Zeleznikar Child Care Reforms Help Working Families and Expand Access
After four years of listening to childcare providers, meeting with state agencies, touring facilities, and bringing real-world examples to policymakers, Rep. Natalie Zeleznikar is celebrating several childcare reforms passed during the 2026 legislative session that will help working families and encourage more providers to enter the profession.
One of the most significant changes modernizes family childcare licensing rules by allowing certain providers to increase their licensed capacity from 10 children to 12 children. Importantly, the legislation does not increase infant or toddler ratios. Providers remain limited to a maximum of three infants and toddlers combined, preserving the same safety standards that existed before the reform.
“The bill does not increase infant ratios,” said Zeleznikar. “It simply allows family childcare providers who have children of their own to operate on equal footing with providers who do not, while maintaining the same infant and toddler safety protections.”
Zeleznikar said much of the discussion around capacity increases has overlooked an important fact: many family childcare providers serve school-age children before school, after school, during the summer, and on days when school is not in session. The reform helps providers remain financially viable while creating additional openings for families who need care.
Throughout the legislative process, Zeleznikar worked closely with providers and state agencies to demonstrate how current regulations were discouraging younger parents from becoming licensed providers. Many providers shared that counting their own children against capacity limits made it difficult to earn enough income to justify opening a family childcare business.
“Our region has lost more than 50 percent of its family childcare providers over the years, and many families remain on long waiting lists,” said Zeleznikar. “With many long-time providers nearing retirement, we needed a common-sense solution that encourages new providers to enter the field while maintaining safety standards.”
In addition to expanding provider capacity, Zeleznikar successfully authored legislation increasing Minnesota’s dependent childcare deduction from $5,000 to $7,500. The change, signed into law during the 2026 session, allows families to deduct more childcare expenses from their taxable income, providing additional tax relief for working parents facing rising child care costs.
Zeleznikar’s efforts extended beyond the Capitol. Earlier this year, she traveled to southern Minnesota to study an innovative model designed to increase childcare availability. The concept utilizes customized homes built specifically to meet childcare licensing requirements. In some communities, cities or townships purchase the homes and lease them to family childcare providers, reducing startup costs and helping communities attract new providers.
The model offers another option for individuals who want to become providers but live in older homes where renovations needed to meet licensing requirements can be cost-prohibitive.
“There is no single solution to Minnesota’s childcare shortage,” said Zeleznikar. “We need multiple approaches, including regulatory reform, innovative housing models, and local partnerships that make it easier for providers to succeed.”
While pleased with the progress made this year, Zeleznikar said additional reforms are still needed.
One proposal that did not pass would have allowed childcare centers to receive a waiver from state-mandated square foot calculations of up to 100 square feet (a 10×10 area rug) in a toddler room. Zeleznikar argued that without a waiver, the allowed number of toddlers is not possible.
In one Hermantown childcare center, the requirement prevents two toddler openings that otherwise could be available for local families. Under current staffing ratios, one teacher can supervise seven toddlers, yet the center is unable to fully utilize available toddler slots because of the rigid square-footage requirement. My onsite visits confirmed that toddlers play in a pack of many in one corner, with an entire room unused at times.
“Parents call me every month, frustrated because they cannot find childcare so they can work,” said Zeleznikar. “I have toured these facilities myself. This is not a safety issue; it is a common-sense issue.” Having a provider with two unfillable toddler slots is not a solution.
Because current law does not allow flexibility in these situations, licensing reviewers continue to deny waiver requests. But there is still more work to do, and Zeleznikar is determined and will keep at it until common sense prevails.”
