Minnesota must provide documents to US government in child care fraud
probe by next week
[January 03, 2026]
By CHARLOTTE KRAMON
Minnesota officials have until next week to hand over information on
providers and parents who receive federal child care funds that the
Trump administration contends have been used fraudulently or risk losing
federal funding. State officials said Friday recent inspections showed
several childcare centers accused of fraud by a right-wing influencer
were “operating as expected.”
In an email sent Friday to child care providers and shared with The
Associated Press by multiple providers, Minnesota’s Department of
Children, Youth, and Families said it has until Jan. 9 to provide
information about recipients of the funds.
The announcement earlier this week by the Trump administration that it
would freeze child care funds to Minnesota and the rest of the states
comes after a series of fraud cases involving government programs in
which many defendants were Somali, as were many of those running
spotlighted childcare centers.
Allegations of fraud at the child care centers went viral recently when
a right-wing influencer posted a video claiming there was fraud taking
place, putting Minnesota and some other states in the crosshairs of the
Trump administration.
State officials said investigators did spot checks and reviews of nine
centers this week in response to the influencer's video posted last
week, and found no operational issues. One center was not yet open at
the time, and there are ongoing investigations at four of them.
The email sent Friday instructed providers and families who rely on the
frozen federal child care program to continue the program’s “licensing
and certification requirements and practices as usual.” It does not say
that recipients themselves need to take any action or provide any
information.
“We recognize the alarm and questions this has raised,” the email said.
“We found out about the freezing of funds at the same time everyone else
did on social media.”
The state agency added that it “did not receive a formal communication
from the federal government until late Tuesday night,” which was after
Health and Human Services Deputy Secretary Jim O’Neill posted about the
freeze on X. All 50 states will have to provide additional levels of
verification and administrative data before they receive more funding
from the Child Care and Development Fund, which is designed to make
child care affordable for low-income families.
Minnesota is a target
The U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform will hold a
hearing Wednesday to discuss the allegations of fraudulent use of
federal funds in Minnesota. An HHS spokesperson said that the child care
fraud hotline put up by the federal agency earlier this week has
received more than 200 tips.
Minnesota has drawn ire from Republicans and the Trump administration
over other fraud accusations.
Administration for Children and Families Assistant Secretary Alex Adams
told Fox News on Friday that his agency sent Minnesota a letter last
month asking for information on the child care program and other welfare
programs by Dec. 26, but didn't get a response. The state did not
immediately respond to a request for comment. President Donald Trump has
also targeted the state's large Somali community with immigration
enforcement actions and called them “garbage.”
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State Sen. Michelle Benson reacts at a news conference on Wednesday,
April 10, 2019 at the Minnesota State Capitol in St. Paul to a
report by the state's legislative auditor on combatting fraud in
Minnesota's Child Care Assistance Program. (AP Photo/Steve
Karnowski,File)
Minnesota Democrats say the Trump administration is playing politics
and hurting families and children as a result. Minnesota's
Department of Children, Youth and Families said in a press release
Friday that inspectors conduct regular oversight activities for the
child care program, noting that there are 55 related open
investigations involving providers.
“DCYF remains committed to fact-based reviews that stop fraud,
protect children, support families, and minimize disruption to
communities that rely on these essential services," the department
said. "Distribution of unvetted or deceptive claims and misuse of
tip lines can interfere with investigations, create safety risks for
families, providers, and employers, and has contributed to harmful
discourse about Minnesota’s immigrant communities.”
It is unclear how recipients will be impacted
Maria Snider, director of a child care center in St. Paul and vice
president of advocacy group Minnesota Child Care Association, said
providers currently get paid at least three weeks after services are
provided. Some 23,000 children and 12,000 families receive funding
from the targeted child care program each month on average,
according to the state.
“For a lot of centers, we’re already running on a thin margin,” she
said. “Even centers where 10 to 15% of their kids are on childcare
assistance, that’s a dip in your income.”
Any child who attends a child care center with attendees who receive
federal funding could be impacted, Snider said.
The Administration for Children and Families, a division of the U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services, provides $185 million in
child care funds annually to Minnesota, federal officials have said.
According to the Friday email from Minnesota’s Department of
Children, Youth, and Families, HHS sent a letter to Minnesota asking
for data from 2022 to 2025, including identifying information of all
recipients of the child care funds, a list of all providers who
receive the funds, how much they receive and “information related to
alleged fraud networks and oversight failures.” It’s unclear whether
Minnesota already has the data the administration is asking for.
HHS said five child care centers that receive funds from the child
care program or Temporary Assistance for Needy Families would have
to provide “specific documentation” such as attendance, inspections
and assessments, according to the email.
HHS said it would provide Minnesota with more information by Jan. 5,
but the state agency wrote that it’s unclear what kinds of funding
restrictions it faces.
“Our teams are working hard to analyze the legal, fiscal, and other
aspects of this federal action,” the email says. “We do not know the
full impact.”
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