DHS outlines licensing overhaul, enforcement tools after parent recounts alleged abuse at Plymouth preschool

At a recent meeting of the Minnesota House Children and Families Finance and Policy Committee, Department of Human Services officials presented an overview of childcare licensing, enforcement tools and a multi-part modernization project while a parent described an incident at a Plymouth preschool that he said went viral online.

Joshua Truax, a parent whose son appears in a widely shared video, told the committee his 3-year-old was “picked up, slammed … aggressively pushed into a table” and had toy drumsticks taken while other toddlers watched. “We must demand stricter oversight, stronger protections, and real consequences for those who fail our children,” Truax said.

The testimony framed lawmakers’ questions as Alyssa Dodson, Deputy Inspector General for the DHS Licensing Division, described how Minnesota licenses and inspects childcare providers, the range of enforcement tools available and the department’s plan to modernize rules and inspection practices.

Dodson said DHS licenses two main program types: state-licensed childcare centers and county-delegated family childcare programs. As of February 2025, Dodson reported there were 1,791 licensed centers and 5,756 licensed family childcare providers. Centers are directly licensed and inspected by DHS staff; family childcare is licensed through county delegated licensors who recommend sanctions to DHS for more serious actions.

DHS outlined a tiered set of enforcement responses. Low-level issues can generate “documented technical assistance” (replacing the prior “fix-it ticket” approach); correction orders address more substantive but non-imminent violations; fines may be assessed for violations that impact health and safety; conditional licenses set terms and extra monitoring; temporary immediate suspensions stop…