Currently, Minnesota has a shortage of childcare providers across the state, especially in rural regions. They are being held back by current child-adult ratios that keep day cares from operating at their potential capacity. Lack of childcare affects our workforce and economy, as parents who cannot find a provider must stay home and care for their kids instead of working.

 My bill to modify the child-adult capacity ratios and age distribution restrictions would allow providers more flexibility, and parents more options, while keeping the safety of every child at the forefront. The legislation, presented to the Senate Family Care and Aging Committee on March 4th, revises current statutes to adjust the age range mix that a provider may have, so as children age providers can maintain their full allotment of children. The bill does not increase the number of infants but builds in capacity flexibility between 12 months and 5 years of age. This allows parents and providers to be the ones making choices about their childcare, not the government.

I have met with countless family childcare providers from Beltrami County to discuss this issue. They have started a very well-organized grassroots organization to present their case to me and members of the committee. Childcare providers from Beltrami County testified for our bill before the committee in St. Paul. Here are some of their statements:

“Half of our childcare providers in Beltrami County have openings. The age group restrictions limit our income and the care we can provide for families in our community,” said Jeri Frances (provider).

The DHS Childcare Taskforce is currently working on creating solutions for the multitude of problems childcare providers face every day. This bill will pave the way to a quick resolution to those problems. We need to modernize the childcare community to operate within a more flexible atmosphere, and the above changes to statute will offer much-needed relief for parents and providers.