Commissioner's View: Safeguards in place: Minnesota's babies, children come first

That's why Minnesota's safeguards for licensing and inspecting child care programs are so crucial. The requirements and oversight are there to protect the health and safety of children, so they can thrive and their parents can have peace of mind while they work or go to school.

The Jan. 13 News Tribune article, "Child care collapse: 'Punitive' regulatory environment pushing providers out of business," shed needed light on child care availability in Minnesota.

However, it also downplayed the importance of keeping babies and children safe in both in-home and center-based early-learning environments.

Families, child care providers, and state and county staff each play important roles in making sure child care settings are well cared for.

And we at the Minnesota Department of Human Services aren't opposed to ideas to make regulations better. This year, the new "Fix-It Ticket" system offers a new opportunity to collaborate on safety issues in child care programs.

Starting this month, child care providers and county inspectors can work together to address minor issues identified during an inspection, such as replacing dead batteries in a flashlight or moving portable items left on stairs. By fixing these easily correctable problems within 48 hours, providers can avoid more serious correction orders and ensure their child care programs are meeting safety requirements.

Our work also includes efforts to improve the quality, affordability, and accessibility of child care statewide. Minnesota faces a serious shortage of quality licensed child care providers, and the number of providers has been declining in recent years. This is driven by many issues, including low pay, long hours, and the difficulty of this truly vital work.

Unfortunately, last year the Legislature didn't fund our proposal to increase rates to child care providers, which would have helped stabilize these services for Minnesota families.

In response to providers' requests for more direct communication with the Department of Human Services, we have been meeting with family child care providers and county licensing staff around the state to listen to and to learn from each other. Last year, we held more than a dozen meetings across Minnesota. Just recently, Human Services representatives met with providers in Duluth, Grand Rapids, and Bemidji.

Although we did not get full funding, with partial funding we received last year, we are now hiring staff to work with counties and providers to increase county oversight, provide additional training to licensing staff, and collaborate with county inspectors and providers to clarify the most challenging rules and standards.

Sometimes we are criticized for being too heavy-handed. That happened five years ago when we implemented new standards and training requirements for safe infant sleep practices. However, the number of infant deaths in licensed child care dropped by more than 60 percent. Minnesotans tackled this issue together and saved babies' lives. Many of those critics are now champions on safe-sleep practices.

We know from past experience that by working together, we can make sure that safe, quality child care is there for families so children can grow and parents can pursue an education and find and keep jobs.

Babies and children always need to come first.

Emily Piper is commissioner of the Minnesota Department of Human Services. She wrote this exclusively for the News Tribune.