 hours of in-service training per calendar year; staff working 20 hours/week or less: 12 hours (Minn. Stat. 142B.65). Pediatric first aid and pediatric CPR must be repeated at least every other calendar year.

Lead teacher

Teachers must be at least 18 and qualify via combinations under Minn. R. 9503.0032, e.g., a bachelor's degree plus 1,040 hours of assistant-teacher experience and coursework, a CDA plus 1,560 hours of experience, a qualifying Minnesota teaching license, or a high school diploma plus 4,160 hours of experience and 24 quarter credits.

Director

Directors must be at least 18, hold a high school diploma or equivalent, have at least 1,040 hours of staff-supervision experience, and have 9 quarter credits or 90 hours of coursework in staff supervision, human relations, and child development (Minn. R. 9503.0031); directors who also teach must meet teacher qualifications.

Worth knowing

Age categories can be extended by written agreement (infant up to 18 months; toddler up to 35 months). Child care licensing moved from DHS to the new Department of Children, Youth, and Families; Minn. Stat. 245A.40 was renumbered 142B.65 (2025).

Compliance

Background checks

Child care center staff and others with regular presence must pass a background study under Minn. Stat. ch. 245C processed through NETStudy 2.0, which since NETStudy 2.0 implementation requires classifiable fingerprints and a photograph from every study subject for national (FBI) criminal history checks (245C.05, subd. 5), with studies renewed every five years per DCYF/DHS guidance.

Mandated reporting

Yes — professionals and their delegates engaged in child care are mandatory reporters under Minn. Stat. 260E.06 and must immediately report suspected maltreatment; center orientation and annual in-service training must cover these reporting responsibilities (142B.65).

First aid & CPR

Directors, staff, substitutes, and unsupervised volunteers must complete pediatric first aid and pediatric CPR before unsupervised direct contact with a child and no later than 90 days after starting, renewing at least every second calendar year; CPR training must include hands-on practice and an in-person observed skills assessment (142B.65, subds. 4-5).

Health & safety training

Minn. Stat. 142B.65 requires orientation before assigned duties covering health/safety procedures, emergencies, behavior guidance, abuse reporting, and at least 30 minutes each on sudden unexpected infant death (SUID) and abusive head trauma; in-service training is 24 hours/year for directors and staff working 20+ hours a week (12 hours for part-time staff, 2 for substitutes/volunteers), with SUID/AHT refreshers annually and child development every two years.

Operations

Supervision rule

For centers, supervision means a staff person is accountable for the child, can intervene to protect the child's health and safety, and is within sight and hearing of the child at all times, with narrow statutory exceptions for infant sleep rooms, school-age restroom use, and brief preschooler bathroom breaks (Minn. Stat. 142B.01, subd. 27).

Record-keeping

Rule 3 requires center administrative records, personnel records, and children's records (Minn. R. 9503.0115-.0125) plus emergency/accident policies and records (9503.0110); each child's record includes identifying and emergency information, authorized pickup persons, health form and immunization records per 9503.0140, dietary/medical needs, and parent-conference documentation, held confidentially.

Inspections

The commissioner or county must inspect every licensed child care provider at least once each calendar year, offer an exit interview before issuing correction orders, and post inspection results publicly on the department website; maltreatment and violation investigations may be conducted without prior notice as often as necessary (Minn. Stat. 142B.10, subds. 11-12).

Worth knowing: dcyf.mn.gov pages sit behind a bot-check and could not be fetched; statutes and rules were verified on revisor.mn.gov and background-study practice on the mn.gov/DHS provider page. DCYF states annual center inspections are unannounced, but that wording was only seen in search summaries, not a fetched page, so it is omitted above.

Family & home child care

Minnesota Rules, chapter 9502 (Licensing of Day Care Facilities) and Minnesota Statutes, chapter 142B

Family day care (Class A license)

Up to 10 children with one adult caregiver, of whom no more than 6 may be under school age (Minn. R. 9502.0367). Licensed capacity includes all children age 10 or younger of any caregiver when present in the residence (Minn. R. 9502.0365).Class A: no more than 3 infants and toddlers combined, of whom no more than 2 may be infants. Specialized infant/toddler family classes: B1 (capacity 5, up to 3 infants) and B2 (capacity 6, up to 2 infants).

Group family day care (Class C license)

C1: 10 children with 1 adult (max 8 under school age); C2: 12 children with 1 adult (max 10 under school age); C3: 14 children with 2 adult caregivers (max 10 under school age). A helper may substitute for the second adult when no more than 1 infant or toddler is present (Minn. R. 9502.0367).C1: max 3 infants/toddlers combined (max 2 infants); C2: max 2 infants/toddlers (max 1 infant); C3: max 4 infants/toddlers (max 3 infants). Specialized infant/toddler group class D: capacity 9 with 2 adults, up to 4 infants (Minn. R. 9502.0367).

Provider training

The license holder and each second adult caregiver must complete 16 hours of ongoing training each year (Minn. Stat. 142B.70, subd. 8, formerly 245A.50).

Worth knowing

Child care licensing moved from the Department of Human Services to the new Department of Children, Youth, and Families; licensing statutes were renumbered from chapter 245A to 142B. Counties issue and monitor family child care licenses.