A St. Paul home day-care facility is under investigation after police found a gun in a crib, marijuana and other drug paraphernalia in a search of the house on the city's North End.

The St. Paul Police Department's Central District FORCE unit, which tackles neighborhood crime issues, including problem properties, found the items after searching the house in the 1100 block of Abell Street last Friday. Officers entered the house after obtaining a search warrant, according to a police report.

Several people were arrested and cited, including a 37-year-old woman, who apparently lived at the house and holds a license to provide family child care there. The woman was booked under suspicion of negligent storage of a firearm and child endangerment, both gross misdemeanors. She was released from jail Saturday.

The Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) issued a statement Monday saying that investigators from Ramsey County are working on the case. The county agency is responsible for investigating licensing and maltreatment reports in family child-care programs, informing DHS of serious incidents, and recommending sanctions issued by DHS. The woman has no record of licensing sanctions, according to the DHS statement.

"The recent media reports regarding a police investigation involving this family child care provider give us all multiple reasons to be concerned about this case," Jerry Kerber, Inspector General for DHS, said in the statement. "We are working with Ramsey County to review the history of this license holder and determine the appropriate action to take related to child care that may be provided in this home."

According to police records, several others were arrested in connection with the search. They included a 33-year-old man for suspicion of possession of a gun by a felon and for a felony warrant out of Wisconsin for a parole violation, and a 19-year-old St. Paul man who was wanted on misdemeanor warrants. A juvenile also was cited for possessing a small amount of marijuana and operating a disorderly house, while another man was cited for visiting a disorderly house.

The police report didn't indicate whether children were in the home at the time of the search, said Sgt. Paul Paulos, a police spokesman.

Nicole Norfleet • 612-673-4495

Twitter: @stribnorfleet