Subd. 1. Authorization.

Except as provided in subdivision 5, a county must authorize the provider chosen by an applicant or a participant before the county can authorize payment for care provided by that provider. The commissioner must establish the requirements necessary for authorization of providers. A provider must be reauthorized every two years. A legal, nonlicensed family child care provider also must be reauthorized when another person over the age of 13 joins the household, a current household member turns 13, or there is reason to believe that a household member has a factor that prevents authorization. The provider is required to report all family changes that would require reauthorization. When a provider has been authorized for payment for providing care for families in more than one county, the county responsible for reauthorization of that provider is the county of the family with a current authorization for that provider and who has used the provider for the longest length of time.

Subd. 2. Persons who cannot be authorized.

1. (a) A person who meets any of the conditions under paragraphs (b) to (n) must not be authorized as a legal nonlicensed family child care provider. To determine whether any of the listed conditions exist, the county must request information about the provider from the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, the juvenile courts, and social service agencies. When one of the listed entities does not maintain information on a statewide basis, the county must contact the entity in the county where the provider resides and any other county in which the provider previously resided in the past year. For purposes of this subdivision, a finding that a delinquency petition is proven in juvenile court must be considered a conviction in state district court. If a county has determined that a provider is able to be authorized in that county, and a family in another county later selects that provider, the provider is able to be authorized in the second county without undergoing a new background investigation unless one of the following conditions exists:

   1. (1) two years have passed since the first authorization;
   2. (2) another person age 13 or older has joined the provider's household since the last authorization;
   3. (3) a current household member has turned 13 since the last authorization; or
   4. (4) there is reason to believe that a household member has a factor that prevents authorization.
2. (b) The person has been convicted of one of the following offenses or has admitted to committing or a preponderance of the evidence indicates that the person has committed an act that meets the definition of one of the following offenses: sections 609.185 to 609.195, murder in the first, second, or third degree; 609.2661 to 609.2663, murder of an unborn child in the first, second, or third degree; 609.322, solicitation, inducement, promotion of prostitution, or receiving profit from prostitution; 609.342 to 609.345, criminal sexual conduct in the first, second, third, or fourth degree; 609.352, solicitation of children to engage in sexual conduct; 609.365, incest; 609.377, felony malicious punishment of a child; 617.246, use of minors in sexual performance; 617.247, possession of pictorial representation of a minor; 609.2242 to 609.2243, felony domestic assault; a felony offense of spousal abuse; a felony offense of child abuse or neglect; a felony offense of a crime against children; or an attempt or conspiracy to commit any of these offenses as defined in Minnesota Statutes; or an offense in any other state or country where the elements are substantially similar to any of the offenses listed in this paragraph.

3. (c) Less than 15 years have passed since the discharge of the sentence imposed for the offense and the person has received a felony conviction for one of the following offenses, or the person has admitted to committing or a preponderance of the evidence indicates that the person has committed an act that meets the definition of a felony conviction for one of the following offenses: sections 609.20 to 609.205, manslaughter in the first or second degree; 609.21, criminal vehicular homicide; 609.215, aiding suicide or aiding attempted suicide; 609.221 to 609.2231, assault in the first, second, third, or fourth degree; 609.224, repeat offenses of fifth degree assault; 609.228, great bodily harm caused by distribution of drugs; 609.2325, criminal abuse of a vulnerable adult; 609.2335, financial exploitation of a vulnerable adult; 609.235, use of drugs to injure or facilitate a crime; 609.24, simple robbery; 617.241, repeat offenses of obscene materials and performances; 609.245, aggravated robbery; 609.25, kidnapping; 609.255, false imprisonment;

   609.2664 to 609.2665, manslaughter of an unborn child in the first or second degree; 609.267 to 609.2672, assault of an unborn child in the first, second, or third degree; 609.268, injury or death of an unborn child in the commission of a crime; 609.27, coercion; 609.275, attempt to coerce; 609.324, subdivision 1, other prohibited acts, minor engaged in prostitution; 609.3451, repeat offenses of criminal sexual conduct in the fifth degree; 609.378, neglect or endangerment of a child; 609.52, theft; 609.521, possession of shoplifting gear; 609.561 to 609.563, arson in the first, second, or third degree; 609.582, burglary in the first, second, third, or fourth degree; 609.625, aggravated forgery; 609.63, forgery; 609.631, check forgery, offering a forged check; 609.635, obtaining signature by false pretenses; 609.66, dangerous weapon; 609.665, setting a spring gun; 609.67, unlawfully owning, possessing, or operating a machine gun; 609.687, adulteration; 609.71, riot; 609.713, terrorist threats; 609.749, harassment, stalking; 260C.301, termination of parental rights; 152.021 to 152.022 and 152.0262, controlled substance crime in the first or second degree; 152.023, subdivision 1, clause (3) or (4), or 152.023, subdivision 2, clause (4), controlled substance crime in third degree; 152.024, subdivision 1, clause (2), (3), or (4), controlled substance crime in fourth degree; 617.23, repeat offenses of indecent exposure; an attempt or conspiracy to commit any of these offenses as defined in Minnesota Statutes; or an offense in any other state or country where the elements are substantially similar to any of the offenses listed in this paragraph.

4. (d) Less than ten years have passed since the discharge of the sentence imposed for the offense and the person has received a gross misdemeanor conviction for one of the following offenses or the person has admitted to committing or a preponderance of the evidence indicates that the person has committed an act that meets the definition of a gross misdemeanor conviction for one of the following offenses: sections 609.224, fifth degree assault; 609.2242 to 609.2243, domestic assault; 518B.01, subdivision 14, violation of an order for protection; 609.3451, fifth degree criminal sexual conduct; 609.746, repeat offenses of interference with privacy; 617.23, repeat offenses of indecent exposure; 617.241, obscene materials and performances; 617.243, indecent literature, distribution; 617.293, disseminating or displaying harmful material to minors; 609.71, riot; 609.66, dangerous weapons; 609.749, harassment, stalking; 609.224, subdivision 2, paragraph (c), fifth degree assault against a vulnerable adult by a caregiver; 609.23, mistreatment of persons confined; 609.231, mistreatment of residents or patients; 609.2325, criminal abuse of a vulnerable adult; 609.2335, financial exploitation of a vulnerable adult; 609.233, criminal neglect of a vulnerable adult; 609.234, failure to report maltreatment of a vulnerable adult; 609.72, subdivision 3 , disorderly conduct against a vulnerable adult; 609.265, abduction; 609.378, neglect or endangerment of a child; 609.377, malicious punishment of a child; 609.324, subdivision 1a, other prohibited acts, minor engaged in prostitution; 609.33, disorderly house; 609.52, theft; 609.582, burglary in the first, second, third, or fourth degree; 609.631, check forgery, offering a forged check; 609.275, attempt to coerce; an attempt or conspiracy to commit any of these offenses as defined in Minnesota Statutes; or an offense in any other state or country where the elements are substantially similar to any of the offenses listed in this paragraph.
5. (e) Less than seven years have passed since the discharge of the sentence imposed for the offense and the person has received a misdemeanor conviction for one of the following offenses or the person has admitted to committing or a preponderance of the evidence indicates that the person has committed an act that meets the definition of a misdemeanor conviction for one of the following offenses: sections 609.224, fifth degree assault; 609.2242, domestic assault; 518B.01, violation of an order for protection; 609.3232, violation of an order for protection; 609.746, interference with privacy; 609.79, obscene or harassing telephone calls; 609.795, letter, telegram, or package opening, harassment; 617.23, indecent exposure; 609.2672, assault of an unborn child, third degree; 617.293, dissemination and display of harmful materials to minors; 609.66, dangerous weapons; 609.665, spring guns; an attempt or conspiracy to commit any of these offenses as defined in Minnesota Statutes; or an offense in any other state or country where the elements are substantially similar to any of the offenses listed in this paragraph.
6. (f) The person has been identified by the child protection agency in the county where the provider resides or a county where the provider has resided or by the statewide child protection database as a person found by a preponderance of evidence under section 626.556 to be responsible for physical or sexual abuse of a child within the last seven years.
7. (g) The person has been identified by the adult protection agency in the county where the provider resides or a county where the provider has resided or by the statewide adult protection database as the person responsible for abuse or neglect of a vulnerable adult within the last seven years.
8. (h) The person has refused to give written consent for disclosure of criminal history records.
9. (i) The person has been denied a family child care license or has received a fine or a sanction as a licensed child care provider that has not been reversed on appeal.
10. (j) The person has a family child care licensing disqualification that has not been set aside.
11. (k) The person has admitted or a county has found that there is a preponderance of evidence that fraudulent information was given to the county for child care assistance application purposes or was used in submitting child care assistance bills for payment.
12. (l) The person has been convicted of the crime of theft by wrongfully obtaining public assistance or has been found guilty of wrongfully obtaining public assistance by a federal court, state court, or an administrative hearing determination or waiver, through a disqualification consent agreement, as part of an approved diversion plan under section 401.065, or a court-ordered stay with probationary or other conditions.
13. (m) The person has a household member age 13 or older who has access to children during the hours that care is provided and who meets one of the conditions listed in paragraphs (b) to (l).
14. (n) The person has a household member ages ten to 12 who has access to children during the hours that care is provided; information or circumstances exist which provide the county with articulable suspicion that further pertinent information may exist showing the household member meets one of the conditions listed in paragraphs (b) to (l); and the household member actually meets one of the conditions listed in paragraphs (b) to (l).

Subd. 3. Authorization exception.

When a county denies a person authorization as a legal nonlicensed family child care provider under subdivision 2, the county later may authorize that person as a provider if the following conditions are met:

1. (1) after receiving notice of the denial of the authorization, the person applies for and obtains a valid child care license issued under chapter 245A, issued by a tribe, or issued by another state;
2. (2) the person maintains the valid child care license; and
3. (3) the person is providing child care in the state of licensure or in the area under the jurisdiction of the licensing tribe.

Subd. 4. Unsafe care.

A county may deny authorization as a child care provider to any applicant or rescind authorization of any provider when the county knows or has reason to believe that the provider is unsafe or that the circumstances of the chosen child care arrangement are unsafe. The county must include the conditions under which a provider or care arrangement will be determined to be unsafe in the county's child care fund plan under section 119B.08, subdivision 3.

Subd. 5. Provisional payment.

After a county receives a completed application from a provider, the county may issue provisional authorization and payment to the provider during the time needed to determine whether to give final authorization to the provider.

Subd. 6. Record-keeping requirement.

All providers must keep daily attendance records for children receiving child care assistance and must make those records available immediately to the county upon request. The daily attendance records must be retained for six years after the date of service. A county may deny authorization as a child care provider to any applicant or rescind authorization of any provider when the county knows or has reason to believe that the provider has not complied with the record-keeping requirement in this subdivision.