Feds uncover problems among MN child care providers

Federal inspectors visited three child care centers and 20 home care providers in Minnesota and found violations of state health, licensing and safety requirements at most locations.

Inspectors found 23 violations of state safety requirements at the three unnamed child care centers. The violations included sharp objects in reach of children, electrical outlets that aren't properly shielded and furniture with sharp or broken edges. At least six employees at the three centers also lacked background checks, according to the audits conducted in 2014 and released Monday.

The inspections of home child care providers found cluttered stairways, kitchen sinks overflowing with dirty dishes and knives within reach of children, among other issues. The violations were found at 19 of 20 homes that were inspected.

The federal Department of Health and Human Services called on the state to reduce inspector workloads to better ensure child safety.

The state employs 12 inspectors who license 1,635 child care centers and 167 adult day centers, according to a letter responding to audit from Minnesota Department of Human Services Commissioner Lucinda Jesson. The 10 employees responsible for inspecting most centers have a caseload of one inspector for each 170 facilities.

Counties are also responsible for on-site inspections of home child care providers. The average ratio of inspectors at the facilities examined was one inspector for every 144 home child care providers.

Jesson said in the letter that the caseloads could be reduced to a level required by the federal Child Care and Development Block Grant Act of 2014, although the 1-to-50 caseload recommended by Child Care Aware of America "would require significant additional resources and funding that could significantly increase licensing fees."

State officials agreed with other federal recommendations that would increase oversight, mandate more training and ensure that employees interacting with children complete background checks.

Minnesota has already increased child care provider training as well as the number of inspectors responsible for child care centers, Jerry Kerber, inspector general for the state human services agency, said in a statement.

"DHS will be developing proposals for the 2016 Legislature to reduce licensing inspector caseloads and step up monitoring at the county and state level," Kerber said. "We do not intend to simply double staff, but we need to look for other efficiencies we can implement in this major overhaul of the oversight system that's coming our way from the new federal requirements."

The federal inspections at centers were conducted in Minneapolis, Wyoming and Mounds View in January and February of 2014. The home child care providers were visited in Anoka, Blue Earth, Dakota, Hennepin, Olmsted, Ramsey, Scott, Sherburne, Stearns, and Washington Counties in February and March of last year.