Crisis nurseries governing licenses and license exemptions requirements modification

A bill for an act

relating to children, youth, and families licensing; amending certain requirements

governing licenses and license exemptions for crisis nurseries; requiring a report;

amending Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 142B.05, subdivision 2.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2024, section 142B.05, subdivision 2, is amended to read:

Subd. 2.

Exclusion from licensure.

(a) This chapter does not apply to:

(1) residential or nonresidential programs that are provided to a person by an individual

who is related unless the residential program is a child foster care placement made by a

local social services agency or a licensed child-placing agency, except as provided in

subdivision 3;

(2) nonresidential programs that are provided by an unrelated individual to persons from

a single related family;

(3) programs operated by a public school for children 33 months or older;

(4) nonresidential programs primarily for children that provide care or supervision for

periods of less than three hours a day while the child's parent or legal guardian is in the

same building as the nonresidential program or present within another building that is

directly contiguous to the building in which the nonresidential program is located;

(5) homes providing programs for persons placed by a county or a licensed agency for

legal adoption, unless the adoption is not completed within two years;

(6) programs licensed or certified by the commissioner of corrections;

(7) recreation programs for children or adults that are operated or approved by a park

and recreation board whose primary purpose is to provide social and recreational activities;

(8) programs operated by a school as defined in section
120A.22, subdivision 4
; YMCA

as defined in section
315.44
; YWCA as defined in section
315.44
; or JCC as defined in

section
315.51
, whose primary purpose is to provide child care or services to school-age

children;

(9) Head Start nonresidential programs that operate for less than 45 days in each calendar

year;

(10) programs for children such as scouting, boys clubs, girls clubs, and sports and art

programs, and nonresidential programs for children provided for a cumulative total of less

than 30 days in any 12-month period;

(11) the religious instruction of school-age children; Sabbath or Sunday schools; or the

congregate care of children by a church, congregation, or religious society during the period

used by the church, congregation, or religious society for its regular worship;

(12) camps licensed by the commissioner of health under Minnesota Rules, chapter

4630;

(13) residential programs serving school-age children whose sole purpose is cultural or

educational exchange, until the commissioner adopts appropriate rules;

(14) community support services programs as defined in section
245.462, subdivision

6, and family community support services as defined in section
245.4871, subdivision 17
;

(15) the placement of a child by a birth parent or legal guardian in a preadoptive home

for purposes of adoption as authorized by section
259.47
;

(16) a program serving only children who are age 33 months or older, that is operated

by a nonpublic school, for no more than four hours per day per child, with no more than 20

children at any one time, and that is accredited by:

(i) an accrediting agency that is formally recognized by the commissioner of education

as a nonpublic school accrediting organization; or

(ii) an accrediting agency that requires background studies and that receives and

investigates complaints about the services provided.

A program that asserts its exemption from licensure under item (ii) shall, upon request from

the commissioner, provide the commissioner with documentation from the accrediting

agency that verifies that the accreditation is current, that the accrediting agency investigates

complaints about services, and that the accrediting agency's standards require background

studies on all people providing direct contact services;

(17) a program operated by a nonprofit organization incorporated in Minnesota or another

state that serves youth in kindergarten through grade 12; provides structured, supervised

youth development activities; and has learning opportunities take place before or after

school, on weekends, or during the summer or other seasonal breaks in the school calendar.

A program exempt under this clause is not eligible for child care assistance under chapter

142E. A program exempt under this clause must:

(i) have a director or supervisor on site who is responsible for overseeing written policies

relating to the management and control of the daily activities of the program, ensuring the

health and safety of program participants, and supervising staff and volunteers;

(ii) have obtained written consent from a parent or legal guardian for each youth

participating in activities at the site; and

(iii) have provided written notice to a parent or legal guardian for each youth at the site

that the program is not licensed or supervised by the state of Minnesota and is not eligible

to receive child care assistance payments;

(18) Head Start programs that serve only children who are at least three years old but

not yet six years old;
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or
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(19) programs licensed by the commissioner of human services under chapter 245A
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; or
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(20) crisis nurseries currently in operation that are licensed under chapter 245A as a

children's residential facility and that provide safe, short-term care for children whose

caregivers face a crisis. Crisis nurseries licensed under chapter 245A as a children's residential

facility and under chapter 142B as a special family child care home must be allowed to

continue current operations even when exempted from chapter 142B licensure under this

clause. This clause expires July 1, 2027
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.

(b) For purposes of paragraph (a), clause (4), a building is directly contiguous to a

building in which a nonresidential program is located if it shares a common wall with the

building in which the nonresidential program is located or is attached to that building by

skyway, tunnel, atrium, or common roof.

(c) Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to require licensure for any services

provided and funded according to an approved federal waiver plan where licensure is

specifically identified as not being a condition for the services and funding.

Sec. 2.
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DIRECTION TO COMMISSIONER OF CHILDREN, YOUTH, AND

FAMILIES; CRISIS NURSERY LICENSING.
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The commissioner of children, youth, and families must develop a licensing framework

for crisis nurseries that provide safe, short-term care for children whose caregivers face a

crisis. The framework must include pathways for organizations to become licensed crisis

nurseries, background study and training requirements, and ways to reduce redundancy and

resolve current conflicting requirements. In developing the framework, the commissioner

must work with stakeholders and current crisis nursery organizations. By January 15, 2027,

the commissioner must submit a report to the chairs and ranking minority members of the

legislative committees with jurisdiction over children, youth, and families licensing. The

report must contain an overview of the licensing framework, a detailed explanation of the

framework, and proposed legislation to make any statutory changes that are needed to

implement the new license for crisis nurseries.

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