Duluth family child-care license suspended after alleged injury; St. Louis County investigates

The Minnesota Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) issued an immediate temporary suspension of the license for a family child-care program operating at 912 West 9th Street in Duluth, Fox21Online reported, identifying the provider as Kali Ames. The Fox21 story quoted a DCYF letter saying, “This immediate suspension is based on a determination that children served by your program are at an imminent risk of harm.” The report also states, “The suspension pertains to child care activities at 912 West 9th Street, Duluth.”

An original report provided with the news items begins: “What happened: The Minnesota Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) issued an immediate temporary suspension of the license for a family child-care program operating at 912 West 9th Street in Duluth after the agency received a report alleging a child had suffered injuries that are inconsi”, the sentence is truncated in the supplied text. Fox21Online also included statutory language explaining the administrative standard: “The commissioner shall act immediately to temporarily suspend a license issued under this chapter if: the license holder’s actions or failure to comply with applicable law or rule, or the actions of other individuals or conditions in the program, pose an imminent risk of harm to the health, safety, or rights of persons served by the program.”

Fox21Online’s story, by Matt McConico, notes the child care provider “has the opportunity to appeal the suspension, but has not done so as of the afternoon of February 27, 2026.” That appeal status is the only specific date/time provided in the available reporting about the Ames case.

Materials supplied alongside the Duluth/Ames reporting include a separate Duluth News Tribune excerpt about a different case in Iron involving Janet Schroeder. That excerpt states, “The license of a family child care operation in Iron has been revoked,” and says, “The Minnesota Department of Human Services revoked Janet Schroeder's license on Wednesday, according to the department's website.” The Tribune excerpt further reports, “The action stemmed from an investigation in May after the St. Louis County [...] Public Health and Human Services Department received a report about the child care business, the state said in a certified letter sent to Schroeder,” and quotes the letter: that the Department of Human Services concluded “that the health, safety and rights of children in your care were in imminent risk of harm.” Schroeder’s operation at 9613 Townline Road was first licensed in September 1999, the excerpt adds.

The supplied Fox21Online text does not explicitly state whether St. Louis County Public Health and Human Services is investigating the 912 West 9th Street program; the Tribune excerpt that names St. Louis County refers to the separate Janet Schroeder revocation in Iron. The DCYF letter quoted in the Fox21 report sets an imminent-risk finding and an appeal process, and as of the afternoon of February 27, 2026 no appeal had been filed for the Duluth program. Future steps in the Ames matter will hinge on DCYF’s full suspension order and any county or law enforcement actions that may follow.