How Easy Is It To Open A Daycare In Minnesota?
Feb 1, 2026
The Epoch Times investigated how to open a day care in Minnesota, with a focus on the Twin Cities, Minneapolis and Saint Paul, which have the highest concentration of Somali residents in the United States.
Licensing Applications
The State of Minnesota’s Department of Children, Youth, and Families manages licensing applications for child care centers and charges a nonrefundable fee of $500 to apply. Prospective small business owners can receive a license in approximately three to six months.
Aspiring providers have two routes to obtain a license: open a child care center or provide services at their own home.
An in-home day care license is hundreds of dollars cheaper and requires potential providers to go through their local county for a small fee. Some may even be eligible to receive a grant of $2,000 for startup costs.
Aspiring child care providers seeking licensure in Hennepin and Ramsey counties, which oversee applications in Minneapolis and St. Paul, have to pay a nonrefundable $50 application fee.
Before an application can be submitted, future business owners must first attend an orientation.
Ramsey County requires in-person orientation, which is offered once a month, whileHennepin County allows people to take a 30-minute online orientation and submit their application immediately. Hennepin County’s online orientation can be completed in four separate languages: Somali, Spanish, English and Hmong.
The orientation presentation explains the “many benefits” provided to licensed providers, including food programs, eligibility for loans and grants, and small business tax benefits.At the end of the orientation, the county provides an email address to request the six-page Family Child Care Application Form. The document, which is not available to download, asks a series of questions relating to the applicant, which will be used to help conduct a background check.
Grants
Minnesota offers training for providers seeking child care assistance funds and lets people apply through the state’s Provider Hub.
A licensed provider in Minnesota has access to the Provider Hub and is eligible to participate in the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP), which uses federal funds to help low-income families pay for child care.
CCAP, which has 23,000 children enrolled in Minneapolis, uses federal money from the Child Care and Development Fund.
Child care providers apply for smaller grants, provided by the state, using the Child Care Aware Grants Program, which gives up to $1,000 for family child care and $2,500 to centers.
Applications for regional grants open once a year, but “soon-to-be licensed” providers can also apply for startup grants of up to $2,000 for family child care and $3,000 for child care centers.
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/how-easy-it-open-daycare-minnesota