Purpose

This bill updates Minnesota’s child care assistance rules to change how absences are handled and paid. It sets a limit on how many full-day absences a child can have per year for reimbursement, defines what counts as an absent day, and adds rules for exceptions, holidays, and special circumstances. It also clarifies when providers can bill and how families are notified about absences.

Key Provisions and How They Work

• Absent days limit
  • Reimbursed absent days are capped at 25 full-day absences per child per calendar year, excluding holidays.
  • There is a separate limit of 10 consecutive full-day absent days.
  • An “absent day” is a day the child is scheduled to be in care but is absent for the entire day.
  • For days when a child is present part of the day and absent part of the day, only the absent portion counts toward the 25-day limit (but the partial day is still reimbursed).
• Written absence policy and charging
  • Providers must have a written policy for absences and must charge all families in care for similar absences to qualify for reimbursement.
• Medical condition exceptions
  • If a child has a documented medical condition that causes more frequent absences, the 25-day limit and 10-consecutive-day limit may be exceeded.
  • Absences due to a medical condition of a parent or sibling living in the same home do not count against the absent days limit.
  • Documentation must be on specified forms; health professionals can verify illnesses (public health nurse or school nurse, instead of a medical practitioner).
  • If a child is sent home early for medical reasons, the illness can be verified by the provider’s director or lead teacher.
• Additional conditions for exceeding limits
  • If at least one parent is under 21 and lacks a high school diploma or equivalent, and is enrolled in a program that supports schooling, parenting, and employment (and county-approved), the family may exceed the absent days limit upon program request.
  • If a child attends only part of an authorized day, payments to the provider must cover the full amount of care authorized for that day.
• Extraordinary events
  • A licensed provider can apply for an absent days limit exemption when an extraordinary event (like a natural disaster or other major disruption) makes attendance substantially lower. The commissioner must create an application process and determine an end date for the exemption.
• Holidays
  • Providers can be reimbursed for up to ten federal or state holidays per year if they charge all families for these days and the holiday occurs on a day the child is authorized to attend.
  • Families may substitute other cultural or religious holidays for the standard holidays.
  • Holidays do not count toward the absent days limit.
• Overpayments and billing
  • Families will not be charged an overpayment for an absent day unless there was an error in the care amount or all permissible absent days for the child have already been used.
  • Providers and families will receive notifications showing the number of absent days used at initial authorization and ongoing updates.
  • If a day meets the criteria of an absent day or a holiday, the day must be billed accordingly; failing to do so can result in an overpayment.
• Definitions and terminology
  • The bill defines “absent days,” “absent days limit,” “extraordinary event,” and “holidays limit” to guide how days are counted and billed.

Significant Changes to Existing Law

• Replaces or updates the existing absent days framework by introducing a firm 25 full-day absent days per child per year limit and a 10 consecutive day limit, with specific exceptions for medical conditions and certain family circumstances.
• Adds explicit verification processes (including nurse verification) and documentation requirements for medical-related absences.
• Creates an allowance for extraordinary events to temporarily exempt providers from the absent days limit.
• Establishes holidays rules that protect billing for holidays and allow substitutions for cultural or religious holidays, with holidays excluded from the absent days count.
• Adds stricter billing and notification requirements to prevent improper reimbursements.

Implementation and Effects

• Targeted groups: licensed child care providers, license-exempt centers, and families receiving child care assistance.
• Administrative role: the commissioner administers exemptions for extraordinary events and oversees documentation and verification processes.
• Potential impacts: providers may need to adjust absence policies and billing practices; families may have to track absences more closely; flexibility is preserved for medical and certain family circumstances.

Relevant terms - Absent day - Absent days - Absent days limit - Full-day absent day - Ten consecutive full-day absent days - Licensed child care provider - License-exempt center - License-exempt family child care provider - Written policy for absences - Medical condition - Documentation - Public health nurse - School nurse - Medical practitioner - Extraordinary event - Holidays - Holidays limit - Cultural or religious holidays - Federal or state holidays - Reimbursement - Overpayment - Notification of absent days - Authorized day - Partial-day attendance - Under-21 parent - High school diploma - High school equivalency certification - County approval - Care authorization - Section 142E.17 Subd. 10 (statutory reference)