MN DHS Background Study Set-Asides Under Chapter 245C

A Minnesota DHS background study set-aside is the agency’s formal decision that, despite a disqualifying conviction or maltreatment finding, you no longer pose a risk of harm and can work in a licensed human services setting. You get one by filing a written reconsideration request with the Department of Human Services, generally within 30 calendar days of receiving your disqualification notice, and backing it with evidence of rehabilitation.¹ The process is called reconsideration; “set-aside” is what you get if it succeeds.

What a Set-Aside Actually Clears You to Do

A set-aside can be narrow or broad. DHS may grant it for a single specified program, which clears you to work only at that one licensed facility, or for all programs statewide, which lets you move between licensed settings without starting over. Single-program set-asides are more common, particularly for more serious offenses. If you receive one and later change employers, plan on filing reconsideration again for the new program.

The scope generally reflects both the severity of the disqualifying conduct and the strength of the rehabilitation evidence you submit.

Can Your Disqualification Be Set Aside At All?

Before investing time in a request, check whether your offense is on the permanent bar list in Section 245C.15, subdivision 1. Permanent-bar offenses cannot be set aside through the standard process no matter how much time has passed. The list includes:²

Homicide offenses, including murder in any degree and first- or second-degree manslaughter
Criminal sexual conduct in any degree, sexual extortion, solicitation of children, incest, use of minors in sexual performance, and possession of child sexual abuse material
First- and second-degree assault, domestic assault by strangulation, aggravated robbery, carjacking, and kidnapping
Felony-level malicious punishment of a child, child torture, and felony-level child neglect or endangerment
First-degree arson, drive-by shooting, felony-level stalking or harassment, sex trafficking, violation of predatory offender registration, and indecent exposure involving a minor

For child care background studies, the permanent bar also sweeps in any felony conviction that would make you ineligible under federal law at 42 U.S.C. § 9858f, with a limited carve-out for certain drug felonies.²

Offenses not on the permanent list carry disqualification periods of 15, 10, or 7 years measured from the date you completed your sentence, including probation and supervised release. Once that period runs, the disqualification drops off and no set-aside is needed. The reconsideration process matters most when you want to work before that clock has run out.

A separate tool called a variance exists under Section 245C.30, but it is requested by the license holder, not by you, and is narrowly limited to specific situations such as adopted foster children facing permanent disqualification. For most applicants seeking their own clearance, reconsideration is the path.

The 30-Day Deadline (and a Separate 15-Day Rule)

Section 245C.21 gives you 30 calendar days from the date you receive your disqualification notice to file your reconsideration request. A mailed request must be postmarked within that window; a hand-delivered one must arrive at DHS within it. You can ask for up to 30 additional days if you can show the supporting information takes longer to assemble.¹

A different 15-day deadline appears in Section 245C.17 and is widely confused with the filing deadline. The 15-day rule is about staying on the job, not about preserving your right to reconsideration. When the commissioner determines you do not pose a risk requiring continuous direct supervision, the license holder may let you keep working only if you file for reconsideration within 15 days.³ Missing 15 days costs you the ability to continue in that role; it does not forfeit the reconsideration itself, which runs on the 30-day clock.

Submit the request in writing to the commissioner. If your disqualification came out of a family child care study conducted by a county, or a child foster care study initiated by a private licensing agency, you submit the request to that county or agency, which forwards it to DHS with a recommendation.¹

Read the disqualification notice carefully the day it arrives. Under Section 245C.17 it must tell you what triggered the disqualification, explain your reconsideration rights, and direct the license holder on whether you must be removed immediately or may continue working under continuous direct supervision.³ Everything else runs off that notice.

What to Put in the Request

A reconsideration request stands on its supporting evidence. DHS wants concrete proof of change, not assurances. Pull together, before your deadline:

Certified court records: the criminal complaint, sentencing order, and discharge documentation showing you completed every court-ordered condition, including fines, probation, and community service
Treatment and rehabilitation certificates tied to the conduct that caused the disqualification, such as chemical dependency treatment, anger management, or cognitive-behavioral therapy
Employment history documenting steady work since the disqualifying event, especially roles that show responsibility
A written personal statement describing what happened, what you learned, and the specific changes you have made
Letters of support from employers, supervisors, community members, or faith leaders who can speak to your current conduct

The personal statement is worth real effort. Reviewers read for accountability. Acknowledging what happened, explaining what drove it, and naming the concrete steps you took is more persuasive than minimizing or blaming circumstances. Specifics carry weight: the name of the treatment program you completed, the number of months of sobriety, the professional license you earned since.

How DHS Decides

You carry the burden of proving you do not pose a risk of harm to the people the program serves. Section 245C.22 directs the commissioner to weigh nine factors:⁴

The nature and severity of the disqualifying event
Whether your record shows more than one disqualifying incident
The age and vulnerability of the victim at the time
The harm the victim suffered
How vulnerable the people you would be serving are
Similarity between the original victim and the program’s population
How much time has passed without a repeat of similar conduct
Documentation of training or rehabilitation related to the conduct
Any other information bearing on current risk

Factor six catches a lot of applicants off guard. Someone disqualified for conduct involving an elderly victim who then applies to a nursing facility faces a harder case than that same person applying to a different population. If you have flexibility in the kind of program you pursue, the match between your original offense and the people in the program is worth thinking about honestly.

Working, or Not, While the Request Is Pending

Your disqualification notice also tells your employer what to do. Under Section 245C.18, a license holder who receives notice of your disqualification must remove you from any position involving direct contact with people receiving services, and must ensure you have no access to client records, personal property, or program financial records while the disqualification stands.⁵

The one exception sits in the notice itself. If the notice includes a determination that you pose a risk requiring continuous direct supervision rather than immediate removal, the employer may keep you on the job under that supervision while you pursue reconsideration, provided you file within 30 days and the employer maintains constant, direct oversight of your contact with clients.³ When the notice instead says continuous supervision is not required, the employer can keep you working only if you file within 15 days.

If DHS denies the set-aside, any removal or supervision order remains in effect while you pursue appeal.⁶ Most disqualified individuals are not working during this period.

If Your Set-Aside Is Denied

A denial is not the end. Under Section 245C.28, you can request a contested case hearing before an administrative law judge at the Office of Administrative Hearings. The request must be in writing and postmarked within 30 calendar days after you receive the reconsideration decision.⁷

The hearing is a simplified trial without a jury. The ALJ reviews the full record, considers any new evidence you put on, applies the same nine risk-of-harm factors, and issues a recommendation to the commissioner, who makes the final agency decision. If the commissioner then orders a set-aside, it stands as a formal determination that you do not pose a risk of harm for the program specified.⁷

You cannot request a second contested case hearing on the same disqualification on the same basis. If you have already had a hearing and lost, that avenue is closed unless the underlying facts have changed. Judicial review through the Minnesota Court of Appeals remains available if the agency decision rested on legal error, exceeded its authority, or lacked substantial evidence.

Federal Rules a State Set-Aside Doesn’t Reach

A Minnesota set-aside clears the state-level barrier. It does not override federal disqualification standards that apply to certain workplaces.

Child care providers receiving federal Child Care and Development Fund assistance operate under 45 CFR § 98.43, which maintains its own disqualifying list: felony convictions for murder, child abuse or neglect, crimes against children including pornography, spousal abuse, sexual assault, kidnapping, arson, and physical assault or battery. Drug-related felonies disqualify for five years. Violent misdemeanors committed as an adult against a child, including child abuse and sexual assault, are permanent federal bars.⁸

Nursing facilities, home health agencies, hospice programs, and other long-term care settings fall under the federal National Background Check Program created by the Affordable Care Act, a parallel screening framework for direct patient access employees.⁹ Separately, anyone on the Office of Inspector General’s List of Excluded Individuals and Entities cannot be paid by federal health care programs, and employers who hire a listed individual face civil monetary penalties.¹⁰ A Minnesota set-aside has no effect on OIG exclusion status.

If the job you want sits in a federally funded program, confirm your specific conviction does not trigger an independent federal bar before relying on a state set-aside to put you back to work.

1
Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 245C.21 – Request for Reconsideration
2
Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 245C.15 – Disqualification Periods
3
Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 245C.17 – Notice of Background Study Results
4
Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 245C.22 – Set Aside of Disqualification
5
Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code Chapter 245C – Human Services Background Studies Act
6
Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 245C.23 – Commissioner Decision on Reconsideration
7
Minnesota Office of the Revisor of Statutes. Minnesota Code 245C.28 – Contested Case Hearing Rights
8
eCFR. 45 CFR 98.43 – Criminal Background Checks
9
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. CMS National Background Check Program
10
Office of Inspector General. Exclusions Program